His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada marks the twentieth anniversary of his episcopal ordination on Thursday.
He was ordained to the episcopate on 2 July 2006 at the Cathedral of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen in Chicago. He initially served as Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas.
Biographical Background
Bishop Ioan Casian was born on 20 February 1969 in Comănești, Bacău County, Romania.
From 1989 to 1993, he studied at the Andrei Șaguna Faculty of Theology in Sibiu, graduating with a dissertation in Canon Law entitled Oikonomia in the Orthodox Church under the supervision of Professor Ioan Floca.
Between 1993 and 1995, he lived at the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Jerusalem. During this period, he studied Ancient Greek and French and received training in icon painting and restoration. In 1995, he was tonsured as a rassophore monk.
From 1995 to 1998, he pursued further studies at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St Anselm in Rome, specialising in the history and spirituality of monasticism and the Church Fathers, while also studying at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, focusing on history, art and the classical languages of Greek and Latin.
Priestly and Episcopal Ministry
On 24 June 2001, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Malvialle, France. He received the monastic tonsure on 1 November 2001 and spent a short period at the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Maldon, Essex.
Between 2002 and 2003, he served as parish priest of St Joseph’s Church in Bordeaux. From April 2003 until June 2006, he was rector of St Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Parish in New York. In 2004, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite.
Archimandrite Ioan Casian was nominated for the office of Assistant Bishop by Metropolitan Nicolae Condrea of the Americas.
He was elected to the episcopate by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on 2 March 2006.
At its meeting on 28 October 2016, the Holy Synod elected Bishop Ioan Casian of Vicina as Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada. His enthronement took place on 7 May 2017 at St George’s Church in Saint-Hubert, Montreal.
Photo: Basilica.ro
