| Army of the Lord | |
|---|---|
| Oastea Domnului | |
| Type | Eastern Christian |
| Classification | Eastern Orthodox |
| Orientation | Evangelical, Church renewal |
| Scripture | Septuagint, New Testament |
| Theology | Eastern Orthodox theology (with some Protestant influences) |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Daniel, Patriarch of All Romania |
| Region | Romania |
| Language | Romanian |
| Liturgy | Byzantine Rite |
| Founder | Iosif Trifa |
| Origin | 1926 Sibiu |
| Recognition | 28 September 1990 |
| Branched from | Romanian Orthodox Church |
| Other name(s) | The Lord's Army |
| Official website | oasteadomnului |
The Army of the Lord (Romanian : Oastea Domnului), also known as The Lord's Army, is an evangelical "renewal movement within the Romanian Orthodox Church". [1] [2] The founder of the Army of the Lord, Father Iosif Trifa, as well as consequent leaders, Ioan Marini and Traian Dorz, felt that "people needed to come to the gospel and that the Orthodox Church in Romania needed to return to her true mission: to serve God and to represent God in the midst of our nation." [3] Tom Keppeler writes that "What Wesley was to the Anglican Church, Trifa was to the Romanian Orthodox Church. As Wesley's preaching and ministry drew crowds from the working classes, so Trifa's as well was a ministry that grew among the villagers and workers of the fields." [4] In the 1930s and 1940s, "millions of Romanian Orthodox, including priests and religious, took part in its activities of evangelization, printing and open air meetings." [5] Members of the Army of the Lord greet one another with the phrase "Praise the Lord!", followed by the reply "Forever, amen!" [5]
After 1948, the movement was declared illegal by the communist regime. During this period, the "Lord's Army," led by Traian Dorz in the difficult years of Stalin, who had spent 17 years in jail for this reason, was part of the "silent church," an informal ensemble of Christian believers from various denominations, which refused to obey the Communist authorities, being for this reason considered as "printing and spreading forbidden literature," "plotting against social ordering" and "enemies of the people." [6] [7]
The Romanian Orthodox Church, 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 in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 1925, the church's Primate bears the title of Patriarch. Its jurisdiction covers the territories of Romania and Moldova, with additional dioceses for Romanians living in nearby Serbia and Hungary, as well as for diaspora communities in Central and Western Europe, North America and Oceania. It is the only autocephalous church within Eastern Orthodoxy to have a Romance language for liturgical use.
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Iosif Trifa was a Romanian Orthodox priest and evangelist. He founded "Oastea Domnului". He was also the uncle of Valerian Trifa. Trifa placed on the 100 greatest Romanians list.
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The "Army of the Lord" renewal movement within the Romanian Orthodox Church has been severely persecuted for opposing or transgressing government policies, and its ministers have in some cases been beaten, jailed, or exiled.
The Lord's Army represented a very successful evangelical awakening within the Romanian Orthodox Church in the 1920s and was founded by Iosif Trifa, a dynamic Orthodox priest from Transylvania. This movement, strongly supported by Metropolitan Nicolae Balan of Sibiu, spread widely throughout the western part of Romania. Members were challenged to become soldiers of Christ and to struggle against the evil in themselves and the world.
Trifa, as well as his successors Ioan Marini and Traian Dorz, saw very clearly that people needed to come to the gospel and that the Orthodox Church in Romania needed to return to her true mission: to serve God and to represent God in the midst of our nation.
Trifa, as well as his successors Ioan Marini and Traian Dorz, saw very clearly that people needed to come to the gospel and that the Orthodox Church in Romania needed to return to her true mission: to serve God and to represent God in the midst of our nation.
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