The Romanian Church has elected a new head of the Metropolis of Bessarabia

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has officially elected Bishop Anton of Bălți to the position of Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia, and Exarch of the Territories. The decision was made during a working session chaired by Patriarch Daniel in Bucharest, according to the Orthodox Times.

During the voting process, Bishop Antonie was selected from among two candidates, the other being Bishop Benjamin of Southern Bessarabia. The new metropolitan will succeed his predecessor in this position, continuing to develop church life in the Metropolis of Bessarabia.

Biography of the elected metropolitan: The future head of the Bessarabian Metropolis was born in 1963 in the village of Hyrbovets, Moldova. Before pursuing theological studies at the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Faculty in Iași, he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chișinău. Since 1995, Bishop Anthony has been actively involved in the administrative and educational activities of the Metropolis.

Key milestones in his ecclesiastical career included his election as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chișinău in 2014 and his subsequent appointment as Bishop of Bălți in 2018. His many years of experience in organizing church structures have earned him the trust of the members of the Holy Synod.

As a reminder, we previously reported that Archbishop Markell of Bălți and Fălești, a hierarch of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, expressed concern about the consequences of the Bessarabian schism, which, in his view, is not a church matter, but a political project of Romania.