Vasile Mangra

Vasile Mangra (Romanian pronunciation: [vaˈsile ˈmaŋɡra]; born Vichentie Mangra; May 25, 1850–October 14 [O.S. October 1] 1918) was an Austro-Hungarian cleric of the Romanian Orthodox Church and historian.

Born in Săliște-Săldăbagiu, Bihor County, his father was a priest. He attended gymnasium in Beiuș and Oradea, studied theology in Arad from 1869 to 1872 and began but did not complete legal studies at the Oradea Law Academy. In 1875, he began teaching church history and canon law at the Arad Theological Institute, of which he was temporary director in 1882-1883. In 1893, he was dismissed from the faculty at the request of the Hungarian government. He edited the church newsletters Lumina (1874-1875) and Biserica și Scoala (1877-1879, 1882-1883 and 1899-1900). In 1879, he was tonsured a monk at Bodrog Monastery, taking the name Vasile. In 1899, he was ordained a priest. In 1900, he was elected vice president of Oradea's Romanian Orthodox consistory, serving until 1916. He was made archimandrite in 1906. In 1901, he was elected bishop of the Arad Diocese, but due to his political activity, was prevented from assuming office by the Hungarian government.

Mangra was prominent within the Romanian national movement in Austria-Hungary. In 1892, he formed part of the delegation that took the Transylvanian Memorandum to Vienna. In 1894, he organized a large popular assembly in Sibiu that protested against the government's decision to ban the Romanian National Party. In 1895, he was the main organizer of a nationalities congress at Budapest that brought together Romanians, Serbs and Slovaks. However, late in life, he reversed course, becoming a trusted figure for the authorities. In 1910, he was elected to the Diet of Hungary's House of Representatives on a pro-government platform for a seat centered at Ceica.

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