Samuil Vulcan (1 August 1758 – 25 December 1839) was the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Diocese of Oradea Mare of the

Romanian Greek Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic ( la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Romaniae; ro, Biserica Română Unită cu Roma, Greco-Catolică), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the ...

from 1806 to 1839.

Life

Vulcan was born on 1 August 1758 in Veza, a former village which has since been incorporated into

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a municipiu, city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabita ...

town. He was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1784 and attended the Greek-Catholic college of Saint Barabara in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Later he moved to

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

where he became vice-rector of the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. On 25 October 1806 he was designated Greek Catholic bishop of

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

the

Austrian government The Government of Austria (german: Bundesregierung der Republik Österreich) is the executive cabinet of the Republic of Austria. It consists of the chancellor, who is the head of government, the vice chancellor and the ministers. Appointme ...

and so confirmed by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

on 25 March 1807. Accordingly, on 7 July 1807 he consecrated

by the bishop of Făgăraş,

Ioan Bob Ioan Bob, (1739 – 2 October 1830) was Bishop of Făgăraş and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1783 to his death in 1830. Life Ioan Bob was born from a noble Romanian family in October or November 1739 in Orman, near Iclod ...

in the Cathedral of Blaj. During his reign the diocese of Oradea enjoyed an increase in the number of parishes and faithfuls, passing from 26,232 parishioners to 153,163 souls. He tried to ensure a regular wage to his priests, and he focused on the instruction, founding many schools. Vulcan was a supporter of Romanian culture and literature. He pleaded with the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

monarchy in order to have a Romanian bishop appointed in place of a Serbian bishop for the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

diocese of Arad. Vulcan died in Oradea on 25 December 1839.

Miscellaneous

In 1828 he founded a college in the Transylvanian town of Beiuş, which is named after him. ''Colegiul Național „Samuil Vulcan” din Beiuș''
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vulcan, Samuil 1758 births 1839 deaths 18th-century Romanian people 19th-century Romanian people Romanians in Hungary Romanian Greek-Catholic bishops Transylvanian School People from Blaj