What is valerian trifa?

Valerian Trifa (1914-1987) was a Romanian Orthodox bishop who played a controversial role during World War II. Trifa was the Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada and was affiliated with the Iron Guard, a fascist and anti-Semitic organization in Romania.

Trifa was accused of participating in the Bucharest Pogrom of 1941, in which thousands of Jews were killed. He was also accused of being involved in the deportation of Jews to concentration camps during the war.

In 1948, Trifa immigrated to the United States where he continued his work as a bishop in the Romanian Orthodox Church. However, his past caught up with him and in 1984 he was stripped of his American citizenship for concealing his involvement in war crimes.

Trifa was ordered to be deported from the United States, but he died in Portugal in 1987 before the deportation could be carried out. The controversy surrounding Valerian Trifa and his alleged involvement in the persecution of Jews during World War II continues to be a contentious issue in both Romania and the United States.