His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia bestowed a newly instituted order of the Metropolis honouring its first primate Metropolitan Gurie Grosu upon His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel during a ceremony held at the Patriarchal Palace on October 28, 2022.
The award honouring Bessarabia’s first Metropolitan Gurie Grosu was established this year to mark the 30th anniversary of the reactivation of the Metropolis of Bessarabia.
In December 1992, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church took note, with blessing, of the reactivation of the Metropolis of Bessarabia and by a Patriarchal and Synodal Decree recognised this Metropolis as autonomous, observing the old calendar, being an integral part of the body of the Romanian Orthodox Church with its headquarters in Chișinău.
The distinction was offered to the Patriarch of Romania “as a sign of high appreciation for his special activity in defending and serving the true faith, as well as in promoting and supporting the Orthodox values of the Church of the Romanian nation in Bessarabia.”
The ceremony was part of the solemn session of the Holy Synod where the hierarchs reflected on the activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church carried out in connection with this year’s solemn and commemorative themes – prayer and hesychasm.
Gurie Grosu was the first metropolitan of Bessarabia. In 1920, the Extraordinary Diocesan Congress elected him to the dignity of archbishop of Chisinau and Hotin.
In 1928, with the elevation of the diocese to the rank of Metropolis, Archbishop Gurie became Metropolitan of Bessarabia.
Metropolitan Gurie Grosu was involved in promoting the Romanian language and culture in Bessarabia.
Gurie Grosu was Metropolitan of Bessarabia until November 1943, when he retired due to the pressure of the political regime. He withdrew to Bucharest and reposed on November 14, 1943. He was buried at Cernica Monastery’s cemetery.
Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
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