Mihail

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

• He was born on 25 January 1964, son of Ioan and Ileana Filimon, in Matca commune, Galați County. He receives the baptism name of Maricel.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 1970-1978 – attends primary and secondary school in his native commune Matca, Galați County;
• 1978-1982 – pupil at the Industrial High School No. 1 in Tecuci, Galați County;
• 13 November 1984 – enters the monastic life at the Cernica Monastery, Ilfov County;
• 7 January 1986 – is tonsured a monk at the Cernica Monastery, Ilfov County;
• April 1986 – is transferred to the Curtea de Argeș Monastery, Argeș County;
• 18 April 1987 – is ordained a hierodeacon, and on 11 September 1988 a hieromonk, by His Grace Calinic of Argeș, Assistant-Bishop of the Diocese of Râmnic and Argeș, currently the Diocese of Argeș and Muscel;
• 1991 – graduates from the Faculty of Theology “Andrei Șaguna” of the University of Sibiu;
• 8 November 1991 – is elevated to the rank of protosyncellus by the His Grace Casian of Galați, Assistant-Bishop of the Diocese of Tomis and Lower Danube, currently Archbishop of Lower Danube;
• 1992-1995 – attends doctorate courses in Theology at the Theological Faculties of Sibiu and Cluj, Department of Systematic Theology, specializing in Dogmatic and Symbolic Theology, under the coordination of Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Ică;
• 1993 – Attends Greek language courses at the Faculty of Philology of the “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki (Greece);
• 22 January 1995 – is elevated to the rank of archimandrite by His Grace Calinic, Bishop of Argeș and Muscel, at the Negru-Vodă Monastery in Câmpulung Muscel;
• 1999 – defends his doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki (Greece), entitled: The Catechetical Ministry of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the 20th century, under the coordination of Prof Ioannis Kongoulis;
• 1999-2003 – works as a lecturer at the Department of Christian Pedagogy within the Pastoral Theology Department of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Saint Martyr Filoteia” of the University of Pitești and counsellor for theological and religious education in the Diocese of Argeș and Muscel;
• 2000-2003 – school inspector for the course Religion within the Argeș County School Inspectorate;
• 2003 – 1 January 2008 – Abbot of the Ascension of the Lord Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Detroit, Michigan (USA);
• 1 January 2008 – is appointed administrative protosyncellus of the Archdiocese of Bucharest;
• 5 March 2008 – is elected Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, being ordained on 20 April 2008, at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest and enthroned on 29 June 2008 in the Episcopal Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Melbourne (Australia).