The most important task for Romania's next Patriarch will be the construction of the Cathedral of the Nation's Absolution, which is set to cost several hundred million euros and for which the Church has been raising money for many years.
"The Church has properties and values, but the problem is they are difficult to turn into the cash that is needed," explained one of the high hierarchs of the most loved institution in Romania several years ago, describing the financial situation of the Church.
Officially, according to the Trade Registry, the Romanian Patriarchate is named as a shareholder in a medical clinic, "Prof. Dr. Eduard Apetrei SRL", holding 25% of its stock. At the same time, the Metropolitan Episcopate of Oltenia and the Episcopate of Severin and Strehaia are also mentioned as shareholders in Lebada-Severin SRL (a company owning a hotel in Turnu-Severin), whilst the Archbishoprics of Craiova, Iasi and Alba hold stock in several firms such as Praxis SRL, Ocolul Silvic Jiul (which is most probably set up to manage the forests of Oltenia given back) and Reintregirea SRL. However, these firms do not post turnovers worth more than a several hundred thousand euros per annum.
The Patriarchate also owns the Lebada hotel complex in Bucharest (retroceded in 2001) and now leased to businessman Nicolae Ratiu.
The Church has even made an investment on the Stock Exchange, through the Archbishopric of Alba, in a household dishes company, VES Sighisoara (with a turnover worth 16m euros in 2006), where it holds 5% of the company's stock, with the market capitalisation of the company amounting to around 7m euros.
The latest available data indicates that at the end of 2001 the Patriarchal Administration owned assets worth 6.7m euros and in 2001 posted revenues worth 5.3m euros, along with expenses worth 4.8m euros. In the following years, the most important financial resources for the Church will be land and the forests that it got back. There is no precise data available concerning the areas currently under the administration of the Church, however, if the Archbishopric of Suceava were to receive the 97,000 hectares of forest requested, more than 500m euros could enter the patrimony of the church, considering that the price for one hectare of forest is estimated to be worth between 3,000 and 10,000 euros.
The wealth of the Church is a hot topic all over the world. When Pope John Paul II died, the Wall Street Journal reported that the declared annual revenues of the Vatican amounted to around 200 million euros.
The Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) has decided that the funerals of the Patriarch will take place tomorrow. His body will be laid in the last free resting place in the Patriarchal Cathedral, next to the first patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Miron Cristea (1925-1939) and his successors, Nicodim Munteanu (1939-1948) and Iustin Moisescu (1977-1986).
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
