Author(s): Silviu-Constantin Nedelcu,Mihai Pîtiu / Language(s): Romanian
Issue: 10-12/2019
Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu was the second Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church and succeeded Patriarch Miron Cristea (1925-1939), being enthroned after his death and ruling for nine years, from 1939 until his death, in 1948. After the death of Metropolitan Pimen Georgescu (1853-1934), the seat of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova and Suceava was declared vacant, elections were held on January 23, 1935. Metropolitan Nicodim obtained 103 votes out of the total of 156, being designated as Metropolitan of Moldova. On January 30, 1935, the royal investiture was followed at the Royal Palace, and its official installation in the capital of Moldova, the city of Iasi, took place on February 3, 1935, in the presence of Patriarch Miron Cristea, Metropolitan Nicolae Bălan of Transylvania, Bishop Visarion Puiu of Bălți, Alexandru Lapedatu, Minister of Cults, Osvald Racovitză, mayor of the city of Iasi, et al. After being elected Metropolitan of Moldova, Nicodim Munteanu, having a rich activity as a writer and translator, continued to write further, his first texts being found in the pages of the magazine Mitropolia Moldovei. Metropolitan Nicodim published in the theological journal Mitropolia Moldovei, from no. 3 (March 1935) until no. 12 (December 1935), a total number of 13 texts. These texts can be divided into several categories: 1) pastoral letters; 2) occasional speeches; 3) greetings (Easter, Christmas and New Year); 4) official documents (notifications and metropolitan decisions).
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