Secta Vidrenilor

Secta Vidrenilor (Vidrenilor Sect) is a Christian sect numbering a few dozen people from Măguri-Răcătău, Cluj County (Apuseni Mountains), Romania.The members of the sect live isolated from the rest of the village and have no contact with the rest of the population.

In 2008, 60 people belonged to the sect.

The sect separated from the Pentecostal cult in 1984. Ion and Nicolae Vidreanu, its leaders, refused to obey the canons and laid the foundations of a "faith" to which they did not give any name. Following their refusal, about 100 parishioners were excommunicated from the Pentecostal church.

Nicolae Vidreanu imposed his iron rules: the prayers of the sect members took place only in their homes - decorated on the outside with skulls of wild animals, suggesting pagan rituals - they refused the intervention of the doctor and the relations with the rest of the villagers were limited to shopping at the local store.

According to the sect's rules, the community members refuse any medical help, and the woman has a special status, in the sense that she is not allowed to come into contact with anyone. Sick children are not taken to the doctor, death occurs every time they face a serious illness.

For them, contact with another person is considered a work of the devil. They do not own a television, radio or any other electrical appliance or any other household appliance.

In 2008, 8 children were taken by the authorities, and their father, also named Nicolae Vidrean, was deprived of parental rights, after isolating them from the community and their mother and denying them access to medical assistance.

People remember that seven members of the sect died because their families stubbornly refused the doctor's access and intervention. Two little girls, who had barely turned one year old, died due to common colds, which were not treated. The bodies of all were buried in the courtyards or in the forest on the outskirts of the village, without service, without candles.