Studia Theologica Transsylvaniensia — N° 1976 · 2024

In communist Romania, building a church was an almost impossible undertaking, and building permits were rarely granted to anyone who wanted to build a church. The state law that stipulated that a new church could only be built if an existing one ceased to exist provided the opportunity taken by the Diocese of Timisoara to build the new church in Orsova. The state authorities allowed the new church to be constructed in Orsova because of the number of believers (there were Hungarian, German and Czech believers living in the town at the time) and because the construction costs were entirely financed from abroad. The construction of the new Roman Catholic parish church and the priest's residence in Orsova was one of the greatest achievements of the administration of Konrád Kernweisz, Ordinary of the Diocese of Timisoara – and perhaps of Communist Romania. The speech published here for the first time in print is not a sermon but was certainly delivered at the end of the consecration mass of the church in Orsova. The interesting detail about this text is that it is the first time that the symbolism of the church in Orsova was mentioned.