The Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate informs us:
The Romanian Patriarchate announces with sorrow the passing away of His Eminence Epifanie, Archbishop of Buzău and Vrancea, on 7 January 2013, in the afternoon.
The funerals will take place Thursday, 10 January 2013, from 10.00 – 13.00 hours in the Archiepiscopal Cathedral of Buzău where he will be buried too.
Till the election of the new titular of this eparchy, locum tenens of the Archbishop of Buzău and Vrancea will be His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel as Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrudgea, who will be remembered at the religious services as Archbishop Locum Tenens of Buzău and Vrancea, in all the churches and monasteries of this archdiocese.
May God rest him in peace and remember him forever and ever!
His Eminence Epifanie Norocel was born on 14 December 1932, at Mălini, county of Suceava. In 1961 he graduated from the Theological Academy of Sofia. He has also attended theological studies in Bucharest and Moscow. From 1965 – 1971 he was professor and director of the Theological Seminary of Neamț Monastery, and from 1971 – 1975 he was the abbot of Neamț Monastery. On 9 November 1975, he was ordained Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Tomis and Lower Danube. On 4 July 1982 he was appointed Bishop of Buzău, and on 8 November 2009 he was raised to the rank of Archbishop of Buzău and Vrancea.
