Virgil Bercea (born 1957) is 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

Eparchy of Oradea Mare The Greek Catholic diocese of Oradea Mare is the Eparchy of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church for the area of Oradea. It was founded in 1777, followers of the Greek Rite having been up to that time under the jurisdiction of the Latin bishop ...

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 ...

since 1997.

Life

Virgil Bercea was born on 9 December 1957 in

Habic The Habic ( hu, Hétbükk-patak, English: "''Seven Beeches Creek''") is a left tributary of the Mureș river in Transylvania, Romania. It discharges into the Mureș near Petelea Petelea (german: Birk; hu, Petele, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is ...

Mureș County Mureș County (, ro, Județul Mures, hu, Maros megye) is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He studied in his town, and after the military service he attended the

University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca The University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (USAMVCN) ( ro, Universitatea de Științe Agricole și Medicină Veterinară Cluj-Napoca) is a university in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. With around 6,000 students, the uni ...

from 1977 to 1981. He worked as agricultural engineer and researcher till 1990. Supported by his uncle Archbishop

Alexandru Todea Alexandru Todea (5 June 1912, Teleac, Mureș County–22 May 2002, Târgu Mureș) was a Romanian Greek-Catholic bishop of the Alba Iulia Diocese and later cardinal. He was also a victim of the communist regime, suffering at Jilava, Sighet, ...

, the clandestine leader of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church under the

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...

, Bercea secretly studied theology, and on 9 December 1982 he was secretly 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 ...

. After ordination he served in underground as priest in the town of

Târgu Mureş Târgu (Romanian for "the market") starts off the names of several places in Romania: *Târgu Bujor *Târgu Cărbunești *Târgu Frumos * Târgu Gânguleşti *Târgu Jiu *Târgu Lăpuș * Târgu Logreşti *Târgu Mureș *Târgu Neamț *Târgu Ocna ...

. After

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

he could go to attend a specialization in dogmatic theology in the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and from 1992 he was appointed general vicar in

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 ...

. On 20 July 1994, Bercea was appointed auxiliary bishop of Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia and so consecrated bishop by Major Archbishop

Lucian Mureșan Lucian Mureșan (born 23 May 1931) is the first and current Major Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Archdiocese of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As Major Archbishop of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia (resident in Blaj ...

on 8 September 1994. On 6 November 1996, he was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of the

Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Oradea Mare The Greek Catholic diocese of Oradea Mare is the Eparchy of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church for the area of Oradea. It was founded in 1777, followers of the Greek Rite having been up to that time under the jurisdiction of the Latin bishop. ...

, to which he succeeded on 8 June 1997. In 2000, Virgil Bercea was awarded the Romanian National Order of "''Faithful Service''" with the rank of Commander by the

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Constitution of Romania, Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves ...

. In 2003, he was awarded the academic title of doctor of theology by Pontifical Urbaniana University. On 7 February 2004, Bercea was granted by the President of Romania of the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Commander in the Religious category, "''as a token of appreciation for the work of Your Holiness in the field of religion, to ecumenical and civic spirit shown and the contribution you brought it to strengthen interfaith relations.''" Bishop Bercea sent the following reply: "''I want to thank you for this post and at the same time thank the President, but I do not accept this distinction and I will not attend the ceremony. Moreover, this manner of proceeding, that the Presidential Secretariat of State for Religion, I consider it an insult not only to the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic, but also to the Orthodox Church or any other religion in Romania.''"Catholica, 29 decembrie 2004 – PS Virgil Bercea: Mulțumesc, dar nu accept
/ref> During Bercea's reign, the Eparchy of Oradea Mare have been returned a number of churches, along with the episcopal palace-residence and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, which had been confiscated 58 years ago by the communist regime and given to the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bercea, Virgil 1957 births Romanian Greek-Catholic bishops Living people People from Mureș County