Speaker
Description
This paper explores the Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC) as a social economy actor, positioned at the intersection between traditional philanthropy and emerging forms of social enterprise. Building on recent reports that document the ROC’s extensive social‑philanthropic investments and its nationwide network of social and medical institutions, the study asks to what extent these activities can be conceptualised within the framework of social economy and social entrepreneurship. Using a qualitative research design that combines document analysis (church reports, policy documents, secondary statistics) with one illustrative case study, the paper maps key organisational forms (parishes, monasteries, faith‑based NGOs) and examines their governance, funding patterns and community embeddedness. The analysis, drawing on evidence from the Filantropia Federation (2020–2024), highlights both the continuity with older Orthodox traditions of charity and mutual aid and the recent shifts towards project‑based, professionalized social service provision. The paper argues that the ROC offers a revealing example of how religious institutions can contribute to social cohesion and local development through hybrid, value‑driven models of social economy.
