His Eminence Varsanufie

His Eminence Varsanufie Gogescu was born on 24 January 1968 in Bucharest into an Orthodox Christian family. His parents, Petre-Vasile and Domnica, named him Valentin.

He attended primary school in Bucharest. He then attended the Nifon the Metropolitan Orthodox Theological Seminary (1985–1990) and the Justinian the Patriarch Faculty of Orthodox Theology (1990–1994), both in Bucharest. He continued his studies, undertaking a Master’s degree at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Constanța (2002–2004), and a PhD at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Craiova (2010–2013).

On 15 April 1997, he was received as a novice and tonsured a monk at the Holy Monastery of Slănic, in Argeș County, taking the name Varsanufie. On 7 June 1998, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on 8 June 1998, he was ordained a hieromonk.

Between 1999 and 2006, he served as abbot of the Holy Monastery of Radu Vodă in Bucharest, which he revived and where he undertook restoration work on the frescoes, the iconostasis and the, whilst also constructing a new candlestick adorned with mosaics.

Between 1999 and 2001, he served as exarch of the Holy Archdiocese of Bucharest. On 31 August 1999, he was granted the rank of protosinghel, and on 29 September 2001, that of archimandrite.

On the recommendation of His Holiness Patriarch Teoctist, on 30 September 2001 he was elected and ordained Vicar Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, with the title of ‘Prahoveanul’.

Between 2001 and 2007, he oversaw the Cultural, Social, Heritage and Exarchate Departments of the Holy Archdiocese of Bucharest, and from 2007 onwards, the other departments of the diocese as well.

In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Commander by the President of Romania, Mr Ion Iliescu.

From 2007, he served as Secretary of the Metropolitan Synod of the Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobrogea and as Chairman of the Liturgical Commission of the Archdiocese of Bucharest.

On 22 May 2014, he was elected by the Holy Synod to the vacant see of Archbishop of Râmnic. The enthronement ceremony took place at the Archiepiscopal Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Râmnicu Vâlcea on 8 June 2014, on the Sunday of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

Academic career

Between 1990 and 1998, he was a teacher of Religious Education at several schools and secondary schools in Bucharest and led the pedagogy clubs at Schools No. 206 Saint Stelian, No. 191 Saint George, No. 172 Saint Andrew and No. 176 Saints Constantine and Helena. Between 1995 and 1998, he supervised the teaching practice in the subject of Religion for pupils at the Elena Cuza National College.

Between 1997 and 1998, she worked as a subject advisor for Religious Education for Sector 6 of Bucharest. In 1998, he took part in the ‘Religion and School Education’ Symposium, in the section on ‘Methodology of Teaching Religion in Schools’, presenting a paper entitled ‘Assessment Methods and Techniques in Religion Lessons’.

Between 1999 and 2001, he served as spiritual father at the Nifon the Metropolitan Orthodox Theological High School in Bucharest. Between 2000 and 2001, he coordinated educational and spiritual activities, holding the honorary rank of deputy director of the Theological Seminary in Bucharest. Between 1998 and 2014, he was a lecturer in the New Testament at the same Theological Seminary.

He chaired the meetings of the Faculty Councils at the ‘Metropolitan Nifon’ Orthodox Theological High School in Bucharest and the ‘Saint Filofteea’ Orthodox Theological High School at the Holy Monastery of Pasărea. He served as a member or chaired, as appropriate, the Examination Board for the professional competence certification examinations at the Theological Seminaries within the Holy Archdiocese of Bucharest, the Administrative Grading Board for priests in the Deaneries of the Diocese, the Examination Board for graduates of the Elena Cuza Teacher Training College in Bucharest, the Board for the examination of priestly aptitude, the Examination Board for candidates for ordination as spiritual counsellor, the Examination Board for qualified and unqualified supply teachers in the subject of Religion, and the Liturgical Commission of the Holy Archdiocese of Bucharest.

Between 1993 and 1996, he was an editor at the Orthodox apologetics journal Martyria. Between 1996 and 1999, he was an editor at the Orthodox Press Agency PRAXIS. Between 1994 and 1997, he edited the children’s magazine Floarea Darurilor. Between 2001 and 2014, he was vice-chairman of the Editorial Board of the magazine Glasul Bisericii. Between 2001 and 2003, he was chairman of the Editorial Board of the magazine Cuvânt și suflet published by the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Bucharest. Between 2005 and 2006, he oversaw the ‘Lumea Credinței’ (World of Faith) publishing project for children. Between 2008 and 2014, he was director of the Cuvântul Vieții publishing house.

In partnership with the Bucharest Municipal Education Authority, he organised several editions of the ‘Icon in the Child’s Soul’ exhibition.

In 2006, he took part in a series of national symposia and programmes, including the national symposium on ‘The Role and Place of Religious and Theological Education in Romania’, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs and the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, and the national symposium ‘Religion – History – Romanian, on the theme ‘Romania: a Christian bridge between the West and the East’, organised by the Hermes College of Economics in Bucharest, in collaboration with the Diocesan Centre of the Holy Archdiocese of Bucharest and the City Council of Sector 2 of the Capital.

Also in 2006, it supported the implementation of the continuing professional development programme for religion inspectors across the country, on the theme of ‘Monitoring and School Inspection’, organised by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Prahova County Teachers’ Training Centre, and was responsible for organising several school competitions: ‘The Ascent to the Resurrection’, organised by the Archdiocese of Bucharest, in collaboration with the Bucharest Municipal School Inspectorate and the Marin Preda Theoretical High School in Bucharest; ‘Nichifor Crainic’, also organised by the Archdiocese of Bucharest, in collaboration with the Bucharest Municipal Education Authority and the Dimitrie Leonida Technical College in Bucharest; ‘Floarea Darurilor’, organised by the Archdiocese of Bucharest, in collaboration with the Prahova County Education Authority.

In 2007, he took part in the symposium ‘152 Years Since the Birth of the Morning Star of Romanian Poetry’, organised by the Mihai Eminescu Theoretical High School in Bucharest and the City Council of Sector 4 of the Capital.

In 2008, he took part in the International Interdisciplinary Symposium on the theme ‘Communication through Faith in the Context of European Interculturalism’.

He coordinated the editing and publication of the Religion Textbook for Year 4, approved by the Education Commission of the Romanian Patriarchate and the Ministry of Education and Culture, published by Aramis, Bucharest, 2006.

He oversaw the translation and editing of a book of prayers and the Divine Liturgy into the Romani language, the service subsequently being recorded on audio. Both works are intended for the Romani communities in our country.

He was responsible for the production of several CDs of church hymns: Ars Carmis – Hymns from the Triodion and Pentecostarion (2006); The Service of Saint George of Cernica and the Service of the Romanian Saints (2007); The Akathist to Saint Demetrius the New, the Service of Saint Basil the Great, ‘Rejoice, Bride’ and the Akathist to Saint Parascheva the Pious (2008); and Christian stories: Why Don’t the Flowers Sing? (read by the actor Florian Pittiş, 2006); The House Scented with Fir (read by the actor Florian Pittiş, 2006); A Little Boy and His Winged Song (read by actress Tamara Buciuceanu-Botez, 2008); The Attic Across the Way (read by actress Alexandrina Halic, 2008); The Honeycomb of Stories (read by actress Manuela Hărăbor, 2008); The Life of Saint Mary of Egypt (read by actors Radu Beligan, Victor Rebengiuc, Maria Ploae and Daniela Nane, 2011).

Since 2014, he has been chairman of the editorial board of the journal Praxis of the Holy Archdiocese of Râmnic, a member of the editorial board of the church journal Mitropolia Olteniei and editor of the cultural journal Clipa.

Publications

This is Eternal Life. Studies in Patristic Gnoseology, Praxis Publishing House, Râmnicu Vâlcea, 2015;

The Work of Divine Grace in the Theology of Saint Gregory Palamas, Basilica Publishing House, Bucharest, 2014;

Three plays: The Three Kings (a verse play for children), 1996 and 2003; The Martyrdom of Saint George (a verse play for children), 1996; The Death of Judas (a play in verse for children), 1997. The plays have been broadcast on several occasions by Radio Romania, as part of the programme ‘Radio Theatre for Children’.

Articles, studies

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Lectures

He has delivered several lectures for young people, as part of the Philocalic Evenings or on other occasions: Eminescu and the Orthodox Church, 2001; The Burning Bush, 2002; ‘The Young Orthodox Christian’s Struggle with Passions and Thoughts’, 2002; ‘The Beatitudes in the Psalms and the New Testament’, 2003; Monasteries that once stood in Bucharest, 2003; Religious Poetry in the Work of George Coșbuc, 2004; Romanian Folk Proverbs and the Wisdom of Solomon, 2004; Moral Principles in the Work of Vasile Voiculescu, 2005; The Ascent to the Resurrection, 2006; The Significance of the Sundays of Lent, 2007; The Cross of Suffering and the Joy of the Resurrection, 2008.

He has organised several international and national symposia, conferences and exhibitions, including:

The international symposium ‘The Testimonial Spirituality of Romanian Culture during the Time of the Holy Martyr Constantin Brâncoveanu’, at the Holy Monastery of Hurezi, 2–3 September 2014;

The International Symposium ‘The Cultural and Philanthropic Mission of the Church in the Work of Saint Constantine Brâncoveanu and Saint Antim Ivireanul’, at the Holy Monastery of Bistrița, 25–26 September 2014;

National Conference: ‘The Significance of Romanian Culture and Spirituality during the Reign of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu for National History. 300 years since the martyrdom of a Romanian saint, at the Holy Monastery of Hurezi, 22 September 2014, in collaboration with Valahia University in Târgoviște, the Dumitru Stăniloae Centre for Interdisciplinary Scientific Research at Valahia University, and Ovidius University of Constanța;

The national conference ‘Hurezi, a monastery without equal’, held at the Holy Monastery of Hurezi, 4 October 2014;

The 15th edition of the ‘Monasticism and Art’ Exhibition, organised by Prof. Elena Stoica, director of the Vâlcea County Centre for the Conservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture, in collaboration with the monasteries within the Archdiocese of Râmnic;

The national symposium ‘The Spiritual and Cultural Work of Saint Calinic of Cernica, Bishop of Râmnic’, held at the St Calinic Cultural Centre in Râmnicu Vâlcea, 25 April 2015;

The national symposium ‘Tradition and Innovation in the Culture and Spirituality of the Brâncoveanu Era’, held at the Holy Monastery of Hurezi, September 2015.