Purple pimpernel
Sir: Noel Malcolm criticises Dr Mervyn Stockwood, the former Bishop of South- wark (`Another Rumania', 20 January) for awarding Nicolae Ceausescu the ultimate accolade in reporting that living standards were rising under his presidency.
What Mr Malcolm failed to state or perhaps he was simply unaware of the fact, is that Dr Stockwood made his comments during one of his many visits to the Rumanian Orthodox Church he undertook between 1972 and 1983. Ostensibly they were nothing more than courtesy visits; in reality they were undercover operations directed by the Church of England to assist persecuted priests who had spoken out against the Ceausescu regime.
In 1973 Father Gavrila, a courageous priest in Bucharest, refused to give com- munion to members of the Communist Party. His life was threatened. Dr Stock- wood interceded on his behalf. The Bishop's pleas failed to stop the priest's deportation to a remote village in Molda- via but it may have saved his life. Father Gavrila is still alive today.
In 1977 Ceausescu had been promised a state visit to Britain where he would become the first and only communist
LETTERS
leader to stay at Buckingham Palace. News of the invitation coincided with a particu- larly devious plot to silence the then Rumanian chaplain in London, Father Lucien Gafton.
Father Gafton was lured back to Bucharest on the pretext that his father, Bishop Joseph Gafton, was seriously ill. Once back in Rumania Father Gafton was detained by the secret police. Dr Stock- wood rushed out to Rumania to deliver a letter from the then Archbishop of Canter- bury, Dr Donald Coggan, now Lord Cog- gan, saying he expected Father Gafton to be back in England for a special Christmas party at Lambeth Palace.
Ceausescu was left in no doubt that the Queen, whose powers as head of the Anglican Church were slightly exaggerated for the purposes of Dr Stockwood's mis- sion, would take a very dim view of the Rumanian president if the priest was not allowed to leave.
Ceausescu's invitation to Britain was on the line and thankfully he decided to give in to Dr Stockwood's plea and allowed Father Gafton to leave for Britain.
None of this would have been possible if Dr Stockwood had allowed himself the self-indulgence of criticising the Ceausescu regime in public.
Roland Rudd
Sunday Correspondent, 21 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1
Previous page
