Relationship between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Iron Guard  The relationship between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Iron Guard was one of ambivalence: while the Romanian Orthodox Church supported much of the fascist organization's ideology, it did not outright support the movement. Nevertheless, many individual Orthodox clerics supported the Iron Guard and spread their propaganda. The Orthodox Church promoted its own version of nationalism which highlighted the role of Orthodoxy in preserving the Romanian identity. Starting with the 1920s, Orthodoxy became entangled with fascist politics and antisemitism: the most popular Orthodox theologian at the time, Nichifor Crainic, advocated in his magazine "Gândirea" a mix of Orthodoxy and nationalism, while philosopher Nae Ionescu argued that Orthodoxy is inseparable from the Romanian identity. A major theme in the ideology of the Iron Guard was Orthodoxism, which separated them from other movements within the European fascism. While the Italian Fascism and the German Nazism manifested a certain independence, if not an outright hostility toward the Church, the Iron Guard combined Orthodox mysticism with Romanian autochthonism and traditionalism. While the Iron Guard shared antisemitism with their Western counterparts, they had a more traditional societies' antisemitism, by seeing Jews as exponents of the modernity which they rejected. Many priests were active members in the Iron Guard, publishing articles supporting it and being involved in its public processions, such during the Funerals of Ion Moța and Vasile Marin, when the funeral procession of the two Iron Guard members killed in Spain was led by over 200 Orthodox priests. After the Communist Party gained power, some priests who were members of the Iron Guard were imprisoned for their collaboration with the fascists, while others became informers of the Securitate. The church's senior hierarchy, including Patriarch Miron Cristea, had a reserved attitude toward the Guard. Although there were exceptions such as Nicolae Bălan, who was an open supporter, the institutional church never offered systematic, organized support for the movement. Nevertheless, the synod did give ambiguous signals at times, for instance condemning the Guard's work camps before endorsing them. Orthodox Christian priests and theology students were part of the legionnaire commanders in the Iron Guard death squads, as well as those involved in assassinations and anti-Jewish pogroms. Four of the ten Decemviri who assassinated political activist Mihai Stelescu were theology students. Valerian Trifa, the head of the Christian Orthodox Students National Union, was one of the instigators of the 1941 Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom.