Teodosie Petrescu

Early life

Born in Vatra Dornei, Suceava County, Teodosie was the 17th child of the family of Procopie and Elisabeta Petrescu. He followed the Neamț Monastery's Theological Seminary between 1970-1975, after which he became, in 1976, a student of theology at the University of Bucharest, which he graduated in 1980.

After graduation, Petrescu became a teaching assistant at the Theological Institute of Bucharest. On September 29, 1987, Petrescu signed a commitment with the Securitate which he later recalled as "a patriotic gesture" and denied he collaborated with the political police.

Monk and bishop

He was tonsured a monk in December 1990 at the Crasna Monastery, Prahova County, receiving the name Teodosie. On March 22, 1994, the Holy Synod raised him to become a bishop and he became the vicar of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, receiving the name of Snagoveanul ("of Snagov"), being ordinated on April 3, 1994 at the Saint Spyridon the New Church of Bucharest.

On February 21, 2001, the Church Electoral College summoned by Patriarch Teoctist in Bucharest voted bishop Teodosie Petrescu to become the Archbishop of Tomis, being enthroned at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul of Constanța on April 8, 2001, the Palm Sunday.

Teodosie became a Doctor of Theology in July 1999 and has been a professor since April 2002. On September 17, 2002, he was elected Dean of the Orthodox Theology Faculty of the Ovidius University, Constanța, being also reelected in 2004 and 2008.

România Liberă investigation and corruption charges

In March 2009, six months after the university year started, in exchange of the sum of €3000, Teodosie intermediated the matriculation of an undercover journalist of România Liberă using false documents, being helped by the inspector of the catechesis office, priest Emil Cosmin Brăescu and priest Bogdan Chiriluță.

Petrescu and the two priests were investigated by the police and formally charged in August 2009. Petrescu was charged with bribery and incitement to forgery, while his associates, Bogdan Chiriluță with complicity to taking a bribe, while Emil Brăescu with forgery.

Revenue service investigation

In September 2010, the Tomis Archdiocese, which had a debt of 4.2 million lei (~1 million €) in unpaid payroll taxes had its goods (including the Archbishop's Palace) sequestered for 30 days by the Romanian revenue service. The archbishop's reply was that sacred goods are inalienable, but nevertheless paid 500,000 lei of its due taxes. Nevertheless, the revenue service put the Archdiocese's goods under sequester again in December 2011, the unpaid taxes being over 1 million lei.

Awards

In December 2002, Teodosie Petrescu was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania in the rank of Knight by President Ion Iliescu.