Valerian Trifa

Valerian Trifa (Romanian pronunciation: [valeriˈan ˈtrifa]; secular name Viorel Donise Trifa Romanian pronunciation: [vi.oˈrel ˈtrifa]; June 28, 1914 – January 28, 1987) was a Romanian Orthodox cleric who served as an archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America. He was accused of being a fascist political activist and sympathizer, which led to his voluntary exile. An early member of the Iron Guard, Trifa played a part in provoking the Legionnaires' Rebellion of 1941. His antisemitic discourse was alleged to have helped instigate the pogrom against the Jewish community in Bucharest. After being accused as a rebel by Ion Antonescu, he spent the final years of World War II detained in Nazi Germany. Trifa eventually made his way to the United States in 1950, where he was ordained as a bishop of the Romanian-American Orthodox community into opposition with the main Orthodox Church in Communist Romania. In 1975, his wartime activities came to the attention of the United States Department of Justice. Trifa, to avoid drawing negative attention to the episcopate, renounced his American citizenship sometime between 1980 and 1984. He moved to Portugal in 1982 on a temporary visa; he was denied residency in 1984, but remained there until his death in 1987.