Situaţia parohiilor ortodoxe române din Eparhia Aradului rămase în Banatul Sârbesc şi poziţia Episcopiei arădene (1919–1923) / The Case of Romanian Ortodoxes Parishes from Diocese of Arad Left in Serbian Banat and the Ortodox Diocese of Arads Points of View (1919–1923)
Authors: Pantea Maria Alexandra 
Published: March 2022

The end of the First World War contributed to the fall of the Austrian-Hungarian dualist state and to the rising of new nations in the center of Europe. In this context, through the Paris’s Peace Treaty, new frontiers were shaped, concluding in the separation of Banat region between Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.In 1919 the Banat region was claimed both by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Romania, which generated a very complex issue, debated and solved by the greatest diplomats of the time. The Banat region had a diverse multiethnic population, being claimed both by the Romania and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, equally winners in the First World War, fact that made this issue more difficult.The representatives of the major political powers analyzed the Banat situation in February 1919 and came up with a series of proposals which produced the dissatisfaction of both Romanian and Serb diplomacy. Setting new borders between Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was solved in August 10, 1920, when the Sevres Treaty was signed, but its implementation has lasted several years and ended in 1924. Due to the new border lines, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes included more then 70 000 Romanians.The historical resolutions of Paris regarding the frontiers between Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes made the Diocese of Arad to engage in a series of activities due to the fact that several orthodox parishes laid beyond the Romanian frontiers. Such an example are the eight villages of Comloș Deanery with 15203 of Romanians. In this context Diocese of Arad, represented by Bishop Ioan I. Papp, consistorial secretary Vasile Goldiș, and many other political and cultural personalities stood up and engage in Banat’s issue. Mihai Păcăţean, Dean of Comloș and Arad’s Diocese official, elaborated several reports describing the situation following the implementation of the decisions taken in Paris. He highlighted the fact that the orthodox’s parishes outside the Romanian frontiers were isolated having serious communication problems because even the Post stopped working. Following the Paris decisions of the Great Powers, the Bishop of Arad, Ioan I. Papp, and several Arad’s Diocese officials took actions both politically and religiously, by signing memoranda and reports to the Ruling Council and to Metropolitan of Sibiu aiming to allow the Romanians beyond the borders to form their own structures.In December 3/16, 1919, Bishop of Arad, Ioan I. Papp, wrote a letter to the “Most Venerable Metropolitan Consistory of Sibiu”, emphasizing the fact that the solving the Romanians issue in Serbia can only be done diplomatically “through the country’s government after hearing the opinion of the national-religious congress”. During the same period, Mihai Păcăţean asked the Ruling Council to financially intervene aiming to improve the life style of the Romanian priests from the Serbian Banat.