The Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, based in London, is a Diocese within the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate, based in Bucharest, Romania. From a canonical point of view, the Archdiocese is part of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe, based in Paris.
The Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was established, initially as a Diocese, by Synodal Decision number 1716, dated March 1, 2024, and was later elevated to the rank of Archdiocese, by Synodal Decision number 6944, dated July 12, 2024.
The future ruling hierarch of the Archdiocese is His Grace Atanasie, Archbishop-elect in the working session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, dated October 25, 2024 (Synodal Decision number 10.240, dated October 28, 2024).
The Romanian Orthodox Church in Western and Southern Europe
The Romanian community’s presence in Western Europe, a precondition for the emergence of Romanian Orthodox parishes or “chapels,” began to be felt in the first half of the 19th century, initially in Leipzig (Lipsca) and Paris, under different circumstances and for various reasons, but also in Vienna and Baden-Baden.
The Romanian community in Paris was formed in the first half of the 19th century, with the arrival of young noblemen from the two Romanian Principalities to study. Among these young people, Archimandrite Iosafat Snagoveanul (Ioan Vărbileanu, his lay name), an educated cleric of the time, a former minister in the revolutionary government of 1848, exiled along with the other leaders of the 1848 revolution in Wallachia, came to Paris in 1853. That same year, Archimandrite Iosafat founded the “Romanian Chapel in Paris,” for which he obtained operational authorization from the French authorities with the support of Turkey through its ambassador in Paris.
In 1860, after 12 years of expatriation and 7 years of chapel operation in Paris, Archimandrite Iosafat traveled to Bucharest and formally placed the chapel under the patronage of the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia. Iosafat died in 1872 without being able to construct a new church, despite several projects and attempts.
On September 5, 1882, the Kingdom of Romania purchased the “Dominican Chapel,” the former chapel of the Dormans-Beauvais College (a historical monument from the 14th century) in the Latin Quarter, 9 bis, rue Jean de Beauvais. After almost 10 years of restoration work, the chapel was first blessed by the superior priest at the time, Protopriest Ioan Severin, on February 2, 1892, and then solemnly consecrated by Bishop Inochentie Moisiu Ploieșteanul, the vicar of Metropolitan Iosif Gheorghian, on May 31, 1892.
Until World War II, the Romanian Church in Paris flourished, and several prominent figures of the Romanian Orthodox Church (future bishops or theology professors) served there over the years.
The beginnings of the Church
of the British Isles
Obeying the commandment of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19), the Holy Apostles traveled the world, telling everyone the Good News of the Incarnate God. Two of them managed to reach the realms of the British Isles, i.e. Simon the Zealot and Aristobulus, where they preached with great love, thus building the British Church.
The Holy Apostles were followed by a series of saints who continued the expansion of the wonderful Church in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They endured many persecutions from the Roman emperors, bearing all the pain and confessing their faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as Saint Ignatius of Antioch says in his Epistle to the Romans: “I do not want you to please men, but God, just as you are doing.” These unsung heroes were killed with great cruelty, which is why we have very few records of their lives, regarding the first three centuries.
Until 313 AD, when Holy Emperor Constantine the Great made the Christian religion legit in the Roman Empire, thus ending the persecutions, many welcomed martyrdom in Christ. Regarding Holy Emperor Constantine the Great, we know that before he ascended the throne, he was crowned Roman Emperor in York, thus being the ruler of Britain (306 AD).
The saints of those times preached endlessly, offering the world a great legacy, from which we benefit till today’s day and age. In a chronological presentation of the saints that lived in the first eight centuries, we find the following classification: