Mr. Ionut Biliuta

Professional Background

Mr. Ionut Biliuta is a PhD Candidate in Religion, Babeş-Bolyai University (Romania) and PhD Candidate in History, Central European University (Hungary). He is expected to earn both degrees in June 2013. Mr. Biliuta speaks Romanian natively, English and French fluently, and also possesses skills in German and Italian. Mr. Biliuta has organized conferences including: Eastern Christianity and Post-Imperial Societies, Budapest, 2009; and Graduate Conference in European History, Budapest, 2010. While in residence at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, Mr. Biliuta conducted research on his project entitled, “Race and Religion: The Antisemitism of the Orthodox Church in Interwar Romania.”

Mr. Biliuta has contributed to two books: “Lord save your people and bless your inheritance: Romanian Orthodox Church and Nationalism in the 19th century and interwar period” used in the book Transforming a Church. Eastern Christianities in Post-Imperial Societies (Budapest: CEU Press, 2013) co-edited with Nadia Al-Bagdadi and Anca Maria Şincan and Understanding Christian Sexuality (Cluj-Napoca: Patmos Publishing House, 2006) which he coauthored with John Breck and Vasile Manea. He has also written several articles including: “Sanctifying, Judging, or Recovering the Past? Post-1990s Understanding of Romanian Fascism in Christian Orthodox Environments” in European Review of History (2014) and “Fascism as Political Religion. A Critical Survey” Studia Universitatis Petru Maior (2008).

Fellowship Research

For his Tziporah Wiesel Fellowship, Mr. Biliuta examined how the Orthodox Church in Romania promoted and sponsored anti-Semitism during the Interwar Period. Mr. Biliuta had access to the museum’s collections which include a great array of sources pertaining to Romania’s role in the Holocaust both within and without its borders. Mr. Biliuta had access to the many official Romanian government documents as well as Romanian newspapers and propaganda from the Interwar Period. Mr. Biliuta attempted to understand how and why Romanian Orthodox clergymen and theologians both propagated and participated in the Romanian and Transnistrian Holocaust.

Mr. Ionut Biliuta was in residence at the Center from October 1, 2013 to May 30, 2014.