Neo-Legionarism ( ro, Neolegionarism) is a

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration s ...

movement in

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

that emerged in the 1990s following the fall of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

in the country. It is endorsed by a series of organizations that claim to be the sucessors of the Iron Guard (whose followers were known as "Legionnaires") founded by

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion o ...

in 1927. Its main characteristics include

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

. Links between neo-Legionary organizations and priests of the

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

are a documented phenomenon in Romania. Neo-Legionarism has kept the "" movement active. In 2014, a monk at Petru Vodă Monastery in

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

delivered a pro-Iron Guard sermon, prompting the church hierarchy to condemn him. Earlier, a group of nuns had sung the Legionnaire tune ''Sfânta tinerețe legionară'' ("Holy Legionnaire Youth") for the birthday of prominent monk .

Noua Dreaptă ''Noua Dreaptă'' ( en, The New Right) is an ultranationalist, far-right organization in Romania and Moldova, founded in 2000. The party claims to be the successor to the far-right Iron Guard, with its aesthetics and ideology being directly i ...

("New Right") and the Everything For the Country Party have been described as neo-Legionary. The latter was founded in 1993 and drew support from members of the original Iron Guard.Totok and Macovei, p. 21 The

Alliance for the Union of Romanians The Alliance for the Union of Romanians ( ro, Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor, AUR) is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party currently active in Romania and Moldova. It was founded on 19 September 2019. This was done with the ...

has also been associated with this current, although its leaders have denied any such connection.

References

Bibliography

* William Totok and Elena-Irina Macovei, ''Între mit și bagatelizare. Despre reconsiderarea critică a trecutului, Ion Gavrilă Ogoranu și rezistența armată anticomunistă din România''. Bucharest: Editura Elefant Online, 2016, ISBN 978-973-466-206-7 {{Romanian nationalism Neo-fascism Iron Guard Far-right politics in Romania Fascism in Romania History of Romania (1989–present) Eastern Orthodoxy and far-right politics Antisemitism in Romania

See also

References

Bibliography