His Eminence Archbishop Nifon of Târgoviște, Honorary Metropolitan, Patriarchal Exarch, and a member of the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, marks on Monday the 40th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.
His Eminence Hon Metropolitan Nifon was born on 5 January 1944 in the village of Crețești-Vidra, Giurgiu County, to Anghel and Maria Mihăiță, receiving the name Nicolae at baptism.
Education
He attended primary school in his home village between 1951 and 1959, then graduated from the Theological Seminary in Bucharest (1959–1964) and the University Institute of Bucharest (1964–1968).
He completed doctoral courses at the same Institute (1968–1971) in Old Testament and Hebrew, and pursued postgraduate studies at King’s College, University of London, and Oxford University (1971–1974).
In 1974, he obtained a Master of Theology degree from the University of London, defending a dissertation titled A New Evaluation of the Old Testament Canon.
Further postgraduate studies followed: at the Anglican College in Jerusalem (Israel), specialising in Biblical Archaeology (July–September 1972), and at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) in the academic year 1977–1978.
He became Doctor of Theology with the thesis The Book of Micah: Theology and Exegesis, under the supervision of Fr. Prof. Dumitru Abrudan, at the University of Oradea.
He served as a church chanter at the Romanian Orthodox Parish in London; a pedagogue and professor at the Bucharest Theological Seminary; a senior documentarian, department head, and secretary in the Department of External Church Relations of the Patriarchal Administration, all between 1975 and 1980.
After entering monastic life at Cernica Monastery on 8 May 1980, he was tonsured a monk with the name Nifon. Shortly afterwards, he was ordained hierodeacon and on 15 May 1980 became hieromonk.
On 16 July 1980, while serving at Antim Monastery in Bucharest, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
Service as Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church
In the 1980s, he carried out missionary work in Canada, after which he was appointed Patriarchal Counsellor in the Department of External Church Relations. He was also entrusted with leading Antim Monastery and was elected Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop on 24 November 1985.
Following the establishment of the Diocese of Slobozia and Călărași in 1993, he was elected and installed as its first diocesan bishop in 1994.
In December 1999, he was elected and enthroned as Archbishop of Târgoviște, and on 7 March 2008, in recognition of his extensive activity, the Holy Synod granted him the honorary rank of Metropolitan ad personam.
Honorary Metropolitan Nifon represents the Romanian Orthodox Church at ecumenical events and has taken part in numerous international delegations. He is a member of the Anglican–Orthodox dialogue commission and participates in its meetings.
Publications
He has published important theological works, including: Orthodox Youth and the Ecumenical Movement (1978), The Christian Orthodox-Jewish Consultation (1979), Orthodoxy and Ecumenism: Studies, Conferences, Meditations (2000), The Prophet Micah: Introduction, Translation and Commentary (2000), Mission and Life (2002), Christian Missiology (2002 and 2005), The Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement (2002), The Religious Policy of Michael the Brave (2001).
He coordinated the publication of the Yearbooks of the Diocese of Slobozia and Călărași (1994–2000) and those of the Archdiocese of Târgoviște (2001–2017), reissued the Macarian corpus in a jubilee edition (2008–2012), and published numerous studies and articles in church publications in Romania and abroad.
Photo: Basilica.ro
