Church autonomy and dismissal from employment: Ţîmpău

In Ţîmpău v Romania [2023] ECHR 982, the applicant, Doina Ţîmpău, challenged her dismissal as a lay teacher of Orthodox religion in a public school.

Background

Ms Ţîmpău had taught Orthodox religion in a state school for 20 years until the Archbishop of Suceava withdrew her endorsement (binecuvântarea) to teach it. He alleged that “during her twenty years of activity the applicant had failed to conduct her classes professionally, to integrate herself and to confirm that she was a true preacher of the word of God. In addition, her conduct towards and her interactions with parents, students and other teachers had generated only discontent” [19]. She sought an interdict in the secular courts. Continue reading