The Archbishop of Tomis, Teodosie, got away only with a verbal warning from the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, for the accusations brought against him – “rebellion, indiscipline and public pressure”, after he repeatedly insisted on the elevation of the Archbishopric of Tomis to metropolitan rank, although it would not meet the criteria, BOR sources told Digi24 on Thursday.
The Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on Thursday, and one of the items on the agenda was “the violation of the statutory order of the Church and the disturbance of peace in the life of the Church and society through acts of rebellion, indiscipline and public pressure” by the archbishop of Tomis, Teodosie.
The Holy Synod, the highest authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church, called for “calm and peace between the dioceses” and asked His Holiness Teodosie to give up his insistence that the Archbishopric of Tomis be raised to the rank of Metropolitan.
His approach was rejected for the first time in 2003, but in the last two years Teodosie renewed his insistence.
“Each time, the Chancellery of the Holy Synod answered that, according to the Statute for the organization and functioning of the Romanian Orthodox Church, a metropolis is made up of two, three or more dioceses, and their hierarchies together form a metropolitan synod”, the Chancellery of the Holy Synod of the BOR said in early February.
Moreover, insisting “fiercely” in his approach, the Romanian Patriarchate found that Theodosia violates “the statutory order of the Romanian Orthodox Church”. “Therefore, the violation of the statutory order of the Church and the disturbance of the peace in the life of the Church and society through acts of rebellion, indiscipline and public pressure will be included on the agenda of the future meeting of the Holy Synod”, the statement of the Chancellery of the Holy Synod also says.
The leadership of the BOR then accused Teodosie in the past of “personal ambitions” unrelated to the pastoral mission and of defying the recommendations of the BOR.
In addition, he was criticized for the initiatives during the pandemic that damaged the image of the church and showed a “provocative” attitude. Teodosie stood out in the public space through a series of controversial statements, and during the pandemic he challenged the anti-COVID measures imposed by the authorities, even being fined for various organized jobs even though it was prohibited.
In December 2023, Teodosie stated that “the coronavirus pandemic did not exist”.
Moreover, Teodosie has constantly made controversial statements against women. The most recent one was made the other days and referred to men, more precisely to men who don’t wear
beards.
Sanction also for Vasile Banescu
Also, the leadership of the BOR decided to reorganize the Press Office of the Patriarchate, led by Vasile Bănescu, who came into conflict with Teodosie, stating that “Vasile Bănescu’s personal opinions are not the equivalent of an official press release”.
“The personal opinions of mr. Vasile Bănescu are not the equivalent of an official press release of the Romanian Patriarchate, starting from March 1, 2024, the press releases of the Romanian Patriarchate will be issued by the Chancellery of the Holy Synod, until the reorganization of the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate,” says the Holy Synod of BOR
I love church politics!