On Thursday, the Holy Synod elected His Grace Bishop Benedict to lead the Diocese of Sălaj. Following the synodal vote, His Grace expressed his hope that it is God who entrusts him with this new mission.
“At this moment, I would like to liken myself to Moses,” said the bishop, recalling a similar moment five years ago when he was elected Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cluj.
“To say to God: Lord, with what shall I go there? and to receive a word like Moses: Go and tell them that I have sent you.”
“I have this hope—that God is sending me there. And if this is how things unfold, I continue to trust that the priests and faithful of this diocese will receive me with open arms and with full willingness to work together in the service of the Church,” said the newly elected Bishop of Sălaj.
Bishop Benedict thanked Patriarch Daniel, Metropolitan Andrei, and the entire Holy Synod for the trust placed in him. He was elected Bishop of Sălaj with 38 votes out of 51 cast.
After his remarks, the bishop turned his thoughts to Saint Liviu Galaction, saying he feels a closeness to the martyr, particularly because he has spent the past five years working in a room once inhabited by the saint and his family.
Bishop Benedict, age 41, has served as Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac, and Cluj since February 2020. He graduated in theology from Alba Iulia and pursued further studies at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, as well as the Theological Institute “Sant’Antonio Dottore” in Padua, Italy.
Author of numerous books, studies, and articles, His Grace is a skilled speaker of classical languages—Syriac, Greek, and Latin—as well as modern international languages including English, French, and Italian.
Photo: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
