Ion Agârbiceanu (first name also Ioan, last name also Agărbiceanu and Agîrbiceanu; 12 September 1882 – 28 May 1963) was an
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
-born Romanian writer, journalist, politician, theologian and
Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to:
* The Catholic Church in Greece
* The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite:
** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church
** The Belarusian Gr ...
priest. Born among the Romanian peasant class of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
, he was originally an
Orthodox, but chose to embrace
Eastern Catholicism. Assisted by the Catholic congregation of
Blaj, he graduated from
Budapest University, after which he was ordained. Agârbiceanu was initially assigned to a parish in the
Apuseni Mountains
The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...
, which form the backdrop to much of his fiction. Before 1910, Agârbiceanu had achieved literary fame in both Transylvania and the
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...
, affiliating with
ASTRA cultural society in 1912; his work was disputed between the rival schools of ''
Sămănătorul
''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian language, Romanian for "The Sower") was a Literary magazine, literary and Political journalism, political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță ...
'' and
Poporanism
Poporanism is a Romanian version of nationalism and populism.
The word is derived from ''popor'', meaning "people" in Romanian language, Romanian. Founded by Constantin Stere in the early 1890s, Poporanism is distinguished by its opposition to Ma ...
. After a debut in poetry, he became a highly prolific author of novels, novellas, and other forms of prose, being rated as "
Chekhovian" or "
Tolstoyan" for his talents in describing the discreet suffering of common folk.
Agârbiceanu became involved politically with the
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party (, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Tran ...
, siding with its more radical offshoot, under
Octavian Goga
Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian far-right politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator.
Biography
Early life
Octavian Goga was born on 1 April 1881 in the village of Rășinari, on the northern sl ...
. Committed to social and cultural activism in Transylvania, Agârbiceanu spent the 1910s officiating near
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
, with a break during World War I that saw him taking refuge in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
, and eventually the
Moldavian Democratic Republic
The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...
. He served as a chaplain for the
Romanian Volunteer corps, and was decorated for his service. In 1919, Agârbiceanu moved to
Cluj
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. After the war, he involved himself in both the political and cultural life of
Greater Romania
Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...
. He moved between the
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
, the
People's Party, and the
National Agrarian Party, all while remaining engaged with organizing specifically Greek-Catholic interest groups. Already in the 1920s, Agârbiceanu expressed disappointment with the cultural decline he felt was encouraged by an emerging political class, embracing instead radical-right positions and
eugenics
Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
, while also demanding administrative decentralization and encouraging the peasantry to improve its economic standing. Voted into the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...
, he served terms in the
Assembly of Deputies, and assumed the office of
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
vice president under the
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...
dictatorship.
As editor and columnist at ''
Tribuna'', Agârbiceanu decried
Hungarian revisionism and openly supported the politics of
King Carol II as a means to solidify union. He was eventually forced out of
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...
during World War II. He spent his last decade and a half under
a communist regime that outlawed his church, an act in which he refused to cooperate. Much of his work, with its transparent Christian moralizing, proved incompatible with the new ideology, and was banned by
communist censors; however, especially after 1953, the regime found him useful for its image, and bestowed honors upon him. He was never allowed to publish his complete works, and continued to struggle with his censors during his final years. Agârbiceanu's full contribution has been made available and reappraised since the 1990s, but he remains a largely forgotten author, with the possible exception of his Apuseni-based novella, ''Fefeleaga''.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Cenade village in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
's
Alba County
Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536.
Name
"Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...
(at the time in
Alsó-Fehér County), Agârbiceanu was the second of eight children; his parents were Nicolae and Ana (''née'' Olariu). Ion's father and grandfather were both woodcutters, while he believed his great-grandparents were cowherds—as indicated by the surname of his grandfather, Vasile
Bouaru, who originated in the
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
area. The name ''Agârbiceanu'' came from the family's ancestral village,
Agârbiciu.
[Olimpiu Boitoș, "Ion Agârbiceanu. Schiță bio-bibliografică", in '' Luceafărul'', Issue 10/1942, pp. 353–354] According to various report, at least some members of the family were traditionally
Orthodox,
["Informațiuni. Restabilirea unității bisericești", in ''Renașterea'', Vol. XIV, Issue 37, September 1936, p. 4] and he was himself originally baptized as such.
[Justinian Chira, ''Trăiți frumos și-n bucurie'', p. 126. Putna: Editura Nicodim Caligraful, 2014. ] Writer
Ion Breazu argues that Ana Agârbiceanu was not tied to either Orthodoxy or
Eastern Catholicism, and instead channeled a religious sentiment shared by both denominations.
[Breazu, p. 76]
Breazu describes the Agârbiceanus as engaged in the economic struggle for Romanian emancipation, with competition structured along ethnic lines. The adversaries were
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
,
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
, and
Hungarian Jews
The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...
, who occupied positions of power: "
gârbiceanuwould not spare any sympathy for either one of these groups, in his work as a writer."
From about 1900, Nicolae became a respected forester and estate administrator, described upon his death in 1931 as a "cultured peasant". According to the novelist's own notes, his father subscribed to a number of Romanian-language publications that appeared in Transylvania. His mother, although a great lover of stories and storytelling, was illiterate.

Agârbiceanu recalled an idyllic childhood, with summers spent tending to his father's sheep and sleeping in a stick hut. An avid reader of stories by
Petre Ispirescu
Petre Ispirescu (; January 1830 – 21 November 1887) was a Romanian editor, folklorist, printer, and publicist. He is best known for his work as a gatherer of Romanian folk tales, recounting them with a remarkable talent.
Career
Petre Ispire ...
[Iorga (1934), p. 119] and poems by
George Coșbuc
George Coșbuc (; 20 September 1866 – 9 May 1918) was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy. In 19 ...
,
[Breazu, p. 77] he was also accustomed to prayer books, which would help him deal with his feeling of isolation, once he was made to attend school. He completed the primary and secondary cycles in his native village and in
Blaj, graduating from the Superior Gymnasium in 1900. His teachers included
Gavril Precup, who introduced Agârbiceanu to world philosophy and the tenets of
Romanian nationalism
Romanian nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the identity and cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is Romanian ultranationalism.
History
Antecedents
The predecessors of ...
, and
Ambrosiu Chețianu, who cultivated his taste for natural sciences.
[Suciu, p. 2] His later works suggest that, aged eleven, Agârbiceanu was in the Romanian crowd which greeted the
Transylvanian Memorandum leaders, arrested by the
Hungarian authorities and paraded through Blaj.
During fifth-grade classes in Romanian, Precup noticed Agârbiceanu's skill as the pupil read his own review of
Vasile Alecsandri
Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
's poem, ''Bărăganul''. His actual debut was a collaboration with ''
Unirea'' newspaper. There, Agârbiceanu published a ''
feuilleton
A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...
'' (signed as ''
Alfius''), poetry, and, in 1900, the short story "În postul Paștelui" ("At Lent"). Agârbiceanu also served as secretary of the Blaj Literary Society, at the time the city's only Romanian-speaking literary body still tolerated by the Hungarian administration.
[Tudor Opriș, ''Istoria debutului literar al scriitorilor români în timpul școlii (1820-2000)'', p. 11. Bucharest: Aramis Print, 2002. . See also Brateș, pp. 665–666; Suciu, pp. 2–3] He was matched in these activities by his older brother Nicolae Jr, who in 1902–1907 was putting out a handwritten magazine, ''Steluța''; this Nicolae died shortly after, while studying abroad (at the
University of Graz
The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...
).
Ion soon became a correspondent of ''Rĕvașul'', a Cluj-based newspaper, signing his first pieces there with the pen name ''Alfius'', then as ''Agarbi'' or ''Potcoavă'' ("Horseshoe").
[Mihail Straje, ''Dicționar de pseudonime, anonime, anagrame, astronime, criptonime ale scriitorilor și publiciștilor români'', p. 9. Bucharest: Editura Minerva, 1973. ] One of his essays there, published when he was aged twenty, was a critique of
social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
(defining its adherents as "enemies of Jesus Christ
ndof any people, save the Jews"), with some praise reserved for
Christian socialism
Christian socialism is a Religious philosophy, religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...
as a non-revolutionary alternative. Agârbiceanu also noted that the
Hungarian Social Democrats could not prevail among the Romanians, despite the success of propagandists in "duping" some destitute Transylvanians: "When has our salvation ever come from a kike, and not even from a kike, but from any sort of foreigner?" In other pieces, Agârbiceanu denounced publicist
Imre Salusinszky
Imre Salusinszky (born 1955) is an Australian journalist, political adviser and English language, English literature academic who is currently media adviser to former Australian Government Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Citie ...
for his claims that social democracy was compatible with the Romanians' Christian faith.
Agârbiceanu formally converted to Eastern Catholicism as a youth, but, according to his own testimony, was secretly an atheist during much of his adolescence.
The Blaj-based
Făgăraș and Alba Iulia Archdiocese arranged for Agârbiceanu to study at the theology faculty of
Budapest University between 1900 and 1904.
[Nemeș-Vintilă, p. 4] As he himself confessed later in life, it was here that he became truly convinced of his faith and calling, with a self-described
theophany
Theophany () is an encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form.. It is often confused with other types of encounters with a deity, but these interactions are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itse ...
.
[Suciu, p. 3] It was also at this stage that he became fluent in Hungarian, having already picked up German and Latin at Blaj, and continuing his individual study of Italian and French.
[Bădiliță, p. 58] His reading list widened to cover the classics of
modern French
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
and
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...
—absorbing themes and elements of style from
Balzac,
Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin.
Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...
,
Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influenti ...
,
Flaubert, and
Count Tolstoy. Publishing more works in ''
Tribuna'' and ''
Familia'',
he soon became "the most constant presence" in ''
Luceafărul'' of
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, which hosted in 1912 his first version of the novel ''Legea trupului'' ("The Law of the Flesh"). Agârbiceanu returned to Blaj after his graduation and supervised the local boys' boarding school,
working there during the 1904–1905 academic year. Urged by friends and receiving a church scholarship, he returned to Budapest to study literature. He spent just one semester there, during which he also taught primary school catechism.
In March 1906, he married Maria Reli Radu, the daughter of an
archpriest
The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...
from
Ocna Mureș
Ocna Mureș (; , , ) is a town in Alba County, Romania, located in the north-eastern corner of the county, near the Mureș River.
The town administers five villages: Cisteiu de Mureș (''Magyarcsesztve''), Micoșlaca (''Miklóslaka''), Războien ...
.
Also in 1906, following an
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
ceremony held on Easter Sunday,
Agârbiceanu was appointed parish priest in
Bucium, in the
Apuseni Mountains
The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...
. For four years, he observed the difficult lives of the mountain dwellers and the problems encountered in the nearby gold mines. As parish administrator, he took steps to increase the pay of schoolteachers; from 1907, he was also curator of the village library, an endowment of the Reunion of Romanian Women. During this time, he wrote several notices in the magazine ''
Ramuri'', later published as ''În întuneric'' ("Into the Darkness", 1910), the novella ''Fefeleaga'',
[ V. M.]
''Alba: Casa în care a locuit eroina nuvelei "Fefeleaga", distrusă de un incendiu''
HotNews.ro, 9 July 2014 and the novel ''Arhangelii'' ("The Archangels"), all of them based on the mining experience. He also started writing frequently for literary magazines that included ''Luceafărul'', ''Unirea'' and ''
Lupta''.
His other literary works of the period include ''De la țară'' ("From the Countryside", 1906), ''În clasa cultă'' ("In the Cultured Class", 1909), ''Două iubiri'' ("Two Loves", 1910), ''Prăpastia'' ("The Abyss", 1912), and a collection of ''Schițe și povestiri'' ("Sketches and Short Stories", 1912).
[Compiled from lists in Lovinescu (p. 190), and Nemeș-Vintilă (p. 5)]
PNR recruitment and World War I
Agârbiceanu visited
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, the
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...
capital, in 1906, and sent enthusiastic travel notes for ''Unirea''.
At the kingdom's Jubilee Expo, he chanced upon critic
Eugen Lovinescu
Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the ...
, who recalled him as visibly a "poet's soul
..descended from his mountains into the citadel of our worries, pride, and aspirations."
[Zaciu, p. 40] He became a regular contributor to the Bucharest nationalist review ''
Sămănătorul
''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian language, Romanian for "The Sower") was a Literary magazine, literary and Political journalism, political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță ...
'', which gave ''De la țară'' a sonorous welcome,
[Lovinescu, p. 188] and later to ''Sămănătorul''s leftist rival, ''
Viața Românească
''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues.
...
''. As Agârbiceanu recalled some fifty years later, his indifference to the ideological clash between the two clubs caused him to be publicly reprimanded by
Nicolae Iorga of ''Sămănătorul'', who never fully pardoned his transgression. With his occasional investigations of life in the Old Kingdom before and after the
1907 peasants' revolt, Agârbiceanu also turned to critiquing its institutions. One of his first contributions in Iorga's ''
Neamul Românesc'' magazine was an article celebrating
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Carol I
Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...
's decision to pardon the rebels, and joining in the array of voices demanding more, and more substantial, reforms. From 1909, after reconciling with Iorga, he was also one of the regular writers for that magazine.
From 1910 to 1916 (nominally to 1919),
Agârbiceanu was parish priest at
Orlat
Orlat (; ) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, west of the county capital, Sibiu, in the Mărginimea Sibiului ethnographic area. It is composed of a single village, Orlat.
The commune lies in the foothills of the Cindrel Mount ...
in
Szeben County. He traveled frequently to neighboring villages—including
Gura Râului, where he met and became close friends with literary critic
Ilarie Chendi.
[Dumitru Ioan Arsenie, "Pe la Gura Râului au trecut mulți 'oameni de seamă'", in ''Transilvania'', Issue 6/2005, p. 15] During this interval, Agârbiceanu also became interested in professional politics, as a member of Austria-Hungary's
Romanian National Party
The Romanian National Party (, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the Kingdom of Hungary, the Tran ...
(PNR). Ideologically, he supported PNR youth leader
Octavian Goga
Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian far-right politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator.
Biography
Early life
Octavian Goga was born on 1 April 1881 in the village of Rășinari, on the northern sl ...
, his colleague at ''Luceafărul'' and ''Tribuna''. In 1910, he followed Goga as he parted from the PNR and launched his own independent faction. As reported at the time by Chendi, Agârbiceanu was fully committed to Goga's radical-nationalist agenda, to the point where anyone who had earned Goga's favors could also count on Agârbiceanu's loyalty. Agârbiceanu reputedly refused to write for the more centrist PNR newspaper, ''Românul'' (which favored boycotting elections for the
Diet of Hungary
The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale () was the most important political assembly in Hungary since the 12th century, which emerged to the position of the supreme legislative institution in the Kingdom ...
, rather than political confrontation), even after being offered an increase in pay; the accuracy of this claim was publicly denied by the PNR leader,
Vasile Goldiș, who went on to accuse Agârbiceanu of "betrayal".
In November 1912, the two groups reached an uneasy settlement: Agârbiceanu headlined a ''Românul'' announcement which promised that Goga's men would return to writing for the PNR's mainstream press. He was subsequently allowed to join the editorial boards of both ''Românul'' and ''Poporul Român''. For his parallel literary activity, Agârbiceanu was elected a corresponding member of
ASTRA in 1912, and was promoted to full membership in 1925.
["Agârbiceanu, Ion"](_blank)
entry in Mircea Păcurariu, ''Dicționarul Teologilor Români''. Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1996 In 1911, he had also been awarded the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...
's Eliade-Rădulescu Prize for ''În întuneric'';
Anton Naum authored the committee's favorable report. However, his literature was also becoming the focus of attacks by the
Neoclassical novelist
Duiliu Zamfirescu, who, as part of a larger critique of Poporanism, alleged that Agârbiceanu was unreadable.
By the time World War I broke out, Agârbiceanu had three sons and a daughter,
including
Ion Jr, the future physicist.
[ Anca Aldea]
"Ion I. Agârbiceanu"
in '' Jurnalul Național'', 24 May 2008 During 1914, the first year of war, he finally published ''Arhanghelii'', as well as the stories in ''De la sate'' ("From the Villages").
[Nemeș-Vintilă, p. 5] These were followed, in 1916, by a work of Christian theology, ''Din viața preoțească'' ("From Priestly Life").
[ Ilie Rad]
"Ion Agârbiceanu inedit"
in '' Apostrof'', Vol. XXIX, Issue 4 (335), 2018 In September 1916, during the
Battle of Transylvania, his Orlat house was shelled by the
German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
;
Agârbiceanu fled Austria-Hungary with his family, following the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces.
The Romanian Land Forc ...
on its hasty retreat. Their first destination was
Râmnicu Vâlcea
Râmnicu Vâlcea (formerly ''Râmnic'', ) is a city in Romania. Located in the south-central part of the country, in the historical province of Oltenia, it is the seat of Vâlcea County and its main urban settlement. According to the 2021 Romanian ...
in the Old Kingdom; they then headed for
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
in
Western Moldavia
Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...
.
Similarly exiled and sheltered, Goga put out the propaganda paper ''Gazeta Ostașilor'', with contributions from both Agârbiceanu and Iorga; after a hiatus caused by the
fall of Bucharest in December, it was reissued as ''România'' in February 1917.
Alongside other Transylvanians whom the Romanian authorities wished to protect from the likelihood of being captured by the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
, the family was evacuated to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in August 1917. As reported by
Onisifor Ghibu, on 4–5 August they were still stranded with their train at
Ungheni
Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District.
There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...
.
[Săndulescu, p. 154] The Agârbiceanus finally settled near
Yelisavetgrad in
Kherson Governorate.
The writer personally witnessed the life of
Romanians in southern Ukraine, leaving notes on their exceptional agricultural skills, and implying that they were seen as a superior caste in Kherson's society. He proposed that the "
Moldavians" he encountered here were Romanians of the "
Nordic type"; though they never self-defined as "Romanian", and were "devoid of any geographical knowledge", they were fully aware of their kinship with the refugee group. He also noticed that they were generally much better fed than Romanians of
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
and
Máramaros, with fresh bread consumed each day and no signs of
rickets
Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (from Greek , meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children and may have either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stun ...
. While there and alongside other refugee Transylvanians, Agârbiceanu took part in a choir organized by
Nicolae Colan, a future bishop in the Orthodox Church. In researching
Romanian folklore
The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
as found in the villages outside Yelisavetgrad, he introduced local Moldavians to the ''
Păcală
Păcală (Romanian language, Romanian, from ''a păcăli'', "to dupe";Victor Crăciun, "Pe urmele unui personaj. Păcală", in ''Ateneu'', Vol. IV, Issue 5, May 1967, p. 8 Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: Пъкалъ; sometimes rende ...
'' stories, while noticing that they were already familiar with ''
Prâslea the Brave'' and some could still recite ''
Plugușorul''.
Agârbiceanu was condemned by the loyalist leaders of his church for his defection, and "endured unimaginable hardships" as a result, having special trouble in providing for his children.
For a while, he felt depressed and "entirely unsupported", preparing his and his family's emigration to America.
He continued to write at a steady pace in his places of exile, completing as many as eight books during wartime (all of which were to be published in later years),
[Patraș & Patraș, p. 53] and returning as a contributor to ''Neamul Românesc'', published out of
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
.
[Buzași, p. 18] After having been evicted from the newly formed
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...
later in 1917, the Agârbiceanu family found shelter with in
Borogani
Borogani is a village in Leova District, Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to ...
village, near
Leova
Leova is a city in Moldova, located 92 km southwest of the national capital, Chișinău. It is the administrative center of Leova District. The city is situated on the east bank of the river Prut bordering Romania.
History
The city of Leova is ...
in
Bessarabia
Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
(which, though peopled by Romanian speakers, was still governed as a
Russian Governorate). They occupied rooms in a manor owned by the Macrea family, with an understanding that they would spend the winter. According to one report by Ovid Țopa, who was serving in the Bessarabian Directorate for Schools and Churches, he and other Romanian activists obtained that Agârbiceanu be assigned as priest to an Orthodox church in downtown
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...
; none of his parishioners was ever aware that he was a Catholic. The
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
soon broke out, and the Agârbiceanus made their way back to Moldavia, where Ion became a military chaplain for the
Hârlău-based
Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia.
In December, Bessarabia proclaimed self-rule as the
Moldavian Democratic Republic
The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...
, and began the process of
Romanianizing its educational system. In that context, Agârbiceanu was formally presented with an offer to take up a teaching job of one of the Bessarabian high schools. In January 1918, at a time when Bessarabia could embark on its
merger into Romania, Agârbiceanu joined
Nichifor Crainic,
Ion Minulescu,
Radu D. Rosetti,
Mihail Sadoveanu
Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...
,
Mihail Sorbul and various other writing professionals in calling for the cultural unification of all Romanian-inhabited regions.
The following month, as Goga sunk into depression and prepared to leave the country altogether, Agârbiceanu took temporary office as the unsigned editor of ''România''. He was still living in Hârlău as
Romania surrendered to the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
—news of which reached him only with a significant delay.
By August 1918, he had been approached by General
Alexandru Averescu
Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and Populism, populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of thr ...
of the
People's League (later known as "People's Party"): Averescu outlined his plan for a sweeping
land reform
Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution.
Lan ...
and a political coup; while Agârbiceanu did not disagree with this agenda, he insisted that the League be reformed to include only "true nationalists and democrats". In October, he was again living at Roman, where he and G. Caliga founded the newspaper ''Vestea Nouă'', but often visited his fellow priest
Ioan Bălan
Ioan Bălan (11 February 1880 – 4 August 1959) was a Romanian bishop of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic, Greek-Catholic Church. He is venerated as a Beatification, Blessed in the Roman Catholic Church.
Biography
He was bo ...
in Iași. It was during one of these journeys that he fell ill with the
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
, which Bălan treated with leftover pills provided by a French nun. Agârbiceanu was at Iași when Romania announced her reentry into the war, which saw Romanian troops moving into Transylvania. He returned to Orlat in December 1918,
days after the
union of Transylvania with Romania
The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...
. He was enthusiastic about the unionist process, describing it in ''Neamul Românesc'' as the culmination of efforts by "all the long-gone sowers, the teachers and apostles of yesteryear, that whole sacrifice made by a Romanian generation in its entirety."
At ''Patria''
In late 1918, immediately after returning from exile, Agârbiceanu collected his patriotic articles as the brochure ''O lacrimă fierbinte'' ("A Burning Tear"). For his role in combat, Agârbiceanu was made a Knight of the
Order of the Crown in April 1919. In March, he had been named director of ''Patria'' newspaper, which was edited by the province's
Directing Council.
One of his articles was an homage to Iorga and other Old-Kingdom nationalists, highlighting the "absolute necessity of for the convergent labor of all that is sound and healthy in our Romanian nation." In his other editorials of 1919, he chided Transylvanians for their claims of moral superiority, while acknowledging that the Old Kingdom had
endemic issues with corruption. Another piece welcomed the debut of poet
Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...
, and was remembered by the latter as "one of my life's greatest joys". Overall, Agârbiceanu was dissatisfied with his activity in journalism, but found himself unable to walk out. In 1962, he noted: "from as early as the first days of 1919, I was asked to find employment in journalism, and, as it turns out, political journalism, as there was no independent kind to speak of. I found myself writing not sketches and stories, but daily political articles, draining me of my literary inspiration for almost a decade."
[Agârbiceanu (1962), p. 9]
In October 1919, the newspaper's headquarters moved to Cluj, and Agârbiceanu followed. Thanks to his literary activity, he was part of the leadership of the
Romanian Writers' Society, and was elected corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in May 1919. The proposal was advanced by
Ioan Lupaș, a fellow PNR man, and seconded by linguist
Sextil Pușcariu, who gave the reception speech. In November of that year, Agârbiceanu became a junior member of the PNR Executive Committee, to which he was reconfirmed in March 1920. Though he considered moving to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
as a parish priest in 1920, his wife disliked the accommodations, and he decided against it. He was at the time contributing to the reviews ''
Gândirea
''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine.
Overview
Founded by Cezar P ...
'' of Cluj, and ''
Flacăra'' and ''
Cuget Românesc'' of Bucharest. In 1922, he accompanied other Writers' Society members on a celebratory tour of Transylvania. Like several of his colleagues, Agârbiceanu preserved a bitter memory of the war, and his articles of the time make a point of referring to the Hungarians as a "barbarian horde".
Also in 1922, Agârbiceanu joined the editorial staff of Iorga's ''Ramuri'' and ''
Drum Drept'', which were bound together as a single weekly magazine (put out from
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
), and where he was also the main contributor of literary prose. Though additionally working on the Sibiu-based ASTRA magazine ''Transilvania'' (where he sometimes used the signature ''AG''),
he remained the editor of ''Patria'' until 1927,
and also resumed his collaboration with ''Viața Românească''. He was disappointed by the cultural and economic decline which came as a consequence of Transylvania's incorporation: the local press, he noted, had largely lost its purpose and could not hope to survive competition.
[ Sándor Keresztury]
"Az erdélyi román közművelődés napjainkban"
in '' Korunk'', July 1927 This stance was reviewed by
Hungarian-Romanian intellectual
Sándor Keresztury, who wrote about the "greatest living Romanian storyteller in Transylvania" documenting the collapse of regional cultural institutions.
As noted by reviewers from Ilie Rad to
Răzvan Voncu, some of Agârbiceanu's more valuable work saw print in minor provincial reviews.
[ Răzvan Voncu]
"Agârbiceanu: propunere pentru o reevaluare"
in '' România Literară'', Issue 7/2016
Despite such setbacks, Agârbiceanu published new works in quick succession: ''Popa Man'' ("Father Man", 1920), ''Zilele din urmă ale căpitanului Pârvu'' ("Captain Pârvu's Latter Days", 1921), ''Luncușoara din Păresemi'' ("The Little Meadow of Păresemi", 1921), ''Păcatele noastre'' ("Our Sins", 1921), ''Trăsurica verde'' ("Green Gharry", 1921), ''Chipuri de ceară'' ("Wax Figures", 1922).
These were followed by ''Stana'' (1924), ''Visările'' ("Reveries", 1925), ''Dezamăgire'' ("Disappointment", 1925), ''Singurătate'' ("Loneliness", 1926), by a definitive version of ''Legea trupului'' (also 1926), then by ''Legea minții'' ("The Law of the Mind", 1927), ''Ceasuri de seară'' ("Evening Hours", 1927), ''Primăvara'' ("Spring", 1928), ''Robirea sufletului'' ("A Soul's Bondage", 1928), and ''Biruința'' ("Victory", 1931).
His other works of the period include various tracts on biblical topics, including
homilies
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...
and discussions of
theodicy
In the philosophy of religion, a theodicy (; meaning 'vindication of God', from Ancient Greek θεός ''theos'', "god" and δίκη ''dikē'', "justice") is an argument that attempts to resolve the problem of evil that arises when all powe ...
: ''Ieșit-a semănătorul'' ("A Sower Went Out to Sow His Seed", 1930), ''Rugăciunea Domnului'' ("Lord's Prayer", 1930), ''Răul în lume'' ("Evil in the World", 1931), ''Preacurata'' ("The Immaculate", 1931), ''Căile fericirii'' ("Paths toward Happiness", 1931).
A member of the PNR Executive Committee in 1919,
Agârbiceanu presented himself for the
elections of November—the first ones following the creation of
Greater Romania
Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...
. He took a seat the
Assembly of Deputies for
Târnava-Mare County, receiving "much applause" with his first speech. At that stage, he supported fusing the PNR, the
Democratic Nationalists, and the
Peasants' Party into a political monolith, going against wishes expressed by PNR leader
Iuliu Maniu. In early 1920, he and
Sever Dan split with the PNR's mainstream in agreeing to support Averescu as
Prime Minister of Romania
The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...
, objecting in particular to the attempted rapprochement between the Nationalist opposition and the
National Liberal Party. During the
repeat elections of May, he was able to win a PNR seat at
Aiud—a chiefly Orthodox fief where the party's Catholic elite still had much prestige. However, as editor of ''Patria'' he found himself mediating religious disputes, after initially allowing Lupaș to criticize Catholicism in its pages. In 1925, he was accused by Goldiș of pushing Catholic propaganda, after articles in which Agârbiceanu criticized Orthodox missionaries for their work in Transylvania.
Alongside Goldiș and Lupaș, Agârbiceanu was vocal in demanding the preservation of Transylvanian liberties against Old-Kingdom centralism. This pitted them against other Transylvanians, who accepted a more solid unification. In early 1922, retired PNR activist
Ioan Mihu accepted a visit from the three men in
Orăștie
Orăștie (; , , , '' Transylvanian Saxon'': Brooss) is a small town and municipality in Hunedoara County, south-western Transylvania, central Romania.
History
7th–9th century – On the site of an old swamp was a human settlement, ...
, but only as a formal gesture of diplomacy, privately referring to them as "autonomists" and "
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
". Reelected to the Assembly
in March 1922, Agârbiceanu tried to oppose the
new Constitution, which he and his party defined as "absolutist". His speeches in the Assembly alleged that unification had made Transylvanians victims of
cronyism
Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...
and of wanton violence by the
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
, suggesting that "hatred of this system" was rising throughout the region. For his public attempts to obstruct voting, he had to be escorted out of the
parliamentary hall during one session in March 1923. Agârbiceanu still viewed himself as strongly opposed to the dissolution of Greater Romania, and in particular to the
revisionist policy embraced by the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. At ''Patria'', he engaged in a polemic with
Constantin Costa-Foru, who had published reports detailing alleged human right abuses by the Romanian state; though Agârbiceanu censured nationalist students for physically assaulting Costa-Foru in 1925, he agreed with them that Costa-Foru's writings provided fodder to the revisionist campaign. According to the political and literary columnist
Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică, Agârbiceanu also spoke for the PNR's Catholic wing in objecting to a fusion with the Peasantists, at a time when most of his Orthodox colleagues supported it.
Late in 1923, Agârbiceanu was involved in by-elections for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
at
Reghin
Reghin (; , or ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Reen'') is a city in Mureș County, Transylvania, central Romania, on the Mureș River. As of 2021, it had a population of 29,742, making it the second biggest city of the Mureș county, just behind th ...
, ensuring victory for a PNR ally,
Vasile Stroescu. He himself served in the Assembly until 1926,
while also obtaining reelection as a member of the PNR Executive Committee. In 1923, he and ''Patria'' clashed with the local structures of the PNR, for publishing a notice that Sever Dan's brother, Liviu, was collecting a state salary in
Cojocna, without ever showing up for work. His political stances continued to fluctuate, and, by 1925, he was using ''Patria'' to defend Maniu in his conflict with Goga, drawing controversy with his apparent claim that the latter was a more minor figure in Romanian nationalist politics. Initially joining the
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
(PNȚ) ultimately formed by the PNR and the Peasantists in 1926, Agârbiceanu left in March 1927, allegedly because he felt "disgusted" by the group's practices. He then joined Averescu's People's Party, of which Goga was also a member.
Radical nationalism
In June 1927, the
Știrbey cabinet appointed Agârbiceanu as the official "cultural propagandist" in Transylvania. Also a recipient of the National Prize for Literature, he headed the Cluj chapter of ASTRA and edited ''Transilvania'' to 1928. It was in this magazine that he wrote a number of articles in support of
eugenics
Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
, calling on priests to promote the movement in their parishes. Given the secular values of the movement's leaders in Romania, his participation was somewhat incongruous, but Agârbiceanu did not see a conflict between his religious creed and a current centered around supposedly objective natural laws. From 1930, he participated in ASTRA's literary section and headed its cultural congress, in which capacity he lectured on the organization's role in Romanian cultural life.
Additionally, he played a prominent role during its annual congresses
and committed himself to social activism. That year,
Iuliu Hațieganu set up ''Șoimii Carpaților'' as ASTRA's children's organization, asking Agârbiceanu to contribute as educator on spiritual matters. Also during that period, Agârbiceanu's homage to
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
Marie of Romania
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last queen of Romania from 10 October 1914 to 20 July 1927 as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born int ...
was included in the national primer.
The novelist was also involved in ASTRA's literacy campaigns, inspecting and fundraising for village libraries in places such as
Aleșd. His critique of modern life and the constitutional system extended into the realm of language policy: with a series of articles published in Goga's ''
Țara Noastră'' in 1928, he argued that political journalism had destroyed linguistic honesty; he also complained that parliamentary procedures were perfunctory, "even when speakers are in the opposition." Ahead of
elections in December 1928, Agârbiceanu restated his mistrust toward the political system, this time aimed against the PNȚ. He argued that Maniu, recently appointed Prime Minister, had inherited a policy of terror which prevented peasant voters from even considering voting for the opposition; he also claimed that the party was undergoing a shift toward the left and far-left, with dangerous consequences for the country as a whole.
His cultural preoccupation extended into Bessarabia, which had by then been merged into Greater Romania. With editorial pieces in ''Cuvânt Moldovenesc'' (1929–1930), he called on Bessarabians to relearn Romanian and purge it of
Eastern Slavic loanwords. His report on the Romanians of Yelisavetgrad, carried by ''Transilvania'' in 1928, included his thoughts on the need to maintain contact with the isolated community: Agârbiceanu proposed that Romania approach the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
with offers to mass-educate children in the
Moldavian ASSR
The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, shortened to Moldavian ASSR, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing the modern territory ...
. However, in a 1930 issue of ''Țara Noastră'', he denounced the
Soviets' intensified anti-religious campaign, asking for "Christian solidarity in the face of Red insanity." His press contributions also included sporadic attempts in theater criticism, including his 1928 articles on the two dramatizations of the ''
Meșterul Manole'' myth, respectively provided by his friends Goga and Blaga.
[Ionuț Niculescu, "Centenar Ion Agârbiceanu. Efigie", in ''Teatrul'', Vol. XXVII, Issue 11, November 1982, p. 10]
Also in 1930, Agârbiceanu was elevated to the rank of archpriest for the Cluj district, and in 1931, he became
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
for the
Cluj-Gherla Diocese.
In November 1931, he was in
Oradea
Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
, where gave the opening sermon and a report "on the gutter press" for the national congress of AGRU (a
Greek-Catholic lay organization modeled on the ''
Fédération Nationale Catholique''). He still affiliated with the People's Party, and, during the
general election of May, headlined its list in
Sălaj. In 1932, after inner-party schisms, he followed Goga into the new
National Agrarian Party. In so doing, he lost control over ''Patria'' to ASTRA's
Ion Clopoțel. He was nevertheless upset by Octavian and
Veturia Goga's corruption, and in particular by their dealings with
King Carol II. Shortly after the
election of 1932, he returned into the PNȚ and was considered by its leader, Maniu, for a leadership position at AGRU. At a congress in
Dej during October 1933, he was elected chair of the AGRU Press Committee, which was tasked with founding a Catholic daily. He returned to publishing with ''Răbojul lui Sf. Petre'' ("
Saint Peter
Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
's Tally"), a ''feuilleton'' in ''
Societatea de Mâine'' (1931–1932), reissued as a volume in 1934.
[Vistian Goia, "Ion Agârbiceanu, ''Răbojul lui Sfântu Petru'' . Judecățile moralistului", in '' Tribuna'', Vol. XI, Issue 241, September 2012, p. 16] After 1934, he was one of the noted contributors to the official literary magazine, ''
Revista Fundațiilor Regale'', put out in Bucharest by
Paul Zarifopol.
In November 1933, Agârbiceanu officiated with the Orthodox priest Elie Dăianu at the funeral of
Amos Frâncu, informal leader of the ''
Moți'' community and long-time rival of the PNȚ. Agârbiceanu himself was becoming a noted critic of the National Liberal governments which took power in 1933. By July 1935 he was involved with a mass movement of priests opposing the reduction of state salaries for all clergy, though he also stood out among the clergy for also proposing that those found guilty of lassitude should be stripped of their pay. The same month, with an article in ''
Adevărul
(; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...
'', he defended Greek-Catholic priest
Iuliu Hossu
Iuliu Hossu (30 January 1885 – 28 May 1970) was a Romanian Romanian Greek-Catholic Uniate Church, Greek-Catholic prelate who served as the Cluj-Gherla Diocese, Bishop of Cluj-Gherla. Pope Paul VI elevated Hossu to the rank of Cardinal (Cathol ...
, a PNL sympathizer, from libelous claims published by his own party press. In November of the following year, he was present at the Cluj Reunion of Romanian Craftsmen, Traders and Workers, an event monitored by ''
Siguranța
''Siguranța'' was the generic name for the successive secret police services in the Kingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names including Directorate of the Police and General Safety () ...
'' police for its airing of far-right and nationalist grievances. He expanded on his social criticism with a new set of articles in ''
Universul'' daily, all of them published before 1940.
As an AGRU representative, he was opposed to Orthodox proposals for a rapprochement between the Romanian churches and, in July 1936, wrote that reunification could only mean
communion with Rome. The Orthodox staff writer at ''Renașterea'' responded: "When 'theologians' will learn to keep out
f the issue the people shall proclaim a union of the most simple and natural kind, as dictated by its governing common sense."
In February 1937, the fascist
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
made a public display of its popularity with the
Moța–Marin funeral cortege. Agârbiceanu was on show at its station in Cluj, paying his respects on behalf of the Greek-Catholic Church. This period ended in a clash between Carol II and the Guard. In late 1938–early 1939, having outlawed all parties, Carol set up his own
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...
(FRN). Agârbiceanu embraced the
authoritarian constitution of February 1938, lecturing about its merits at ASTRA. He was enthusiastic about the introduction of
corporate statism
Corporate statism or state corporatism, referred to as corporativism by the Italian fascism, fascists, is a political culture and a form of corporatism the proponents of which claim or believe that corporate group (sociology), corporate groups sho ...
, with which the "great electoral bargain" could come to an end. As he put it, in the
constitutional plebiscite, "only five thousands people throughout the country were on show to vote against it. And these did so by error, or for who knows what sort of delusion." Rumors circulated that the king considered Agârbiceanu, alongside Nicolae Brînzeu and Victor Macaveiu, as representatives of the Greek-Catholic clergy in the FRN Superior Council, but that he ultimately decided against it, simply appointing Agârbiceanu to the revamped Senate. He went on to serve as Senate vice president,
allegedly collecting a monthly income of 150,000
lei. From 1938 to 1940, Agârbiceanu edited a new edition of ''Tribuna'' in Cluj, as both the FRN's official paper and Transylvania's only daily.
World War II
Eugen Titeanu, as the FRN Minister of Propaganda, argued in November 1938 that Agârbiceanu and his paper stood to "reunite all shades of cultural forces in Transylvania". Though ''Tribuna'' declared itself apolitical, it spoke passionately against the insurgent Iron Guard. It hosted pieces condemning political violence and asking for "de-solidarization" with the movement; editorial opinion signed by Agârbiceanu, included the promise of a "Romanian sort of vengeance" for assassination of
Armand Călinescu
Armand Călinescu (4 June 1893 – 21 September 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as 39th List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister from March 1939 until Assassination of Armand Călinescu, his assassination six ...
by an
Iron Guard death squad (September 1939). Toward the end of the 1930s, Agârbiceanu wrote in explicit opposition to Hungarian revisionism. In 1936, he had voiced ASTRA's outrage that the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
, through
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
, had come to support Hungarian territorial demands. At ''Tribuna'', he wrote about the progressive aspects of Romania's
policy on minorities, whose cultural assets, he argued, far surpassed those made available for Romanian Transylvanians. He still promoted cultural protectionism and a degree of segregation (or "
Romanianization
Romanianization is the series of policies aimed toward ethnic assimilation implemented by the Romanian authorities during the 20th and 21st century. The most noteworthy policies were those aimed at the Hungarian minority in Romania, Jews and as ...
"), arguing that Romanian journalists could only be ethnic Romanian and "passionately serve the national ideal". However, he never allowed his old friend Brînzeu to publish an article promoting
natalism
Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is a policy paradigm or personal value that promotes the reproduction of human life as an important objective of humanity and therefore advocates a high birthrate.
Cf.:
According to t ...
, since "the church ought to preserve its standing". Literary historians are divided about the degree to which Agârbiceanu embraced the regime's explicit
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
:
Mircea A. Diaconu argues that the novelist never spoke on the "
Jewish Question" in Romania during the 1930s; by contrast, Ilona Nagy highlights a 1939 speech of his, taken up in ''Almanahul Albina'', for being "over-saturated with xenophobia
ndantisemitism".
The
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
, the
Slovak–Hungarian War
The Slovak–Hungarian War, or Little War (, ), was a war fought from 23 March to 31 March 1939 between the First Slovak Republic and Hungary in eastern Slovakia.
Prelude
After the Munich Pact, which weakened Czech lands to the west, Hungari ...
, and then the start of World War II alarmed Agârbiceanu, who also wrote ''Tribuna'' articles expressing distress over the
fall of France
The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...
. During February 1940, the newspaper's reputation was harmed when its assistant editor Liviu Hulea allowed
Victor Eftimiu to publish a piece which was widely seen as anti-Christian; resuming full control of ''Tribuna'', Agârbiceanu retracted the piece and demoted Hulea. In June 1940, Agârbiceanu made direct and controversial contributions to Carol's
personality cult
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an ideali ...
by signing a piece in the collective volume ''Zece ani de domnie''. According to historian Petre Țurlea, his text was "downright hilarious", since it honored the king for having "organized the entire Nation for guarding and defending the borders"—"not two weeks later", Romania was forced by the Soviets to
relinquish control over Bessarabia.
In late August, after the
Second Vienna Award
The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...
granted
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...
to Hungary, Agârbiceanu fled Cluj for Sibiu.
The new authorities called for his expulsion, but he received the order after he had departed Cluj.
On 1 September, he was in Bucharest, representing his Greek-Catholic community as a technical adviser to the
Ministry for Religious Affairs and the Arts. With the downfall of Carol and his Front occurring just five days after, he withdrew from politics and journalism. He could consequently return to writing, "realizing I would never again have this much free time on my hands".
[Agârbiceanu (1962), p. 10] However, in 1941, he supported Romania's war on the
Eastern Front, including the recovery of Bessarabia and the occupation of
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...
. In an official magazine that was itself named ''Transnistria'', Agârbiceanu suggested that God had "even greater plans with us". He also agreed with the Romanian military dictator,
Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...
, that "our fight for Bessarabia is one for all of Europe and for the treasures of her civilization." According to critic
Mircea Zaciu, at this stage an attempt was made by "fascist groups" to confiscate Agârbiceanu's previous work and align it with
blood and soil
Blood and soil (, ) is a nationalist slogan expressing Nazi Germany's ideal of a racially defined Body national, national body ("Blood") united with a settlement area ("Soil"). By it, rural and farm life forms are idealized as a counterweight t ...
ideas. Possibly due to sheer geographical proximity, Agârbiceanu was also sought out and praised by members of the liberal
Sibiu Literary Circle, including
Ion Negoițescu and
Cornel Regman.

Agârbiceanu continued to write and publish literature throughout the Carol regime and much of World War II. In 1938, he put out the "bordeline novel-novella" ''Pustnicul Pafnutie și ucenicul său Ilarion'' ("Pafnutie the Hermit and Ilarion His Apprentice"), with illustrations by
Lena Constante,
[ Constantin Cubleșan]
"'Sfânt părinte al literaturii...' (II)"
in '' Tribuna'' (online edition) and the satirical novel ''Sectarii'' ("The Schismatics"). These were followed by ''Licean... odinioară'' ("Once upon a Time... a Pupil", 1939), ''Amintirile'' ("The Recollections", 1940), ''Domnișoara Ana'' ("Miss Ana", 1942), alongside more theological and moralizing essays such as ''Din pildele Domnului'' ("The Lord's Parables", 1939) and ''Meditații. Fața de lumină a creștinismului'' ("Meditions. On the Luminous Visage of Christianity", 1941).
In December 1941, ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'' put out his fragmentary memoirs, from notes first collected in 1932.
Agârbiceanu's tract ''Preotul și familia preoțească. Rostul lor ethnic în satul românesc'' ("The Priest and the Priestly Family. Their Ethnic Role within the Romanian Village") appeared at ASTRA's eugenic department in 1943. It hinted at the restoration of Greater Romania, but cautioned that its borders could only be defended by a people of peasants, one who would have "maintained unaltered its biological potential". The novel ''Vâltoarea'' ("The Whirlpool") was serialized by ''
Convorbiri Literare'' and came out as a volume in 1944; another novel, ''Vremuri și oameni'' ("Times and People"), being critical of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, was not given imprimatur by the Antonescu regime.
[ Cornelia Ștefănescu]
"Ineditele Agârbiceanu"
in '' România Literară'', Issue 48/2003 Many more works, including ''Sfântul'' ("The Saint") and ''Strigoiul'' ("The Ghost"), were completed but also remained unpublished; as reported by Agârbiceanu himself, "Antonescian censorship" had him blacklisted.
Following the
fall of Antonescu's regime and the campaign to recover Northern Transylvania, Agârbiceanu became a contributor to a new political weekly, ''Ardealul''. He remained in Sibiu until 1945 and then returned to Cluj.
[Vatamaniuc, p. 19] Agârbiceanu was banned from publishing his lay work by Law No. 1021 of February 1945, which punished writers for their wartime stances.
[Mihai Cistelican, "Ion Brad: 'Am fost primul din țară care a scris despre Cimitirul vesel'", in ''Vatra Veche'', Vol. X, Issue 4, April 2018, p. 4] He could still access the religious press, and in 1947 contributed a tract on ''Familia creștină'' ("The Christian Family").
In summer of that year, Ion Jr was reportedly caught up and briefly arrested during the
Tămădău affair, which ended with the outlawing of the PNȚ by the
Bloc of Democratic Parties. One account by
Nicolae Balotă of the Sibiu Literary Circle suggests that Agârbiceanu Sr was also briefly arrested, and that his manuscripts were confiscated in a raid.
Under communism
In 1948, when the new
communist regime
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
outlawed the Greek-Catholic Church and forcibly merged it into the Orthodox Church, Agârbiceanu Sr refused to join the latter denomination, thus setting himself up against the authorities. However, these found his reputation as a writer valuable for their own interests, and preferred to try and co-opt him.
[Cristian Vasile, ''Politicile culturale comuniste in timpul regimului Gheorghiu-Dej'', pp. 81–82. Bucharest: ]Humanitas
(from the Latin , "human") is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below.
Classical origins of term
The Latin word corresponded to the Greek concepts of (loving ...
, 2013. Agârbiceanu's home in Cluj was partly
nationalized, and he was forced to share it with a communist official.
[ Constantin Cubleșan]
"'Sfânt părinte al literaturii...' (I)"
in '' Tribuna'' (online edition) Hungarian philosopher Győző Rácz, who lived on the same street, deplored the "narrow-minded, dogmatic approach to literature and politics" which left 1950s youths unfamiliar with Agârbiceanu's work. By contrast, older readers still treated the writer with a "silent respect". Struggling to support himself, Agârbiceanu relied on selling his books to a "handful of buyers". According to one account, his situation improved somewhat when an unnamed dignitary from
Socialist Czechoslovakia inquired about him and asked to pay him a visit.
In 1953, after a five-year marginalization for his refusal to turn Orthodox, Agârbiceanu joined the editorial board of
Anatol E. Baconsky's semi-official literary magazine, ''Steaua''.
His return was made possible by
de-Stalinization measures, as well as by the personal intervention of
Petru Groza
Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...
, the
acting Head of State and former People's Party legislator.
Agârbiceanu was also received into the
Writers' Union of Romania
The Writers' Union of Romania (), founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The Writers' Union of Romania was created by the communist regime by takin ...
(USR), but was an inactive participant. Philologist and memoirist Ionel Oprișan reports that he and
Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...
attended USR sessions together, but that neither ever spoke a word, "as if they had a running bet
o seewho could keep quiet the longest." It was at this stage that Agârbiceanu met writer-editor
Ion Brad, who hosted his work in the
Young Pioneers' magazine, ''Cravata Roși.e.''. Brad was eventually sidelined for allowing the magazine to publish discreet religious references, including Agârbiceanu's "folk-style poem" that referred to bees as the "flies of God".
Agârbiceanu himself was granted the Order of Labor in 1954,
and promoted to titular member of the Academy the following year. On the occasion of his 80th birthday in 1962,
he was also awarded the
Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic
The Order of the Star of the Socialist Republic of Romania (), from 1948 to 1965 the Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic (), was the second-highest honor bestowed by the Socialist Republic of Romania (known as the Socialist Republic ...
, first class.
From 1957, Agârbiceanu could also contribute to a new edition of ''Tribuna'', where he also resumed his contacts with Eftimiu.
In 1958, it put out his animal-themed sketch ''Spre odihnă'' ("Bound for a Rest").
[Nușfelean, p. 44] Agârbiceanu's old and new writings came out in several editions: ''Pagini alese'' ("Selected Works", 1956), ''Din munți și din câmpii'' ("From Mountains and Plains", 1957), ''Din copilărie'' ("Childhood Memories", 1957), ''File din cartea naturii'' ("Pages from the Book of Nature", 1959), ''Povestind copiilor'' ("Stories for Children", 1961) and ''Faraonii'' ("The Pharaohs", 1961).
He was identified as one of the most important contributors to early-reader literature, alongside Sadoveanu and
Tudor Arghezi, in a 1960 review by
Gheorghe Achiței. Despite such honors, Agârbiceanu still fell out with its
censorship apparatus. According to various accounts, he allowed the censors to operate multiple changes, as long as the substance of his writing was not itself altered;
critics are led to believe that any added similarities with the prevailing school of
socialist realism can be attributed to such interventions. Portions of his work were cut out during reediting, and a novel, ''Prăbușirea'' ("The Downfall"), serialized in ''
Gazeta Literară'', was so crudely handled that seven of its pages were lost forever.
Agârbiceanu also continued to write Christian tales which he did not expect would be published, as with the 1960 ''Cartea legendelor'' ("Book of Legends").
[Ciortea, p. 54] The series includes his own collected sermons (as ''Pe urmele Domnului''—"Following the Lord") and a translation from
Ottokár Prohászka, ''Pâinea vieții'' ("Bread of Life"); as well as a 500-page manuscript, ''Cutezări cu gândul ale ieromonahului Visarion'' ("Daring Thoughts of Visarion the
Hieromonk
A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...
").
In 1956–1958,
Securitate
The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
informants noted that Greek-Catholic priest Nicolae Brînzeu intended to draw Agârbiceanu in efforts to restore their church and grant it official recognition. Agârbiceanu frequently visited the now-Orthodox
Transfiguration Cathedral, greeted by parishioners who still viewed him as their priest.
In 1962, Agârbiceanu still lacked a biographical entry in the standard literary textbook for high school students—a matter which was brought up in ''
Contemporanul'' review by philologist Dimitrie Păcurariu. Expecting to die soon,
Agârbiceanu complained that editors were not diligent enough in the effort to revisit and republish his pre-1944 contributions.
He was eventually allowed to oversee a definitive corpus of his own writings, which began printing at the state-run
Editura pentru Literatură under the care of G. Pienescu and
Mihai Șora. When he was led to believe that many of his works would not be allowed for publishing, he retook possession of all the manuscripts he had sent in, including some previously unpublished writings.
The volumes were already available by that time.
[ Zigu Ornea]
"Literatură și morală"
in '' România Literară'', Issue 26/1999
A few days before his death, Agârbiceanu, telling fellow novelist
Vasile Rebreanu that the "proper moment to leave for those other places" was imminent, had "gotten his house in order". The writer died in Cluj
(though some sources suggest Bucharest)
on 28 May 1963. The authorities allowed his body to be put on display at
University Hall, which, according to poet
Constantin Cubleșan, was packed full with men and women paying their respects; no religious service was allowed until right before the actual burial.
Essayist
Marian Papahagi, who recalls attending the funeral as a youth, described the body being driven in a "hearse as old as time, crumbling under the weight of shrouds that were just too black". Agârbiceanu was buried in
Hajongard Cemetery in a grave topped by a white marble cross.
Literary contribution
Ideology and style

Agârbiceanu entered literary life as a poet: in 1900, he composed an
ode
An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...
modeled on
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
, with which he celebrated the Catholic Church as a guarantee of the
Romanians' Latinism.
According to his ''
Sămănătorul
''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian language, Romanian for "The Sower") was a Literary magazine, literary and Political journalism, political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță ...
'' patron,
Nicolae Iorga, he was great as the author of
ballades,
and is seen by historian Radu Brateș as heavily indebted to
George Coșbuc
George Coșbuc (; 20 September 1866 – 9 May 1918) was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy. In 19 ...
and
János Arany
János Arany (; archaic English: John Arany; 2 March 1817 – 22 October 1882) was a Hungarian poet, writer, translator and journalist. He is often said to be the "Shakespeare of ballads" – he wrote more than 102 ballads that have been transl ...
(or, in Breazu's words, as "typically Coșbucian").
When he abandoned this focus on poetry, it was probably on Goga's advice. During his ''Românul'' years (1910–1914), Agârbiceanu experimented with
closet drama
A closet drama is a play (theatre), play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is in 1813. The literary historian Henry Augustin Beers, H ...
, which offered him the opportunity to highlight electoral debates and family crises.
The bulk of his career focused on vignettes (often
prose poem
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning.
Characteristics
Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...
s), short stories and novels, intended to represent daily life in the Apuseni Mountains. His favorite theme was the life of a Transylvanian country priest at the turn of the 20th century,
[ Răzvan Voncu]
"Agârbiceanu (aproape) necunoscut"
in '' România Literară'', Issue 1/2011 but his "gallery" of protagonists also included shepherds, foresters, rafters, thieves, teachers, village doctors,
Romani metalworkers, and the rich industrialists ("Transylvanian
nabob
A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company.
Etymology
''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...
s"). A prolific writer, possibly the most productive one in Romania before 1930, he completed some 65 volumes, by his own account, both long and short.
According to Breazu, this output meant that: "Father Agârbiceanu's generation could find itself depicted in his work, down to the most insignificant details."
[Breazu, p. 79]
Ideologically, Agârbiceanu was most closely aligned with ''Sămănătorul''s ethnic traditionalism, and was always a marginal among the ''
Viața Românească
''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues.
...
''
Poporanists, who were rather more inspired by
Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
. However, this affiliation, which was troubled by conflicts between Iorga and Agârbiceanu, was challenged as early as 1912 by
Alexandru Ciura, who noted that there was nothing edulcorated in Agârbiceanu's rendition of rural life.
As an exponent of the
Sibiu Literary Circle,
Cornel Regman emphasized (and, according to critic Gabriela Gavril, grossly overstated) Agârbiceanu's links with Russian classics, seeking to downplay any ''Sămănătorist'' residue. Among later critics, Voncu proposes that, unlike the ''Sămănătorul'' school, Agârbiceanu was a professional of
literary realism
Literary realism is a movement and genre of literature that attempts to represent mundane and ordinary subject-matter in a faithful and straightforward way, avoiding grandiose or exotic subject-matter, exaggerated portrayals, and speculative ele ...
, who favored individual psychology over class identity, and would not condemn the city as a decomposed and decomposing environment.
[ Răzvan Voncu]
"Realismul aspru al lui Agârbiceanu"
in '' România Literară'', Issue 4/2015 His stories, Voncu notes, had an "ethical, even philosophical, vision", and "the dignity of grand literature."
While she highlights the ''Sămănătorul'' connection, art historian Iulia Mesea points to Agârbiceanu's rejection of peasant idylls. She sees a visual correspondence for his literature in the art of
Octavian Smigelschi
Octavian or Octav Smigelschi (last name also Smigelski, Smighelschi, Szmigelszki, or Szmigelschi; ; 21 March 1866 – 10 November 1912) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian painter and printmaker, one of the leading Romanians, culturally ...
, with "faces that are deeply marked by labor and by struggle against individual or collective, national, obstacles." Building on the observations of various other critics, scholars Roxana and
Antonio Patraș highlight Agârbiceanu's sociological talents, his links with
literary modernism
Modernist literature originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterised by a self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented with literary form a ...
and
behavioralism
Behavioralism is an approach in the philosophy of science, describing the scope of the fields now collectively called the behavioral sciences; this approach dominated the field until the late 20th century. Behavioralism attempts to explain human b ...
, especially in his willingness to investigate the social and economic upheavals of the interwar. Likewise,
Cristian Bădiliță rejects any reading of Agârbiceanu's works in purely ''Sămănătorist'' terms, proposing instead that Agârbiceanu was the "Greek-Catholic
Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...
", one worth of "trans-linguistic magic". His naturalness was even highlighted by Iorga, who praised Agârbiceanu as "the liveliest storyteller" of the early 20th century: "he doesn't go looking for the folkish ingredient; he just cannot separate himself from it, because he lives therein, heart and soul."
According to
Eugen Lovinescu
Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the ...
, the modernist literary critic and cultural theorist, Agârbiceanu is the "essential exponent" of Transylvanian ''Sămănătorists''. His literature is one that "by the people and for the people". As Lovinescu puts it, his work blends an "aggressive affirmation of nationhood" and "healthy ethics pushed to the limit of tendentiousness and didacticism" with a cultivation of
dialectal speech patterns. The "
Chekhovian" stories he contributed in his early twenties were very particular to that social and political context: in ''Marcu'', he describes a Transylvanian priest's discovery of
Romanian nationalism
Romanian nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the identity and cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is Romanian ultranationalism.
History
Antecedents
The predecessors of ...
, beginning with his private worship of
Avram Iancu
Avram Iancu (; ; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especiall ...
, called "Emperor of the Romanians"—as noted by historian
Ovidiu Pecican, the piece shows Agârbiceanu's subtlety, which was needed in order to confound his Hungarian censors. Another characteristic note of his pre-1911 writings was a layer of
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, which Agârbiceanu later toned down, then removed almost entirely. One such sample is ''Plutașii'' ("The Rafters"), wherein peasants exert their revenge on a conniving Jewish merchant by drowning him in the
Tisa. The original ending, removed from all editions after 1921, suggested that foreigners were pests that needed to be expunged from Transylvania. In the short story "Gruia", the eponymous protagonist uses violence against a Jewish tavern-keeper, whom he accuses of poisoning his Romanian clients.
While openly committed to nationalism, Agârbiceanu found himself criticized and satirized for his debt of inspiration to the Apuseni environment. In a 1922 piece in ''
Țara Noastră'' review,
Moise Nicoară accused Agârbiceanu as living inside the "lair" of "intellectual regionalism", unable or unwilling to speak to the country as a whole; such claims were refuted in the 1930s by Transylvanian journalists such as Teodor Murășanu and Gheorghe Popa. In this immediate context, Agârbiceanu seems to have been inspired by
Ion Pop Reteganul and
Ioan Slavici, the founders of Transylvanian realism. This regional tradition is underscored by critic Ilona Nagy, who finds "intersections" of style and themes between Agârbiceanu and contemporary figures in
Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is the body of written works primarily produced in Hungarian, —
Károly Kós
Károly Kós (, born Károly Kosch; 16 December 1883 – 25 August 1977) was a Hungarian architect, writer, illustrator, ethnologist and politician of Austria-Hungary and Romania.
Biography
Born as Károly Kosch in Temesvár, Austria-Hun ...
,
János Kemény, and especially
Áron Tamási; however, she notes, Agârbiceanu openly scorned
Transylvanianism's claim to represent a trans-ethnic affiliation.
Traditionally, reviewers have been put off by Agârbiceanu's plot devices and epic mannerisms, and in particular by his explanatory comments and notes, which they deem superfluous and distracting. As Lovinescu notes, Agârbiceanu and other Transylvanian realists will "accumulate in details", but will remain "incapable of narrating on more than one level": "for all their dynamism, his sketches are not exciting in the dramatic sense."
The moralizing aspect of Agârbiceanu's fiction makes it hard to separate between it and his purely theological productions; as reported by Oprișan, Agârbiceanu's friend Blaga was privately critical of his "just too ethical" style. Such traits were celebrated in 1942 by Catholic historian
Coriolan Suciu: "With his writing, this Romanian
Chateaubriand has sparked a religious revival in our literature."
The ideological and stylistic implications were poorly reviewed by Lovinescu, who notes that, whenever Agârbiceanu depicts village drunks, it is as if "for an
anti-saloon exhibition."
[Lovinescu, p. 189] Critic
Mihail Dragomirescu argues that Agârbiceanu's work amounts to a set of humanitarian "directives", although, he concludes, its depiction of "the bleak and mystical recess of life" is a fine literary contribution, "rising above" his generation's.
Dragomirescu states: "Agârbiceanu is a socializing Poporanist or ''Sămănătorist'' only when he is at his weakest". According to exegetes such as Iorga,
Constantin Șăineanu and Voncu,
the moral lesson of Agârbiceanu's lay works is only hinted at, with much subtlety. Voncu sees in ''Luncușoara din Păresemi'' the "refinement and objectivity" of novels by
Georges Bernanos. On the other hand, Voncu observes that the writer uses his artistic talents in theological works such as ''Despre minuni'' ("About Miracles") and ''Din pildele Domnului'', ably narrating simple texts that can appeal either to their intended audience of rural believers or to a more cultivated set of readers.
As
Z. Ornea notes, Agârbiceanu's least known works are particularly moralizing. This category includes two stories of moral redemption, ''Sfântul'' and ''Pustnicul Pafnutie'', which are "entirely tactless".
Other critics also defend Agârbiceanu against allegations of preachiness—including Breazu, who believes that "Tolstoy the artist could never be expunged by the preacher within,
..and neither did that happen with Father Agârbiceanu."
Pecican notes that Agârbiceanu avoided blunt moralism "from the very time of his literary debut".
[Pecican, p. 42]
Major works
270px, Advertisement for ''Arhanghelii'', '' Luceafărul'', April 1914
''Arhanghelii'', which has some 400 pages in the published edition, was written in one single effort over a few weeks, and published with no corrections.
The work contains an implicit Christian lesson is about the
love of money and its devastation of an Apuseni get-rich mining community; it is also one of Agârbiceanu's literary studies into the economic mindset as transformed by the arrival of credit, by the "alienating effects of existence outside the logic of agricultural labour." The work includes minute descriptions of
Bucium topography and social history. As argued by Marxist writer-documentarist
Dumitru Radu Popescu, most such records point to the indifference of rich miners toward more destitute inhabitants.
At the heart of the novel is a former notary, Iosif Rodean, whose gold claim appears to be endlessly productive and corrupting. As Șăineanu writes: "with emotion and mounting interest, we witness here the ephemeral joys and disasters that this modern-day
Moloch
Moloch, Molech, or Molek is a word which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the Book of Leviticus. The Greek Septuagint translates many of these instances as "their king", but maintains the word or name ''Moloch'' in others, ...
pours over this once-peaceful village." The novel, Lovinescu argues, is overall "awkward", but still interesting as a social fresco,
called a "frightening human torment" by Iorga; Șăineanu, however, deplores its "prolixity" and arcane mining terminology. As argued by Dragomirescu, the climax, where Rodean runs from the card table to see his mine collapsing, "has remarkable qualities of literary vividness and vigor."
Nicolae Manolescu offers praise to the work, a "solidly realistic novel" that, although widely seen as a pastiche from Slavici, should still be taken into account for its "originality and newness". He sees Agârbiceanu as an "unlucky" novelist, whose work was eclipsed by that of
Liviu Rebreanu,
Mihail Sadoveanu
Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...
, and
Gala Galaction, which it only resembles coincidentally.
[ Nicolae Manolescu]
"Ion Agârbiceanu, 50 de ani de la moarte"
in '' România Literară'', Issue 50/2013 Patraș and Patraș see ''Arhanghelii'' as directly modeled on Slavici's 1881 novella, ''
Moara cu noroc'', while also identifying Rodean with
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...
's
Sutpen.
In ''Legea trupului'', a
psychological novel about a young man torn between the love for a mature woman and her daughter, Agârbiceanu turned his attention to the sins of the flesh. The erotic dilemma is one of several narrative threads: ''Legea trupului'' is also a story of inter-ethnic conflict (Romanians versus Hungarians), and a probe into the regional politics in Transylvania (a theme that also preoccupied him when writing ''În clasa cultă'').
Lovinescu sees ''Legea trupului'' as a "solid social and psychological study, for all its tendentiousness", but still harmed by Agârbiceanu's "lack of stylistic expressiveness and verbal insufficiency." The narrative structure is alluded to in ''Legea minții'', which is about discovering one's true calling. The plot follows its protagonist, a scholarly priest by the name of Andrei Pascu (understood by readers to be Agârbiceanu's ''
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
''), as he finds himself in his work as a missionary of religion and cultural nationalism, despite being set back by poverty and revisited by his worldly past.
Similar themes are developed elsewhere. In ''Popa Man'', a lapsed priest and smuggler is suddenly confronted with the consequences of his actions, and destroys himself with drink.
[Iorga (1934), p. 180] In ''Stana'', named after its female protagonist, a war invalid is a passive witness to his wife's moral decay. Agârbiceanu suggests that both characters have secrets to hide from the village society, with its traditional mores—the husband, Andrei, because he is no longer able to present himself as a good laborer, and Stana, because she is increasingly driven by sensual urges; this results in them making a "strange deal" with each other. When Andrei dies, his wooden leg serves as a haunting reminder of his virtues, driving Stana to despair. By contrast, other "Chekhovian" stories of the 1920s outline the fate of insignificant people crushed by existential disaster, who find a "tragically sublime" purpose—this is the case with ''Trăsurica verde'', about a paralytic child and his suicidal father. As noted by author Ion Arieșanu, "few Romanian writers of prose have been able to capture with such laceration the inner workings of suffering and pity".
[Ion Arieșanu, "Permanențe. Timpuri și oameni în povestirile lui Ion Agârbiceanu", in '' Orizont'', Vol. XXXIX, Issue 27, July 1988, p. 2]
Despite enduring tensions between critics as to the mainstays of his work, the novella ''Fefeleaga'' had drawn critical consensus for being Agârbiceanu's true masterpiece—either his best story
or one of two, alongside the short story ''Luminița''. At the center of the narrative is a woman who makes a meager living quarrying stones for
gold panning
Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...
, with her many children killed off by a respiratory disease. She was based on a real-life ''
Moț'', Sofia Danciu or David, with only some details changed.
In the defining moment of the narrative, seen by Dragomirescu as symbolic for the plight of Romanian Transylvanians,
[Dragomirescu, p. 88] Fefeleaga sells off her emaciated draft horse and only friend, to prepare for her daughter's funeral. According to Arieșanu, the protagonist never seems aware of her tragic condition, being simply "driven forward by a stubborn, determined stoicism, never expecting anything out of life".
However, as Iorga notes, this is not a pessimistic outcome: "kindness is present, but hidden, in this world, but will reveal itself in the hours of pity and those of justice".
''Luminița'' shows the final moments in a woman's life, and her inability to grant herself one last wish, and, according to Dragomirescu, is a "universal" work, worthy of a Count Tolstoy.
Secondary novels
Very early during the interwar, fellow novelist
Cezar Petrescu opined that Agârbiceanu was widely read by the public, but that literary professionals simply refused to acknowledge his success; Agârbiceanu himself noticed the declining interest of critics, "a low regard that I couldn't understand."
On his 50th birthday in 1932, as Breazu reports, he had only been honored with "two articles, hidden away in some newspaper and a local magazine". According to Manolescu, his stories of the period were largely outdated, with more experimental work was being put out by
Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu and
Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. He was a member of the Sbur ...
; Agârbiceanu "could only strike the figure of a naive moralist, reeking of a parson's mindset, in all ways incompatible with the emancipated Romanian society of the interwar."
The novelist regarded modernist expression with some disdain, referring to
George Bacovia and
Tudor Arghezi as the "
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
" of Romanian poetry; on the modernist scene,
Ion Vinea reciprocated this feeling, noting that Agârbiceanu's output was almost entirely "worthless".
Scholar Vistian Goia reserves some praise for Agârbiceanu's modern
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
, ''Răbojul lui Sf. Petre'', in particular for its humorous touches. It shows Peter returning to Earth as a protector of
Greater Romania
Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...
, which he tries to defend from infestation by ruthless politicians and
decadent writers;
the saintly figure is especially troubled by the Romanians' inability to distinguish right from wrong, by their being "fragile in front of temptation". ''Sfântul'' develops on similar themes, tackling modern religious revivalism and, possibly, the
Petrache Lupu affair. Among other such writings, ''Pustnicul Pafnutie'' borrows the
found manuscript motif from
Romantic literature—Cubleșan defends the result as readable, showing Agârbiceanu as both a good narrator and an "illustrious preacher".
''Cartea legendelor'' is a fragmentary retelling of the Gospel for children; it has drawn attention for immersing Biblical figures into a Romanian folk setting, as well as for its
intertextual references—such as its passages from the
Song of Songs
The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...
, incorporated into the
Presentation of Mary
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on November 21 by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholic Churches.
The fea ...
, or its borrowings from the
Gospel of James
The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of J ...
. According to writer Olimpiu Nușfelean, Agârbiceanu's Christian messages were almost explicit in his ''Cravata Roși.e.'' stories, which inculcate individualistic values during the peak of
communization
Communization theory (or communisation theory in British English) refers to a tendency on the ultra-left that understands communism as a process that, in a social revolution, immediately begins to replace all capitalist social relations with ...
.
Chronicler Vasile Netea argues that ''Sectarii'', a work of
political satire
Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned.
Political satir ...
, was "read with the same gusto from one end of the country to the other", for giving expression to the Romanians' disgust with democratic politics. It was for this reason a "cruel premonition" of Carol's decision to outlaw traditional parties only months after the book came out in libraries.
Ovidiu Papadima celebrated ''Sectarii'' for its intent of bridging satire and the epic narrative, to reflect the "bitter" nature interwar conflicts and move away from the easygoing political comedies of
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale (; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179–184 – 9 June 1912), commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale, was a Romanians, ...
. However, he noted that the novel overall was a failure, since, while "extremely amusing at times", it only retold familiar political events "without the needed artistic transfiguration". Also touched by contemporary politics, ''Vremuri și oameni'' is regarded by Bădiliță as unduly forgotten, and in reality a Romanian equivalent to ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
''. It details the travails of a Romanian Transylvanian family during World War I, and offers a narrative format to Agârbiceanu's thoughts on nationhood and nationalism—including relapses of antisemitism, as well as
Germanophobia
Anti-German sentiment (also known as anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is fear or dislike of Germany, its people, and its culture. Its opposite is Germanophilia.
Anti-German sentiment mainly emerged following the unification of Ge ...
. Vasile Scurtu, as an ''alter ego'' of the author, is troubled by prophetic dreams echoing the
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and Prophecy, prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish Babylonian captivity, exile in Babylon ...
, but outlining the stages of the war and its implications for the Romanian cause.

''Vremuri și oameni'' veers into describing the unintended consequences of
interwar land reform, the spread of communist subversion as embodied by embittered war veterans, and eventually the toning down of discontent and feuds through common-sense solutions as devised by the peasants themselves. Like the economist
Virgil Madgearu, Agârbiceanu places his faith ultimately in
agricultural cooperative
An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities.
A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...
s. Other novels of the period focused on the merits of a sound upbringing, and how they can transform peasants into masters of their own fate. ''Licean... odinioară'' depicts the molding of Ionică Albu by the Catholic schools of Blaj and the flowering of Romanian nationalism in pre-1918 Transylvania. Expelled after raising the
Romanian tricolor on school grounds, Albu departs for Romania and dies as a World War I hero fighting against Austria-Hungary. ''Domnișoara Ana'' shows how a young woman of "healthy" rural origins quickly learns to reject bourgeois society, finding relative happiness in the stability of marriage. As noted in 1942 by cultural journalist Mihai Spiridonică, it is at core a late-''Sămănătorist'' novel, but "without
tsflat romanticism", and, overall, more accomplished than "Father Agârbiceanu's earlier novels." Chronicler Marieta Popescu commented on the narrative as prioritizing responsibility over feeling, but overall improbable, especially since it attempted to "shroud in the veils of love" what stood out as a
marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...
. Agârbiceanu himself explained ''Domnișoara Ana'' in social terms, as depicting the path forward for emancipated middle-class girls who "kept pure".
Legacy
Agârbiceanu's novelistic style had few disciples—though, according to Pecican, his early stories may have provided a template for the "bitter prose" of
Pavel Dan
Pavel Dan (September 3, 1907 – August 2, 1937) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prose writer.
He was born in Tritenii de Jos, Clapa, Cluj County, in the Transylvania region. His parents, Simion Dan and Maria (''née'' Te ...
, especially the ''Urcan Bătrânul'' pieces.
Other critics note that he was a prime inspiration on the more successful interwar novelist Liviu Rebreanu. According to
Mircea Zaciu, this list should cover Pavel Dan and
Ion Vlasiu, with Rebreanu as more of a contemporary; he also identifies Agârbiceanu's "protective shadow" in the work of communist-era novelists such as
Titus Popovici and
Vasile Rebreanu. Cultural journalist
Ion Vinea similarly described Popovici as a "direct descendant" of Agârbiceanu.
Under communism, Agârbiceanu's lay work began to be fully recovered only in the late 1960s.
An important effort in this process was undertaken by Zaciu himself, who had begun a critical re-evaluation as early as 1955, with a short monograph that took up
George Călinescu
George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...
's observation whereby Agârbiceanu was not a moralizer but an artistic narrator of moral situations. Zaciu went further, seeking to detach the ''Sămănătorist'' label and place him within the framework of ethical Transylvanian prose.
Agârbiceanu's work as presented in literature textbooks sampled two short stories, one of which was ''Fefeleaga''.
His other work, re-edited and amplified in 1964 and 1972, revived interest in the writer by precisely cataloguing his corpus and opening new directions for its critical analysis.

The recovery was limited: according to Voncu, the arrival of
national communism
National communism is a term describing various forms in which Marxism–Leninism and socialism has been adopted and/or implemented by leaders in different countries using aspects of nationalism or national identity to form a policy independent ...
left critics unsure about whether to reintroduce Agârbiceanu's "uncompromising vision of rural life" into the literary canon.
An interview with Agârbiceanu, taken by
Dumitru Caracostea in 1932 or 1933, was republished in 1971 by
Iordan Datcu, but entire portions were cut out, making it hard to understand Agârbiceanu's intended meaning. In 1968, Dumitru Stan Petruțiu and Nicolae Pîrvu completed a stage version of ''Stana'', which was produced at
Sibiu National Theater. Not long thereafter, the film-directing team of
Dan Pița and
Mircea Veroiu
Mircea Veroiu (; 29 April 1941 – 26 December 1997) was a Romanian film director and screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, k ...
found that Agârbiceanu's short stories supplied ideal material for their interest in formal experimentation, leading to two films, each based on a pair of his stories: ''
Nunta de piatră'' (1972) and ''
Duhul aurului'' (1974). In September 1982, Agârbiceanu's centennial was celebrated with "unusual fastidiousness". The 1983 film ''
Return from Hell'', directed by
Nicolae Mărgineanu, was very loosely based on Agârbiceanu's story ''Jandarmul''. Five years later, Mărgineanu and
Ion Brad also filmed their version of ''Arhanghelii'', as ''
Flames over Treasures''.
Agârbiceanu's prose earned an international following even before the end of Austria-Hungary, when fellow conservative
Alois Koudelka translated samples of it into Czech. During the interwar attempts for a cultural rapprochement between Romania and Hungary,
Sextil Pușcariu's ''Cultura'' and ''
Erdélyi Helikon'' both featured Hungarian-language translations from Agârbiceanu. Nine of his stories, including ''Fefeleaga'', were translated into Italian by Nella Collini in 1930. The collection, edited by
Claudiu Isopescu as ''Due amori'', was presented to Mussolini. His prose became more internationally known from 1968, when Nelson Vainer and Civilização Brasileira company published a Portuguese translation of one of his stories (as ''O girassol''); it was one of the few works from Communist Romania to be published in the right-wing
Fifth Republic of Brazil, and possibly allowed there only because of Agârbiceanu's residual Catholicism.
Work on the Pienescu edition was resumed by Mariana and Victor Iova, who published two more volumes right before the
anti-communist revolution of 1989. Both were still affected by censorship, with entire pages of content bracketed out. ''Cartea legendelor'' was only published in 2000, by philologist Mircea Popa;
it was not until 2004 that other theological writings started being reprinted.
The fall of communism also signified that the full corpus of Agârbiceanu's literature could be presented, with work on his complete writings was taken up by the Iovas.
''Prăbușirea'' and other manuscripts only saw print in and after 1997.
The project ended in 2002 and, Voncu notes, Agârbiceanu returned to a "discouraging anonymity" until 2014, when Ilie Rad began work on a revised critical edition.
This also included material never published in the Pienescu edition—adding as much as 75% new content.
Meanwhile, his articles for the AGRU paper were collected into a 2013 volume, ''Adâncirea creștinismului'' ("Inculcating Christianity"). Fragments from ''Cutezări cu gândul'' eventually appeared in ''
Apostrof'' magazine in 2018.
As suggested by Manolescu in 2013, Agârbiceanu once seemed "the most promising Transylvanian writer of the dawn of a new century, after Coșbuc and before Rebreanu." However, and despite ''Fefeleaga'' being a constant feature of literature textbooks, Agârbiceanu became "two-thirds forgotten".
According to Ornea, and to various others,
Agârbiceanu mostly endures in cultural memory as a "second-shelf writer".
Ion I. Agârbiceanu (1907–1971), the author of pioneering work in
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Spectro ...
and professor at the
Polytechnical Institute from 1951, is famed for his invention of a
gas laser in 1962.
His younger brother Nicolae (1908–1991) was a sculptor, and in his youth studied composition at
Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum de Paris ( being ) is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera.
History
The Schol ...
in Paris. He drew critical acclaim for one
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...
that was first performed in 1940, for which he drew heavily on the traditional
music of Transylvania. He lived in France as "Nicolas Alba"; incapacitated by
Pott disease
Pott's disease, or Pott disease, named for British surgeon Percivall Pott who first described the symptoms in 1799, is tuberculosis of the vertebral column, spine, usually due to haematogenous spread from other sites, often the lungs. The lowe ...
from 1948, he was cared for by the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Châlons until his death. Another one of the writer's sons, Tudor, was a surveyor. He and his family remained in possession of Agârbiceanu's large villa in Cluj, which was later declared a
historic monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
. The writer's grave was awarded the same status by Romania's
Culture Ministry in 2012.
["Mormintele lui Ion Agârbiceanu sau Iuliu Hațieganu, dar și alte sute de morminte și cripte, monumente istorice"]
in ''Ziua de Cluj'', 6 March 2012 Among the localities associated with Agârbiceanu's work, Bucium is home to a Fefeleaga Memorial House, a modern reconstruction which used Romanian folk houses as a blueprint; Sofia Danciu's actual home burned down in summer 2014.
Notes
References
* Ion Agârbiceanu,
**"Dela românii transnistreni", in ''Transilvania'', Issues 7–8/1928, pp. 538–559.
**"Noua Constituție (Conferință poporală pentru despărțămintele 'Astrei')", in ''Transilvania'', Issue 2/1938, pp. 104–112.
**"Adaos la 'Mărturisiri'", in ''Steaua'', Vol. XIII, Issue 9, September 1962, pp. 8–11.
* Radu Ardelean, Lucian Giura, Stelian Mândruț, "Fragmente din corespondența lui Vasile Goldiș cu Ioan Lupaș în presă", in ''Transilvania'', Issue 2/2009, pp. 47–54.
*
Cristian Bădiliță, "Ion Agârbiceanu, literatură profetică și teologie politică", in Cristian Barta, Anton Rus, Zaharie Pintea, ''România 100. Biserica, Statul și binele comun. Acta Blasiensia VII'', pp. 57–64. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2019.
*
Lucian Boia, ''Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930 și 1950''. Bucharest:
Humanitas
(from the Latin , "human") is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below.
Classical origins of term
The Latin word corresponded to the Greek concepts of (loving ...
, 2012.
* Radu Brateș, "Ion Agârbiceanu și Blajul", in ''Cultura Creștină'', Issues 10–12/1942, pp. 665–670.
*
Ion Breazu, "Ion Agârbiceanu", in ''Gând Românesc'', Vol. I, Issue 2, June 1933, pp. 75–82.
* Nicolae Brînzeu, ''Jurnalul unui preot bătrân''. Timișoara: Eurostampa, 2011.
* Ion Buzași, "Ion Agârbiceanu și Marea Unire", in ''Alba Iulia Cultural'', Issue 9, June 2018, pp. 18–20.
* Marcela Ciortea, "Povestiri de inspirație biblică pentru copii și alolingvi", in ''Columna. Finnish and Romanian Culture'', No. 21, 2015, pp. 47–58.
*
Ovid Crohmălniceanu, ''Literatura română între cele două războaie mondiale'', Vol. I. Bucharest:
Editura Minerva, 1972.
*
Mircea A. Diaconu, "Agârbiceanu și problema evreiască", in ''
Limba Română'', Vol. XXV, Issues 3–4, 2015, pp. 130–144
*
Mihail Dragomirescu, ''Istoria literaturii române în secolul XX, după o nouă metodă. Sămănătorism, poporanism, criticism''. Bucharest: Editura Institutului de Literatură, 1934.
*
Victor Eftimiu, ''Portrete și amintiri''. Bucharest:
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* Gabriela Gavril, ''De la "Manifest" la "Adio, Europa!". Cercul literar de la Sibiu''. Iași:
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The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...
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, ''Istoria literaturii române contemporane''. Bucharest: Editura Minerva, 1989.
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Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) is an academic book publisher based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or Cambridge University Press.
It began as the hobby project of a Cambridge alumnus ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Agarbiceanu, Ion
1882 births
1963 deaths
Romanian male short story writers
20th-century Romanian short story writers
20th-century Romanian novelists
Romanian male novelists
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Romanian male essayists
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