His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif, Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Western and Southern Europe, celebrates his spiritual patron on Thursday, as the Church commemorates Saint Joseph of Arimathea, the nobleman who laid Christ’s body in the tomb.
Metropolitan Iosif was born on February 19, 1966, in Vișeu de Jos, Maramureș County, Romania.
He graduated from “Gheorghe Șincai” High School in Baia Mare, then studied at the “Andrei Șaguna” Faculty of Theology in Sibiu (1989–1993), earning his degree in 1993. He later pursued doctoral studies at the “Saint Sergius” Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris (1994–1998), with a dissertation titled “The Mystery of the Human Person in Saint Symeon the New Theologian.”
He was ordained to the deaconate on October 19, 1993, and to the priesthood on October 26, 1993, serving at the chapel of the Faculty of Theology in Alba Iulia. He worked as a spiritual father and teaching assistant in the Moral Theology department, and also taught Church History and Patrology at the Theological Seminary (1993–1994).
On April 17, 1994, he was tonsured a monk, receiving the name Iosif (Joseph). Between 1994 and 1998, he served as priest and spiritual father at the women’s monastery “The Protection of the Mother of God” in Bussy-en-Othe, Yonne, France.
Episcopal Ministry
On November 29, 1997, the Electoral Assembly of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western and Southern Europe elected him as Archbishop. He was ordained to the episcopacy on March 15, 1998, at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Stephen in Paris, by a synod of twelve hierarchs led by Metropolitan Serafim of Germany, Central and Northern Europe and Greek Metropolitan Jeremias of France.
At the time of his election, the archdiocese comprised 30 parishes. Today, there are more than 130 parishes and communities across Western and Southern Europe. On October 21, 2001, the Archdiocese was elevated to the rank of Metropolis, and His Eminence received the title of Metropolitan.
Metropolitan Iosif is a member of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church and a member of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of France. Between 2001 and 2002, he served as locum tenens of the vacant Archdiocese of America and Canada, contributing significantly to its renewal and reorganisation.
Photo: Basilica.ro
