PHOTO // New Metropolitan of Bessarabia enthroned as Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Exarch of Lands

New Metropolitan of Bessarabia, His Eminence Antonie, was enthroned today in the office of Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Lands. The solemn ceremony took place at the “Holy Three Hierarchs” Church in Chișinău.

The event began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and after the end of the service the enthronement of the new Metropolitan of Bessarabia took place. The service was officiated by His Eminence Teofan, Archbishop of Iași and Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina, together with hierarchs and clergy of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Minister of Culture Cristian Jardan, representatives of state institutions, public authorities, civil society and the faithful attended the event.

The ceremony began with the reading of a patriarchal gramata signed by His Beatitude Father Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

“His Eminence Antonie has achieved outstanding results in missionary-pastoral work, administrative and infrastructural activity and social-philanthropic service, and has contributed to the consolidation of church life in the Romanian communities of the Republic of Moldova. Throughout this period, His Grace has shown dedication and a spirit of sacrifice, practical and organizational sense, responsibility in the entrusted mission, as well as balance and pastoral realism in a pluralistic society. According to the canonical ordinances and statutory provisions of the Romanian Orthodox Church, we bestow upon His Eminence Father Antonie the mantle, the cross and the engolpion, as well as the black kamilavka with cross – the insignia of the metropolitan rank. We also hand him the archpastoral staff and enthrone him as Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Lands,” the message read during the solemn ceremony states.

The patriarchal gramata underlines that from His Eminence Antonie is expected honor and obedience towards the Patriarch of Romania and towards the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

“He is to lead and increase the work of his predecessors on this archiepiscopal and metropolitan see, to work in communion with the other hierarchs of the Metropolitan Synod of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, to show love for the nation and fatherly care for parishes and monasteries, for the values of the Orthodox faith, for Christian culture, for theological and religious education, as well as fatherly love for the clergy and for the right-believing Christian faithful, young and old, becoming for all a guide for the unwavering preservation of the true faith and of the ordinances of our ancestral Church. He is to cultivate fraternal relations of cooperation with the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina in solving the common pastoral and social problems of Romanian believers on both banks of the Prut, to consult and cooperate with the state authorities for the good of the Church and of the Romanian people, and to cultivate relationships of mutual respect with the other officially recognized denominations, for the preservation of social peace,” the message specifies.

In turn, His Eminence Father Teofan, Archbishop of Iași and Metropolitan of Moldova and Bukovina, emphasized that the Metropolis of Iași, many dioceses and institutions in the country and, above all, the Romanian Patriarchate consider “the Metropolis of Bessarabia as part of the same endeavor of closeness for the good of the Romanian people on both banks of the Prut.”

“His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie returns today to Chișinău, after a ministry that was both difficult and beautiful in Bălți. He returns to the city where he studied, where he was ordained a priest and where he served as auxiliary bishop for many years. Here, many things must be continued, deepened, corrected, improved, strengthened and grounded theologically and spiritually.

His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie is not alone in the work that lies ahead of him. The priests and faithful in the parishes await him with much hope. Many people of culture, academics, university staff and authorities from various fields are ready to cooperate. We entrust you to the patriarchal care and the protection of God, who will be your strength in trials and a source of humility in successes,” said His Eminence Father Teofan.

In his speech, the new Metropolitan of Bessarabia, His Eminence Antonie, stressed that today a new stage begins on the path to Resurrection, which he wishes to walk together with hierarchs, priests and faithful in unity for the good of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

“The challenges will be different. It is clear that I will not succeed on my own. As His Eminence Father Teofan mentioned these days: ‘A hierarch may be a genius, but if he does not have good and self-sacrificing collaborators in the administrative apparatus, he will achieve nothing.’ This is the truth. We all, clergy and faithful, have the same mission: the growth and increase of the Metropolis of Bessarabia. Becoming aware of the reality in which we find ourselves and the contribution of each one to this situation, by assuming it lucidly and fully, will help us identify the sure paths to the light, to the salvation of our entire nation, from which Bessarabia cannot be absent,” His Eminence Antonie pointed out.

The new Metropolitan of Bessarabia also underlined that he intends to continue missionary-pastoral, social-philanthropic and cultural-educational projects, to expand theological schools, as well as to establish theological seminaries.

“We will continue building new holy places of worship and the steps for the legal recovery of the immense real estate patrimony of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, expropriated by the Soviet regime. We will continue efforts so that the Metropolis of Bessarabia may be recognized as a victim of the political repression of the Soviet occupation regime. I will strive to maintain good cooperation with the state authorities, for the good of the faithful of the Metropolis of Bessarabia and of society as a whole. In this regard, we express our desire to conclude with the Government in Chișinău a social and cultural partnership agreement. I wish to lead the Metropolis of Bessarabia as an institution that spreads peace and mutual understanding in society, a church institution open to inter-Orthodox and interconfessional dialogue, which contributes to the peaceful cohesion of all citizens, regardless of their different affiliations. The Metropolis of Bessarabia awaits with love and patience all the Orthodox of this space to return home and embraces them with fatherly care, as her children,” His Eminence Antonie concluded.

His Eminence Antonie was elected to the office of Metropolitan of Bessarabia by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on 2 July this year. He was born on 29 May 1963, in the village of Hârbovaț, Anenii Noi district. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chișinău, after which he continued his studies at the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Iași. He has been active within the Metropolis of Bessarabia since 1995.

In 2014, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church elected him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chișinău, with the title “of Orhei”, and his ordination as bishop took place on 24 May 2014, at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. Four years later, on 24 May 2018, he was elected Bishop of Bălți, a position he held until his election as Metropolitan of Bessarabia.

His Eminence Father Petru, the former Metropolitan of Bessarabia, submitted on 30 May his request to step down from the position of Archbishop of Chișinău and Metropolitan of Bessarabia.