His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has celebrated his birthday on Tuesday. Exactly 74 years ago, in the village of Dobrești, Timiș County, western Romania, Dan-Ilie was born—the third child in the family of schoolteachers Alexie and Stela Ciobotea.
His Beatitude once shared that he learned the value of work and faith from his parents, despite being born during the height of the Stalinist era, when atheism had become a state ideology.
Theological Formation
Faith led him to the path of Theology. In 1974, the young Dan-Ilie graduated from the Orthodox Theological Institute in Sibiu and began his doctoral studies at the Orthodox Theological Institute in Bucharest, under the guidance of the Holy Confessor Pirest Dumitru Stăniloae.
Between 1976 and 1980, he studied at the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the University of Human Sciences in Strasbourg, France, and at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
This academic journey culminated in his doctoral thesis, “Theology and Christian Spirituality: Their Relationship and Current Relevance,” which he defended in both Strasbourg and Bucharest.
The Monastic Path
After seven years serving as a lecturer at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, he chose the path of monasticism, thus demonstrating that the highest form of theology reaches its full potential when united with a life of spiritual discipline.
Tonsured at Sihăstria Monastery in Neamț County, he received his monastic name, Daniel, under the spiritual guidance of Saint Cleopas (Ilie) of Sihăstria.
In 1988, he was elevated to the rank of protosyncellus and appointed Patriarchal Counsellor, serving as director of the Department for Contemporary Theology and Ecumenical Dialogue within the patriarchal administration. At the same time, he became a lecturer in Christian Mission at the Orthodox Theological Institute in Bucharest.
Among the First Hierarchs Ordained After the Fall of Communism
The collapse of communism ushered in a time of profound spiritual revival in the Romanian Orthodox Church. The proclamation of God’s word was once again allowed in public.
There was an urgent need for new bishops in the Church, and the future Patriarch Daniel was elected Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Timișoara, with the title “Bishop of Lugoj.”
Soon after, he was elected and enthroned as Archbishop of Iași and Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina—one of the most dynamic dioceses of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
During his tenure in Iași, he restructured and expanded the local Faculty of Theology, facilitating its integration into the “Al. I. Cuza” University. He supported the restoration and preservation of numerous historic churches and monasteries, founded Lumina Newspaper—the first daily Orthodox newspaper in the world (2005), restored and consolidated the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iași, and established “Providența” (Providence), a medical clinic that later became the Church’s first hospital.
His many achievements as Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina naturally positioned him to succeed the late Patriarch Teoctist.
Patriarch of a European Romania
These foundations and his broad vision led to his election in 2007 as the sixth Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, guiding the Church during a time of both national transformation and European integration.
He was enthroned as Patriarch of Romania on September 30, 2007—the same year Romania became a member of the European Union.
Among his first measures was the establishment, in October 2007, of the Basilica Media Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate, which includes Trinitas Radio, Trinitas TV, Lumina Newspaper, Basilica News Agency, and the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate.
He launched an intense process of institutional, cultural, missionary, and philanthropic reorganisation and strengthening within the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The social changes brought about by Romania’s EU membership, particularly mass migration, prompted Patriarch Daniel to actively support the development of dioceses in the diaspora actively, ensuring that Romanian Orthodox faithful abroad would not be left without pastoral care.
A Successor to the Legacy of His Predecessors
In the 18 years since becoming Patriarch of Romania, His Beatitude has honoured the memory of his predecessors on the patriarchal throne and has carried forward the missions they initiated.
One defining mark of his patriarchate has been the establishment of commemorative and thematic years, which have had a profound impact on the cultural life of the Church and the collective consciousness of the Romanian people.
For example, 2017 was designated as the Solemn Year of the Holy Icons, Iconographers, and Church Painters, and the Commemorative Year of Patriarch Justinian and the Defenders of Orthodoxy during Communism.
Similarly, 2019 was declared the Solemn Year of the Romanian Village (honouring priests, teachers, and civic leaders) and the Commemorative Year of Patriarchs Nicodim Munteanu and Iustin Moisescu and of Church Book Translators.
Following in the footsteps of Patriarchs Justinian Marina and Teoctist Arăpașu, who canonised Romanian saints and extended their veneration across the Patriarchate, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has overseen the canonisation of 49 out of more than 200 recognised Romanian saints.
In 2026, designated as the Solemn Year of Christian Family Pastoral Care and the Commemorative Year of Holy Women in the Church Calendar (Myrrh-bearers, Martyrs, Ascetics, Wives, and Mothers), the proclamation of the canonisation of 16 holy women from all eparchies of the Romanian Orthodox Church is planned.
The Construction of the National Cathedral
During the pastoral leadership of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, a major project of the Church in Romania has taken shape: the building of a National Cathedral in memory of the nation’s heroes and as a lasting symbol of Romanian identity in Christ.
The initiative, first proposed by King Carol I after the War of Independence, and later supported as a national goal by the first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Miron Cristea, is now being fulfilled—overcoming more than a century of historical hardship: wars, social unrest, and the atheist communist regime.
Embedded in the Holy Table of the National Cathedral’s altar are relics of the martyrs from Niculițel—the earliest known Christian martyrs on Romanian soil—and of the Holy Prince-Martyr Constantine Brâncoveanu, along with a list of 350,000 names of Romanian heroes known from history.
Symbolically, the consecration of the altar took place during the Centennial Year of the Great Union, and the full consecration of the Cathedral will be held this autumn, during the Centennial Year of the Romanian Patriarchate—once again in the presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
On Tuesday, a series of anniversary events took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral and the Patriarchal Palace in honour of Patriarch Daniel. First and foremost, prayers were offered on his behalf, asking God to continue bestowing His gifts upon His Beatitude and upon the Romanian Orthodox people.
A full official biography of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel is available here.
Photo: Basilica.ro Files / Raluca Ene
