Ioan Moța | |
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 Ioan Moța in the mid-1930s. | |
| Born | (1868-12-15)15 December 1868 |
| Died | 20 November 1940(1940-11-20) (aged 71) |
| Citizenship | Austria-Hungary,Romania |
Ioan Moța (Romanian pronunciation:[iˈo̯anˈmot͡sa];Nojag,Hunedoara County, 15 December 1868 –Bucharest, 20 November 1940) was aRomanianOrthodox priest,nationalist politician, and journalist, as well as father to prominentIron Guard personalityIon Moța.
Ioan Moța was born inNojag,Austria-Hungary (today Certeju de Sus,Hunedoara County,Romania),[1] on 15 December 1868, although some sources list his date of birth as 31 December.[1] His father was a priest.
Moța attended school in Nojag,Brad, andBrașov. After completing secondary school, he attended a theological seminary inSibiu. He was ordained a priest in 1899.[1]
While in Sibiu, he became interested in journalism, and founded the journalFoaia Poporului ("The People's Paper"). He also became involved inRomanian nationalist politics, seeking theunification of Transylvania with Romania. After moving to Oraștie in 1899, he wrote for the newspapersBunul Econom ("The Good Economist") andLibertatea ("Freedom"), the latter of which was edited alongside several prominent Romanian nationalist figures. Ownership and editorship ofLibertatea was later transferred to Moța. Facing suppression of the newspaper in Austria-Hungary, Moța relocated toBucharest, where he continued his journalistic activity.[1]
In 1902, Moța and his wife Maria had a son,Ion Moța, who would later become a prominent member of thefar-right,antisemiticIron Guard.
He enlisted in theRomanian Army during the First World War.[1] During this period, he also collaborated with the newspaperEpoca ("The Epoch", edited byNicolae Filipescu), writing for a column titled "Ardealul vorbește" ("Ardeal speaks") alongside figures likeOctavian Goga andOctavian Codru Tăslăuanu. In March 1917, Moța was a member of a group of exiled Romanian Habsburg subjects who were sent as a delegation to theUnited States to agitate for the Romanian cause,[2] during which he continued to publishLibertatea out of Cleveland, Ohio.[1]
Moța returned to Transylvania after theunification of Romania,[1] and becameprotopope of Oraștie.[3] He also became politically-involved, running in a series of Romanian elections. He was elected senate representative for Hunedoara County in 1931, as a candidate for Uniunea Națională ("The National Union").[4] He would later become associated with theNational Peasants' Party, and was briefly arrested for his political activity in 1933.[5][6]
In 1937, after his son Ionwas killed when fighting as aNationalist volunteer in theSpanish Civil War, Ioan Moța gave him a memorial editorship role atLibertatea. The deceasedIon Moța was listed as "Director sufletesc" ("Soul director" or "Spiritual director") of the newspaper from March 1937 onwards.[7]
After suffering frompulmonary edema,[1] Moța died on 20 November 1940 at Sf. Elena Hospital in Bucharest. His death was attended by several prominent Iron Guard members, includingIlie Gârneața and Elena Codreanu (the widow ofCorneliu Zelea Codreanu).[3] Astate funeral service was held on 22 November atSf. Ilie-Gorgani Church,[1] after which he was transported via Bucharest'sGara de Nord to be buried in Oraștie. His funeral was elaborately coordinated, and was attended by representatives ofthe royal family and ofGermany,Spain,Japan, andItaly, as well as members of government and representatives from theRomanian Academy. His body was followed to Oraștie by an honour guard ofLegionnaires.[8][9]
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