Teoctist I.
His Beatitude Teoctist I. Arăpaşu (born February 7, 1915 in Tocileni , Botoşani County , Romania ; † July 30, 2007 in Bucharest ) was the fifth patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church , administrator of Kaisarala in Cappadocia , from 1986 until his death . Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia and Archbishop of Bucharest.
Life
Teoctist I was born the tenth child of a family in north-eastern Romania and was christened Toader . In 1928 he entered the Mănăstirea Vorona monastery as a novice . In 1932 he went to a theological high school near Bucharest. On August 6, 1935, he took the monk's vows in the monastery of Bistrița-Neamț and was given the name Teoctist. On January 4, 1937, he was ordained a deacon . In 1940 he finished high school and began studying at the theological faculty of the University of Bucharest. He graduated in 1945 and was ordained a priest on March 25 of the same year. He then went to the cathedral in Iași , where he was Episcopal Vicar from 1946 to 1950 . From 1946 to 1947 he also studied literature and philosophy at the University of Alexandru Ioan Cuza Iași .
On February 28, 1950, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church elected him Auxiliary Bishop on March 5, and he received the title of Botoșani (Botoșăneanul). Until 1954 he was also rector of the Higher Theological Institute in Bucharest. On July 28, 1962, he was elected Diocesan Bishop of Arad and at the same time was given responsibility for the Vicariate of Gyula . A year later, the Congress of the Orthodox Diocese in the United States elected him Bishop of Detroit . The Holy Synod accepted the election and made him Archbishop . Due to the Cold War , he was unable to fully exercise his leadership. On January 28, 1973, he became Archbishop of Craiova and at the same time Metropolitan of Little Wallachia . On September 25, 1977 he became Archbishop of Iași and Metropolitan of the regions of Moldova and Bukovina . 1980 to 1982 he was at the same time Deputy Archbishop of Sibiu (Hermannstadt) and Metropolitan of Transylvania (as administrator during the Sedis vacancy).
Teoctist I. was a member of the Christian Peace Conference (CFK), at the VI. He took part in the All-Christian Peace Assembly in Prague in 1985 .
He was elected Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church on November 9, 1986 and was officially installed ten days later. There were representatives of all Orthodox , Protestant and Roman Catholic churches , the Patriarch of Jerusalem and Bulgaria and also representatives of the Romanian state.
After Nicolae Ceaușescus at the end of 1989, the Holy Synod of Teoctist I resigned from his office due to his controversial role in the past, but she reinstated him in April 1990.
In May 1999 Pope John Paul II traveled to Romania and was received by Teoctist I. This was seen as an important step for ecumenism , as Romania is a strongly Orthodox country. On October 4, 2002, Teoctists returned to the Vatican .
He died of a heart attack in 2007 and was buried in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest .
Awards and honors
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Bucharest (1995)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Oradea (1995)
- Honorary member of the Romanian Academy of Sciences and Culture (1999)
- Grand Cross of the Star of Romania (1999)
- Honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublin (2000)
- Honorary doctorate from the Dunărea de Jos University Galați (2000)
- Honorary doctorate from Petroșani University (2001)
- Honorary doctorate from the Dimitrie Cantemir University Bucharest (2003)
- Honorary doctorate from Craiova University (2003)
- Honorary doctorate from Ovidius University of Constanța (2004)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Alexandru Ioan Cuza Iași (2005)
- Collane of the Star of Romania (2007) posthumously
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Moisescu |
Patriarch of Romania 1986-2007 |
Daniel Ciobotea |
| Nicolae Corneanu | Bishop of Arad 1962–1973 |
Visarion Aştileanu |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Teoctist I. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Arăpașu, Teoctist I .; Arăpașu, Toader (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Romanian clergyman, Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of the Hungarian Wallachians and Patriarch of Romania |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 7, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tocileni , Romania |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 30, 2007 |
| Place of death | Bucharest |