Assistant Bishop Maxim of Danubius of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy was ordained on Tuesday at the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste Parish in Moncalieri, Italy. “I want the ministry I am beginning to be one of working together, in unity and obedience, for the good of the clergy and faithful,” the new hierarch said.
Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe presided over the Divine Liturgy.
Concelebrating were Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Bishops Benedict of Sălaj, Siluan of Italy, Timotei of Spain and Portugal, Macarie of Northern Europe and Nectarie of Ireland and Iceland; Assistant Bishops Nichifor of Botoșani of the Archdiocese of Iași, Nectarie de Bogdania of the Archdiocese of Chișinău, Marc of Neamț of the Archdiocese of Western Europe, and Assistant Bishop Teofil of Iberia of the Diocese of Spain and Portugal.
The episcopal ordination took place during the Divine Liturgy. At the conclusion of the service, Assistant Bishop Maxim of Danubius received the episcopal insignia from Metropolitan Iosif.
Patriarchal act of confirmation
The patriarchal act confirming the new hierarch was presented by Assistant Bishop Teofil of Iberia.
“He is to work in communion with the other hierarchs and responsibly fulfil the mission to which he has been called as Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy; to show love for the Church and the Romanian people; and to defend and promote the values of the Orthodox Christian faith.”
“He is to show paternal care for parishes and monasteries, support Christian culture and safeguard the Church’s heritage, demonstrate paternal love towards the clergy and Orthodox Christian laity, young and old, and cooperate with state authorities for the good of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian people,” the act of confirmation further stated.
Close to clergy and faithful
Metropolitan Iosif encouraged the new hierarch to remain close to the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Italy and to undertake his ministry in a spirit of love for the community.
“We ask you to be wholly obedient, to be a listening ear and a compassionate heart, and to embody the love of Christ, always directed towards the priests, deacons, monks, nuns, faithful, children and young people of this Diocese of Italy.”
The Metropolitan also spoke of the Church as a mother, calling on the new hierarch to preserve this paternal dimension in his ministry.
“The Church is our mother. The Church is the one who gives birth to us for eternity, just as the Mother of God gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, so that we human beings might inherit the Kingdom of God,” Metropolitan Iosif said.
Bishop Siluan of Italy, for his part, explained that the election of an Assistant Bishop responded to the need for additional support in the pastoral ministry of a diocese that has experienced significant growth.
“In Bishop Maxim of Danubius, we identified a fellow labourer who could join us in bearing the yoke of the episcopate and become an interlocutor for both our clergy and our faithful,” Bishop Siluan said.
The bishop as a servant of unity
Ciprian Olinici, Romania’s State Secretary for Religious Affairs, also attended the ordination. He emphasised that ordaining a bishop opens a new chapter of responsibility rather than simply marking the culmination of a personal journey.
“The ordination of a bishop is not merely the conclusion of an endeavour, a personal or professional journey, but is first and foremost the beginning of a responsibility towards the Church and the community,” the State Secretary for Religious Affairs said.
The official also encouraged Bishop Maxim to serve as a source of cohesion among Romanian communities across Italy.
“You are called first and foremost to be a servant of unity, because the bishop is the person who gathers people together.”
Referring to the Church’s mission among generations born outside Romania, Ciprian Olinici highlighted its role in preserving identity and belonging.
“The Church has this mission of fostering and creating, in a different geographical setting far from home, the very meaning of the word ‘home’.”
Episcopacy begins with service
Bishop Maxim of Danubius delivered an address of gratitude, reflecting on the mystery and responsibility of his new calling.
“What I have received is not the fruit of any personal merit, but a gift and a calling which I cannot fully comprehend, but can only receive with humility, gratitude and reverent awe,” His Grace said.
Drawing on the example of the Saviour, who washed His disciples’ feet before His Passion, the hierarch emphasised that episcopal ministry entails lowering oneself towards others and taking on their burdens.
“If this is the image of the Shepherd, then I understand that episcopacy can only begin here: by lowering oneself towards the other, through service, listening and a willingness to bear one’s brother’s burden.”
In his address, the new Assistant Bishop thanked His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and all who contributed to his spiritual, academic, and ecclesiastical formation and journey, from hierarchs and spiritual fathers to monastic communities, his family, teachers and mentors, as well as the clergy and faithful who attended the service.
Bishop Maxim of Danubius was elected Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Italy by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church at its meeting on 2 July 2026.
On Monday evening, following Great Vespers, the formal proclamation of the bishop-elect took place at the parish church in Moncalieri.
Photo: Lumina Newspaper
