Church Administration in the Pastoral Care of Romanian Rural and Urban Communities: Convergence and Divergence

Abstract

Church administration remains an important component in the canonical organization of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The administrative, political, and social transformations of the last decade confirm that the efficient administration of the priest’s pastoral activity for his community remains a consistent factor in the evaluation of a parish’s activity by Church authorities. The priest is forced to allocate a significant amount of time and energy to setting up and maintaining an efficient administration. This responsibility places the priest in administrative relations with several players: with believers (Christians), as members of the community involved in the administrative decision-making process; with public institutions as social partners, and finally with the Church hierarchy as a decision-maker organism in the administration of the parish assets. In this situation, in which the parish priest’s work revolves around these players, indispensable for the provision of resources with which to undertake his pastoral care, church administration can become a blocking point in the pastoral care of rural communities. For this reason, an analysis of the convergence and divergence between church administration and pastoral care of rural communities can be a starting point for identifying appropriate canonical solutions for the pastoral care of rural communities.