Nume: SIMA Ana Victoria

Tema: Elitele transilvane şi patronii lor: strategii sociale, opţiuni politice şi structuri comunitare (secolele XIII-XX)

Partener: Academia Română, Filiala Cluj, Institutul de Istorie George Bariţiu – Centrul de Studii Transilvane, Cluj-Napoca

Proiect: Education, Decision and Power with the Romanian Ecclesiastical Elites from Transylvania during the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

Date de contact
annasimma@yahoo.it

Profil Intelectual


Dr. Ana Victoria Sima is a lecturer with the Faculty of History and Philosophy, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. Her areas of expertise include: modern history, church history and the history of religious life and feeling. She is a member of the editorial board of Colloquia - Journal of Central European History, a member of the Institute for Central European Studies, and a member of the Ecclesiastical History Institute of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. She has been the recipient of numerous research internships at the archives of the Holy See (Rome, Italy), the archives of the Austrian Imperial House (Vienna, Austria), and the National State Archives in Budapest, Hungary. She is the author of two books (sole author) and more than 40 scientific studies and articles published in professional journals and specialised volumes, such as The Visits of the Viennese Apostolic Nuncios in Transylvania (1855-1866), vol. I & II, Cluj University Press, Cluj, 2003, 852 pp.; One Diocese, One Bishop. The Establishment and Organisation of the Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Gherla during Bishop Ioan Alexi’s Time (1853-1863), Cluj University Press, Cluj, 2003, 317 pp.

Education, Decision and Power with the Romanian Ecclesiastical Elites from Transylvania during the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

The project entitled Education, Decision and Power with the Romanian Ecclesiastical Elites from Transylvania during the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century is intended as a contribution to the history of the Romanian ecclesiastical elites, with particular emphasis upon the elites from Transylvania. It aims to examine the relationship of interdependence between the level of education, or the scholarly horizon of the ecclesiastical intellectuals (the analysis will focus on the upper echelon of the ecclesiastical elite: metropolitans, bishops) and their ability to influence major decisions in matters concerning the ecclesiastical, political and cultural organisation of Transylvania during the second half of the nineteenth century. Such a perspective proves to be all the more necessary since the history of the Romanian ecclesiastical elites from Transylvania has been, in recent years, the object of only partial or sequential research attempts, which have solely captured aspects related to these elites’ intellectual background, their social origins, economic status, or their perception in the collective mentality. What still demands investigation, however, are many other aspects that might provide a unified perspective on the role and place of the Romanian ecclesiastical elite amongst the other Transylvanian elites. The importance of the project lies in the innovative analytical and interpretative perspectives it proposes, as well as in its recourse to a rich and interesting original archival material existing in the country and abroad, which it intends to valorise. Approached until not long ago in sequential manner, in the form of microbiographical and monographical clippings, most often than not confined within the borders of their own denominations, the history of the Transylvanian ecclesiastical elites demands replenishment and innovation by focusing analysis on issues and realities that are located “behind the big events and achievements of the age.” Such a perspective may clarify many of the equivocal gestures and seemingly inexplicable decisions of the Romanian ecclesiastical elite from the second half of the nineteenth century. The findings of this research will contribute to understanding the specific features of the Romanian ecclesiastical elite and the role it played during a period of profound political, ecclesiastical and cultural changes, such as the second half of the nineteenth century in Transylvania.


Lucrari publicate:


  • 1. O Episcopie şi un Ierarh. Înfiinţarea şi organizarea Eparhiei greco-catolice de Gherla în vremea episcopului Ioan Alexi (1853-1863) / One Diocese, One Bishop. The Establishment and Organisation of the Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Gherla during Bishop Ioan Alexi’s Time (1853-1863), , Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2003, 317 p.

  • 2. Vizitele nunţiilor apostolici vienezi în Transilvania (1855-1868) / The Visits of the Viennese Apostolic Nuncios in Transylvania (1855-1868), vol. I, II ,- Documente, Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2003, 332, 521 p

  • 3. The Holy See’s Interventions in the Acts and Decrees of the first Provincial Synod of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church,, în TRANSYLVANIAN REVIEW, Supplement no. 3, 2010, pp. 45-61.

  • 4. La place et le rôle des Églises catholiques de rite oriental dans l’ecclésiologie du pape Léon XIII,, TRANSYLVANIAN REVIEW, no. 3, 2010, pp. 94-107.

  • 5. Etnie e confessioni in Transilvania, L’IDENTITÀ CULTURALE EUROPEA NELLA TRADIZIONE E NELLA CONTEMPORANEITÀ Forum Editrice Universitaria Udinese, Udine, 2004; pp. 89-101.