Vasile Suciu (13 January 1873, Kopacsel,

Fogaras County Fogaras was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (south-eastern Transylvania). The county's capital was Fogaras (present-day Făgăraș). Geography Fogaras county shared borders ...

– 25 January 1935,

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 ...

) was a

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 ...

Greek-Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

Metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

of the

Archdiocese of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, considered to be the most important

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

of the Greek-Catholic Church in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. After completing high school in

, he pursued his theological studies 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 ...

at the ''

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

'', obtaining

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

s in Philosophy (1894) and Theology (1898). In 1919, he was elected honorary member of the Romanian Academy. On 1 January 1920, Vasile Suciu was appointed Metropolitan, with approval from 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 ...

, and with consent from

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Ferdinand I of Romania Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...

. During his tenure, a

Concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Ed ...

between the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

was signed on 10 May 1927, and ratified on 7 July 1929 by the

Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was an Austro-Hungarian-born lawyer and Romanian politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Un ...

government.

Works

* "Hipnotism și spiritism", Studiu critici-teologic, Blaj, 1906, 198 p. * "Teologia Dogmatică fundamentală", 2 vol., Blaj, 1907 (vol.I. "Apologetica creștină", VI + 387 p.; vol. II. "Tradițiunea și Biserica", 402 p.; ed. a II-a, Blaj, 1927, 516 + 522 p.) * "Teologia Dogmatică specială", 2 vol., Blaj, 1908 (vol.I, "Dumnezeu unul. Sfânta Treime. Dumnezeu Creatorul. Întruparea Domnului. Grația", 606 p., vol. II. "Sacramentele în general. Sacramentele în special. Eshatologia", 604 p., ed. a II-a, Blaj, 1927, 631 + 700 p.)

External links

*
''Archbishop Vasile (Basile) Suciu'' at Catholic-hierarchy.org
*

at CrestinOrtodox.ro *
"Biserica Română Unită între cele două războaie mondiale"
, at BRU.ro *
"Comemorarea Mitropolitului Vasile Suciu"
''Catholica'', Blaj, January 26, 2005

1873 births 1935 deaths People from Brașov County Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Romanian Austro-Hungarians Primates of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church 19th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 19th-century Romanian people 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 20th-century Romanian people Delegates of the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia Eastern Catholic bishops in Romania {{EasternCatholic-bishop-stub