Archbishop Bartolomeu Valeriu Anania of Vad, Feleac and Cluj has died late Monday from heart failure.
Anania was sentenced for political reasons in the 1950s and released in 1964. The Romanian Orthodox Church, to which more than 80 per cent of Romanians belong, later sent him to the United States for 12 years. In 2007, he was a candidate for patriarch, or church leader, but lost to current patriarch Daniel.
Anania publicly opposed to homosexuality, drugs and genetic engineering. He also spoke out against corruption. He will be buried Thursday in a cathedral in Cluj.
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