“I have great confidence. We will succeed both with the centre and with the cathedral. We will succeed with all our mission. We will succeed,” Bishop Antonie repeated in the opening remarks at the annual meeting of the Diocesan Assembly of Bălți on Feb. 4.
The Bishop of Bălți said that he is not alone and relies on the help of those around him, but also the prayers of his predecessors: “The dead help us even more than the living. If the living can hinder us through their arrangements and deceitfully obstruct us, the dead help us more because they can intercede for us before the Heavenly Father.”
“Here in Balti we are four hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church”, said Bishop Antonie, taking as support with their prayers the hierarchs Visarion Puiu, Tit Simedrea and Partenie Ciopron of blessed memory.
The Diocesan Assembly described as satisfactory the activity of the Diocesan Sectors and diocesan counsellors for 2020, a challenging year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Furthermore, the bishop expressed his deep gratitude to those who promoted Christian and Romanian values in the Bessarabian area and supported the Diocese of Bălţi in 2020.
Bishop Antonie offered Diplomas of Gratitude, a small bust of the Holy Ruler Prince Stephen the Great and a book of Orthodox Teaching to Dr. Lidia Pădureac, First Vice-Rector of the State University “Alecu Russo” in Bălţi, His Excellency Petrişor-Ionel Dumitrescu, Consul General of Romania in Bălţi, and Igor Belei, Director of the Diaconia Social Mission of the Metropolis of Bessarabia.
The Diocese of Bălţi is the former Diocese of Hotin, founded on March 8, 1923, in Greater Romania. It was reactivated on September 14, 1992. The Diocese of Bălți was recognized by the Republic of Moldova authorities as a legal entity and a component part of the Metropolis of Bessarabia on December 17, 2004.
Since 2018, His Grace Bishop Antonie has occupied the vacant see of the Bălți Diocese. The most important project that the hierarch has in perspective is constructing a cathedral and a Romanian cultural centre in Balti. The diocese still has to pay approximately 20,000 euros to take possession of the land destined for this project.
For those who want to contribute to the financial, the diocese has provided several accounts:
- MDL: MD 10AG000000022514025546 Bălţi, SWIFT- BANK AGRNMD
- RON: MD 15AG000000022514025553 Bălţi, SWIFT-BANK AGRNMD
- EUR: MD26AG000000022514025549 Bălţi, SWIFT-BANK AGRNMD
- USD: MD44AG000000022514032306 Bălţi, SWIFT-BANK AGRNMD
Photography courtesy of the Diocese of Bălți
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