Romanian Holy Synod elects Bishop of Ireland and Iceland and Archbishop of United Kingdom
On Friday, the Holy Synod elected Bishop Nectarie of Brittany, Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western Europe, to the position of Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Ireland and Iceland.
Archimandrite Simeon Mureșan, abbot of the “Dormition of the Mother of God” Monastery in Vilar, France, was also considered for the role. In the same session, the Synod elected the first Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Biography
Bishop Nectarie was born on January 11, 1980. He completed his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies at the Saint-Serge Institute of Orthodox Theology in Paris. His doctoral thesis, supervised by Father Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ozoline, focused on the topic, “The Sacrament of Confession – The Historical Development of the Rite in Romanian Territories and Its Theology in the Orthodox Church”, which he defended in 2012.
He began his monastic life in 1996 as a novice at Crasna Monastery and took his monastic vows under the name Nectarie at the same monastery in 2000. From 2010 to 2017, he served as abbot of Crasna Monastery.
Since October 2017, he has been the Exarch of Monasteries in the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western Europe. From January 2020 until 2023, he served as Vicar for the same Archdiocese.
On July 4, 2023, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church elected Archimandrite Nectarie Petre as Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western Europe. His episcopal ordination took place last September at the Cathedral in Paris.
The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland was formally established by the Holy Synod on February 29, 2024, with its headquarters in Dublin. Together with the Archdiocese of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe.
On Friday, Bishop Atanasie of Bogdania, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Italy, was elected as the first Romanian Orthodox Archbishop for the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Bishop Teofil of Iberia, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Spain and Portugal, was also considered for the role.
During the same session, the Holy Synod also appointed the first Bishop of Ireland and Iceland.
First Romanian Archbishop for the United Kingdom
The newly elected Archbishop, who is 42, has been part of the Romanian Orthodox Church Synod since May 2018. He will be the first to lead the newly established Archdiocese of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, created earlier this year.
Biography
Archbishop-elect Atanasie was born on January 17, 1982, in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, the eldest of two sons of Eugen and Ala Rusnac. He received Romanian citizenship on October 12, 2010.
On December 4, 2008, he took monastic vows, adopting the name Dionysius in honour of Saint Dionysius Exiguus. He was ordained a deacon on January 17, 2009, and then as a priest on April 16, 2009, serving at the Chapel of the Diocesan Centre and the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery in Rome.
On April 21, 2011, he took final monastic vows at Bivongi Monastery, receiving the name Atanasie in honour of Saint Athanasius the Great. In August 2011, he was elevated to protosyncellus and, in August 2013, to archimandrite.
From 2009 to 2018, he served at the Chapel of the Dormition of the Mother of God at the Eparchial Center in Rome. From February 2011 until his episcopal ordination, he served as Vicar of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy.
On February 15, 2018, he was elected Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy, with the title Bishop of Bogdania, and was ordained on May 1.
Archbishop-elect Atanasie originally trained as an engineer. From 2000 to 2005, he studied at the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in Lyon, France, where he earned a Master’s degree in Telecommunications and Networks. He then completed a specialization in IT at MT System in Lyon.
From 2006 to 2010, he studied at the Saint-Serge Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, earning a degree in pastoral theology in 2010.
He further pursued a Master’s degree in Practical Theology (Canon Law) from 2010 to 2012 at the “Andrei Șaguna” Faculty of Theology in Sibiu. His thesis, “Principles of Canonical Theology in the Diaspora, with Special Reference to Italy,” reflects his commitment to supporting the Church’s mission abroad.
Source and photos: Basilica.ro
