Romanian Orthodox Church names Bishop Antonie as Metropolitan of Basarabia

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on 2 July 2026 in the Patriarchal Palace, chaired by Patriarch Daniel. In a secret ballot it elected Bishop Antonie of Bălți as Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Basarabia and Exarch of the lands.

The synod also chose new vicar archbishops: Maxim Drăguț was appointed Vicar Archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese in Italy, and Iachint Vardianu was appointed Vicar Archbishop for the dioceses covering Australia and New Zealand.