On the first day of the new church year, Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia, Archbishop of Chișinău and Exarch of the Territories, celebrated 35 years since his episcopal ordination.
Elected Bishop of Bălți, he received episcopal ordination on September 1, 1990, at the Cathedral in Chișinău.
Extensive service and ministry
Metropolitan Petru was born on October 24, 1946, in Țiganca, Cahul County, Republic of Moldova, to parents Chiril Păduraru and Ana Avram.
Between 1964 and 1966, he completed military service. In 1967, he was admitted to the St. Andrew Theological Seminary in Odesa, and in 1968, he entered the Dormition Monastery in Odesa as a novice.
He was tonsured a monk on March 29, 1969, by Metropolitan Sergy Petrov of Odesa and Kherson.
On December 29, 1970, he was ordained a hierodeacon at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Odesa, and on February 23, 1973, he was ordained a hieromonk at the Diocesan Cathedral of Uzhhorod.
He later served as parish priest in the Romanian villages of Apșa de Mijloc, Apșa de Jos, and Valea Scradei (Transcarpathia region, Ukraine).
In 1975, he was transferred to the Ascension Monastery in Chumal’ovo, Ukraine, and in 1986, he was appointed abbot by the Bishop of Mukachevo.
He was elevated to the rank of archimandrite on December 3, 1989, returning soon after to Bessarabia, where he served at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Chișinău.
On May 25, 1990, he was appointed abbot of Căpriana Monastery.
Re-establishment of the Metropolis of Bessarabia
Metropolitan Petru’s episcopal ministry is closely linked to the historical and canonical reactivation of the Metropolis of Bessarabia. At the Constituent Diocesan Assembly on September 14, 1992, he was elected Locum Tenens of the Metropolis, with headquarters in Chișinău.
At the same time, a delegation of clergy and laity from the Metropolis of Bessarabia presented themselves at the Romanian Patriarchate in Bucharest, requesting canonical jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Church over the Church in Bessarabia.
On September 14, 1992, the Romanian Patriarchate issued the Patriarchal and Synodal Act, recognising the reactivation of the autonomous Metropolis of Bessarabia, observing the old ca, with its residence in Chișinău.
On September 21, 1992, Petru was received into communion with the Romanian Orthodox Church and appointed Locum Tenens Metropolitan of Bessarabia, becoming a member of the Holy Synod on December 19, 1992.
In 1993, he was decorated with the Medal of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. On October 3, 1995, the Diocesan Assembly of the Metropolis of Bessarabia elected him Metropolitan.
He was confirmed by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on October 24, 1995, receiving the title of Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia, and Exarch of the Plains.
Photo: Basilica.ro
