The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church elected His Grace Bishop Benedict of Bistrița as the new Bishop of Sălaj on Thursday, filling the vacancy left in December 2024 following the suspension of Bishop Petroniu by the Synod of the Metropolis of Cluj, Maramureș, and Sălaj.
Also considered for the position was Archimandrite Samuel Cristea, a professor and spiritual father at the Orthodox College “Metropolitan Nicolae Colan” in Cluj-Napoca.
A Monastic and Academic Path
Bishop Benedict, born Valentin-Cosmin Vesa on February 13, 1984, in Sartăș, Alba County, comes from a priestly family. He is the second of two sons of Fr. Ioan and Presbytera Elena-Mărioara Vesa, with his brother Marius-Ioan working as an engineer.
Entering monastic life, he was tonsured a monk on January 17, 2015, at Nicula Monastery, receiving the name Benedict. His spiritual father was Fr. Teofil Roman, now Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Spain and Portugal.
On February 13, 2020, his 36th birthday, he was elected Assistant Bishop (Episcop vicar) of the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac, and Cluj, and was consecrated on February 23, 2020, at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Cluj-Napoca.
At his consecration, Bishop Benedict expressed a strong desire to be a friend to young people, committing himself to serve them with dedication.
Education and Scholarship
Bishop Benedict holds a degree from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the “1 December 1918” University in Alba Iulia. He pursued further studies at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Switzerland (2009–2011) and the “Sant’Antonio Dottore” Theological Institute in Padua, Italy (2011–2012). He holds two doctoral degrees, one from Cluj-Napoca and another from Padua.
An accomplished scholar, Bishop Benedict has authored numerous books, studies, and articles, and is fluent in Syriac, Greek, Latin, as well as English, French, and Italian. Since 2013, he has been a member of the Association of Syriac Scholars in Italy.
He currently serves as a university lecturer at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj-Napoca.
Source: Basilia.ro / Photo credit: Basilica.ro / Raluca Ene