Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. The council, through the Holy See, was formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and was closed under Pope Paul VI on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1965.
Anti-religious persecution in Communist Romania
When the Second Vatican Council was opened in 1962, the Romanian Orthodox Church was the only church in the communist bloc that refused to send representatives, and the pope was criticized. The Romanian church also refused to participate at the contemporary. historic meeting between the Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch.