“I thank Almighty God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon me in this year of service. I am the most recently ordained, and by the work of the Holy Spirit, God has appointed me to the youngest diocese—not only in the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe but within the entire Romanian Patriarchate,” said His Grace Bishop Nectarie, the newly elected Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Ireland and Iceland, on Friday.
He shared that he had frequently served at Romanian parishes in Ireland and Iceland as Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Western Europe, where he was warmly received by the priests and parishioners in these regions.
“Throughout this year, I have been assigned several times to serve in this newly established diocese, the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland. Even though the number of parishes is not large, the priests are zealous, and the faithful are profoundly dedicated,” he remarked.
“From the depth of my heart, I confess that on Christmas Day of 2023, His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif appointed me to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, and from that moment, I felt that the work of Saint Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, entered my soul.”
“The priests who serve at the Holy Altars received me with much love and joy during the three days I spent there. Throughout this year as Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Western Europe, I have tried—God knows if I have succeeded—to completely obey His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif, who is my spiritual father,” Bishop Nectarie shared.
The newly elected Bishop of Ireland and Iceland thanked His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and the hierarchs of the Holy Synod for appointing him to this new role.
“As I embark on this path, I can only say, ‘Lord, help me to fulfil Your will and work in Your holy Church.’ Thank you, and I ask that Your Beatitude and all Your Graces remember me in your prayers.”
On Friday, October 25, the Holy Synod elected His Grace Bishop Nectarie of Brittany, Vicar Bishop of the Archdiocese of Western Europe, to the position of Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Ireland and Iceland.
Photo: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
