Romanian Police Enter Catholic Church During Mass to Enforce Eviction of Norbertine Abbot
The unconstitutional intrusion and criminal seizure of the monastery took place despite the fact that the case remains under judicial appeal and has generated statements of formal legal protection from Romania’s highest state authorities and those of the Norbertine Order in Rome.
According to Krónika, the enforcement began shortly after 9:00 a.m., when a judicial bailiff, accompanied by nearly 100 gendarmes and police, entered the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows while Mass was underway, during the time of Holy Communion. The Catholic faithful had formed a line at the entrance. The bailiff proceeded inside despite their presence.
The liturgy continued uninterrupted. The congregation remained inside the church, singing as officers took positions within the nave. The enforcement was temporarily paused only after intervention by a Greek Catholic priest, who requested that the officers withdraw until the conclusion of Mass. Witnesses said that if the priest had not prevented it, the bailiff would have taken the Abbot from his place at the altar during the Mass.
Following the conclusion of the liturgy, enforcement of the eviction resumed inside the abbey complex. According to Krónika, gendarmes re-entered through a rear access point and advanced toward the sacristy. Members of the congregation remained inside.
Magyar Jelen reported that the group present included representatives of the Hungarian political party Mi Hazánk Mozgalom (Our Homeland), including its president László Toroczkai, who spoke publicly in defense of Abbot Anzelm.
“I never thought I would live to see armed Romanian gendarmerie and police break into a Catholic church during a Hungarian-language Mass,” Toroczkai said.
The abbey’s sacristy quickly became the central focus of the enforcement dispute.
Abbot Anzelm insisted that the sacristy is not ancillary space but integral to the liturgical functions of the church and abbey. He stated that its removal would therefore render the church unable to function properly.
“The spaces necessary for the practice of religion are exempt from all alienation and enforcement,” the Abbot declared on Tuesday, adding, “If they enter these spaces, they are not merely entering a building; they are entering a place consecrated for divine worship under canonical enclosure.”
Video footage from the abbey’s security camera released on Tuesday showed the bailiff and police breaking into the monastic enclosure, thereby committing the further crime of violating a sacred space protected by the Church’s canon law.
However, according to Magyar Jelen, city authorities indicated that “within thirty days the sacristy must also be vacated.” Although the bailiff returned the key of the sacristy to the Abbot, the upper rooms of the abbey were formally seized by the city.
The Norbertine Order, officially known as the Premonstratensians, has maintained continuous presence at the monastery for over three centuries and uninterrupted canonical possession since the medieval foundation of the abbey during the lifetime of the Order’s founder St. Norbert.
In response to the eviction, Abbot Fejes stated, “not only the monastery building, but the entire property belongs to us,” adding that during the time of the communist regime following the Second World War, “only the middle section [of the abbey complex] had been nationalized, and the rest had simply been occupied.”
Significantly, the highest state authorities in Romania have issued numerous formal statements and correspondences affirming both the ecclesiastical status of the abbey and the legal protections of its property.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, in letters addressed directly to Oradea City Hall, repeatedly confirmed that the Premonstratensian Provostry (Abbey) is a recognized legal entity used for religious worship.
In its official communication, the Secretariat stated that the abbey “is a component part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea” and therefore falls under the legal framework governing recognized religious denominations.
Most significantly, the Secretariat emphasized that:
“sacred goods—those directly and exclusively intended for religious worship… are exempt from seizure and acquisitive prescription and may only be alienated under the specific statutory conditions of each denomination.”
This position was reiterated in multiple letters over a period of years, all addressed directly to municipal authorities in Oradea.
As previously reported by Lepanto, the position of the Romanian executive branch has also been communicated through the Prime Minister’s institutional channels.
In a statement from the Prime Minister’s Chancellery transmitted in response to inquiries regarding the Oradea case, the government reiterated the position of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs in full.
The Prime Minister’s office stated that the Secretariat had already clarified that ecclesiastical property used for worship is legally protected:
“sacred goods, namely those directly and exclusively dedicated to religious worship, established according to the internal statutes in conformity with the tradition and practices of each denomination and acquired with legal title, are not subject to seizure and are not subject to prescription.”
The same communication confirmed that this interpretation was formally transmitted to local authorities in Oradea.
In effect, according to the published record, the central government position affirms that religious property cannot be treated as ordinary municipal real estate subject to enforcement in the manner pursued by the city.
The dispute has also drawn intervention from the international head of the Premonstratensian Order.
According to published statements cited in Lepanto’s previous reports, the Abbot General of the Norbertine Order in Rome officially confirmed the location of the seat of the Abbey of Oradea and the fact that Abbot Anzelm is bound to this place both by his canonical vow of stability and his duties as the monastic community’s superior.
The case has also been raised at the European level.
According to Magyar Jelen, Zsuzsanna Borvendég submitted a request to the European Commission to examine both the legality of the eviction and the use of EU funds linked to the renovation project.
She stated that the matter raises “questions of fundamental rights and rule of law,” particularly regarding the treatment of recognized religious institutions.
According to the same reporting, appeals were made to Hungarian political leadership, including to Péter Magyar, urging diplomatic engagement with Romanian authorities. Requests for potential intervention by Hungarian state institutions are also being considered.
The Lepanto Institute reached out to Members of the Romanian Parliament regarding the eviction case and was assured that the countries highest authorities are aware.
Abbot Anzelm also called upon the U.S. State Department, as well as Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, to leverage international pressure to prevent the suppression of his 900-year-old abbey.
The underlying court case remains under appeal.
The abbot has said that he will remain in place and continue legal defense of the monastery’s status. In a statement issued on Monday, prior to the eviction, Abbot Anzelm declared unequivocally that he was bound by his office to defend the Church:
“The spaces claimed by the city are occupied by the Premonstratensian Provostry, which was not a party to my eviction lawsuit. These spaces are not my private property, but that of the provostry, into which the bailiff intends to enter tomorrow. Moreover, this is also the registered seat of the provostry.
As the lawful representative of the provostry, I am present in these spaces; therefore, under the first-instance eviction order, the bailiff has no legal title whatsoever to enter here. If he does so, he thereby violates public order, the constitution, and freedom of religion.
My opponents think that through my person they can render the provostry impossible to function, but this is not how it works, because by defending these spaces, I am defending the ecclesiastical institution that I lead, which forms part of the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, I am defending the Church. Therefore, this case is not my personal private affair, but the affair of the Church, even if it affects me personally in the first instance.”
She added that on Thursday the judge had indicated the municipality was wrong to claim the entire building is a school, given the presence of distinct ecclesiastical functions.
Varga described what she characterized as a misrepresentation of the property, arguing that City Hall is attempting to reduce the church to the altar alone while seizing the sacristy and the rest of the monastery.
“In reality, they are trying to reduce the church to the altar alone and to take away the sacristy… despite the fact that Romanian law protects both the church and the monastery.”
She also pointed to inconsistencies in the legal identification of the property and to conflicting positions taken by authorities, noting that while the bailiff suggested the situation could be reversed on appeal, municipal lawyers now insist the eviction has already been carried out.
“They want him to empty the church area, the sacristy, and the adjoining wing,” she told Lepanto.
“The church is at 14 Roman Ciorogariu Street. Their eviction order, however, refers to 18 Roman Ciorogariu Street. At the same time, the monastery has its own legal personality and is located at 16 Roman Ciorogariu Street. They now pretend not to know where number 16 is, although the abbot’s identity card bears that address, his official appointment is tied to it, and it is the official ecclesiastical headquarters.”
Warning of the underlying influence of the Freemasons in Oradae, she said, “What is happening bears all the marks of what many people in Oradea call a Masonic way of acting: power without conscience, influence without truth, and hostility toward the Catholic Church hidden behind official paperwork.”
Published below are the full statements of the Romanian State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, obtained by the Lepanto Institute, regarding the legal status of the Norbertine Abbey of Oradea and its immunity from state seizure:
STATE SECRETARIAT FOR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
State Secretary
No. SSC-R-1943/09.04.2026
To the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order
Monsignor Feies Rudolf Anzelm
Oradea Municipality, Roman Ciorogariu Street, No. 14–16, Bihor County, Postal Code 410017
Reverend Father,
Following your memorandum requesting the communication of documents sent by our institution to the Oradea City Hall regarding the eviction measure of the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order, with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory, from the building located at 16 Roman Ciorogariu Street, Oradea, we hereby send you, attached, copies of these documents.
Regarding the addresses sent to our institution by the Oradea City Hall, we inform you that we cannot comply with this request without the consent of that institution.
At the same time, we inform you that the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory, headquartered in Oradea, 16 Roman Ciorogariu Street, represented by Fejes Rudolf Anzelm, is registered with the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, appearing in the staffing and personnel records of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea as a legal entity of public utility, having the Unique Registration Code 10012169.
Sincerely,
Ciprian Vasile OLINICI
State Secretary
STATE SECRETARIAT FOR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
State Secretary
No. RG-1103/11.09.2025
To Oradea City Hall
Oradea Municipality, Piața Unirii No. 1, Bihor County, Postal Code 410010
To Mr. Mayor Florin Birta
Dear Mr. Mayor,
Following your address no. 337022 dated 25.08.2025, by which you informed our institution of the fiscal situation of the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order, with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory, we communicate the following:
Recognized religious denominations are legal entities of public utility. They are organized and operate autonomously, according to their own statutes or canonical codes, based on constitutional provisions and Law no. 489/2006 on religious freedom and the general regime of denominations, republished. According to Article 14 paragraph (2) of this act, “religious units, including their branches without legal personality, are established and organized by denominations according to their own statutes, regulations, and canonical codes.”
At the same time, we inform you that, according to Article 8 paragraph (2) of Law no. 489/2006, the component parts of denominations, as mentioned in their own statutes or canonical codes, if they meet the requirements provided therein, are legal entities. In light of this provision, we inform you that the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory is not a religious association, but a component part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea, appearing in its staffing and personnel records on page 16 (attached).
Furthermore, we inform you that according to Article 27 paragraph (2) of Law no. 489/2006, sacred goods—those directly and exclusively intended for religious worship, established according to each denomination’s statutes, traditions, and practices, and lawfully acquired—of which the building located at 16 Roman Ciorogariu Street, Oradea is part, are exempt from seizure and acquisitive prescription and may only be alienated under the specific statutory conditions of each denomination.
With special consideration,
Ciprian Vasile OLINICI
State Secretary
STATE SECRETARIAT FOR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
State Secretary
No. R.G.31/22.01.2025
To Oradea City Hall
Oradea Municipality, Piața Unirii No. 1, Bihor County, Postal Code 410010
To Mr. Mayor Florin Birta
Dear Mr. Mayor,
Following your address no. 515642/23.12.2024, registered at the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs on 09.01.2025, by which you informed us of the fiscal debts owed by the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order, with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory, we communicate the following:
The Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory has not benefited from financial support from the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs for repairs, construction, or other activities carried out by the religious unit, according to Article 3 paragraph (1) of Government Ordinance no. 82/2001.
At the same time, we inform you that, according to Article 29 paragraph (3) of the Romanian Constitution, “religious denominations are free and are organized according to their own statutes, under the law,” and Article 23 paragraph (1) of Law no. 489/2006 provides that “denominations choose, appoint, employ, or dismiss their personnel according to their own statutes, canonical codes, or regulations.”
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs provides financial support to recognized denominations in Romania, upon request, ensuring the necessary state support for the salaries of clerical personnel, according to Annex I, Chapter III – Denominations of Framework Law no. 153/2017.
Considering the above, we inform you that, at the request of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea, financial support from the state budget has been allocated for the salaries of clerical and non-clerical personnel within this diocese, including personnel serving the Provostry mentioned above.
The financial support granted for clerical salaries is exempt from enforcement by garnishment.
According to Article 3 paragraph (1) of Government Ordinance no. 82/2001, financial support is allocated from the state budget, within budgetary limits, through the budget of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, to supplement the own funds necessary for the maintenance and operation of religious units.
In this regard, we specify that the Provostry has never requested such financial support from the state budget through the Secretariat.
Regarding documents on how these funds are used, they are found in the records of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea, which distributes the financial aid for salaries based on rank, position, seniority, and professional experience.
With special consideration,
Ciprian Vasile OLINICI
State Secretary
STATE SECRETARIAT FOR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
State Secretary
No. R.G.1842/10.10.2024
To Oradea City Hall
Oradea Municipality, Piața Unirii No. 1, Bihor County, Postal Code 410010
To Mr. Mayor Florin Birta
Dear Mr. Mayor,
Following the memorandum of the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order no. 393/08.10.2024, addressed to our institution, we specify the following:
According to Article 456 paragraph (1) letter d) of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code:
“Buildings which, by their destination, constitute places of worship belonging to officially recognized religious denominations and religious associations, as well as their local components, except for rooms used for economic activities, are exempt from building tax.”
Considering that the Provostry of the Premonstratensian Canonical Order with the dedication “Saint Stephen the First Martyr” in Oradea Promontory uses the building located at 13 Roman Ciorogariu Street for religious activities and not for economic activities, the building falls into the category exempt from taxation.
With special consideration,
Ciprian Vasile OLINICI
State Secretary
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Romanian Police Enter Catholic Church During …