President Iohannis: His Holiness Pimen - a gifted priest; his demise brings sadness to BOR

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday sent a letter to the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) Daniel saying that the demise of Archbishop Pimen of Suceava and Radauti brings great sadness upon the entire BOR and that he was "a gifted priest" who "dedicated his efforts to preserve the Romanian identity."

"I want to express my sincere condolences to Your Beatitude, to the high hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the members of the Holy Synod, as well as to the faithful in the Suceava and Radauti Archiepiscopate for the demise of His Holiness Father Pimen, the Archbishop of Suceava and Radauti. This is a moment of great sadness for the entire Romanian Orthodox Church and for all the faithful under the care of His Holiness Pimen. A great personality and a gifted priest, His Holiness Pimen dedicated his life with generosity to the Church and to the people and he dedicated his efforts to preserving the Romanian identity, by capitalizing, at home and abroad, on the great Orthodox spirituality and the valuable patrimony of the churches and monasteries in Moldova," the head of state said in a letter he sent to the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

President Iohaniss remarked the fact that the Romanian Orthodox Church substantially participated in the national efforts to combat coronavirus pandemic.

"By evoking his great personality, I want to remark the fact that, through prayer and support for the ones in need, through the help he offered to the ones fighting the pandemic in the first line, the Romanian Orthodox Church substantially participated in the national effort to combat the pandemic. I am certain that, in the next period, under Your Beatitude's wise guidance, the Romanian Orthodox Church will be a support for our society, combining its pastoral mission with the concern for protecting the faithful and its hierarchs, for a fast return to normality of our country," said the President

The Archbishop Pimen of Suceava and Radauti died on Tuesday night at the "Matei Bals" Institute in the Capital City.