Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa

Who was Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa?

Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa was a Romanian priest and dissident. He served 21 years in prison during the Communist regime. He was first imprisoned in 1948, but claimed his 1978 imprisonment was harsher. He had criticized Nicolae Ceauşescu's repressions and became seen as an "enemy of the state". Reportedly he suffered beatings and harassment in prison. He was released from prison due in part to pressure from supporters such as Ronald Reagan. He spent years in exile in Virginia and ultimately settled there permanently. In the mid-1980s he preached on the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.

After being defrocked by the Romanian Orthodox Church, he became a priest of the Orthodox Church of America. He remained critical of certain Romanian Orthodox bishops to his last day, claiming they were former Securitate secret police infiltrators.

He was interred at the Petru Vodă Monastery in Poiana Teiului Commune, Neamţ County, Romania.