ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
St Peter's Church in Canterbury hosts regular services of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Father Grigore Pașcu is responsible for the mission and he writes:
The orthodox mission in Canterbury is under the canonical jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe, Great Britain’s Deanery, with the headquarters in Paris: an autonomous metropolis that belongs to the Romanian Orthodox Church (Romanian Patriarchate).
The metropolis is governed by the Metropolitan Synod formed by His Eminence Iosif, Archbishop and Metropolitan; His Excellency Siluan, Bishop of Italy; His Excellency Timothy, Bishop of Spain and Portugal; and His Excellency Marc, Auxiliary Bishop.
The metropolis has its jurisdiction over the entire Western and Southern Europe, having the following structure:
- Archdiocese of Western Europe, based in Paris, with jurisdiction in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland; also includes the representation of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the European institutions (Brussels)
- Diocese of Italy, based in Rome, with jurisdiction over Italy
- Diocese of Spain and Portugal, based in Madrid, with jurisdiction over Spain and Portugal.
The metropolis is organised into parishes, which are grouped into Deaneries and monasteries and includes few associations. The mission started in 2014, when Fr. Grigore Pașcu was ordained as priest for this mission.
Video taken during a typical Romanian Orthodox Service at St Peter's Church
Video courtesy of Eutalia Rebegea.