Bishop Peter or Petru (

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth an ...

Valeriu Ioan Musteață; born October 29, 1967), is a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Moldovan Orthodox Church Moldovan and Moldavian refer to something of, from, or related to Moldova or Moldavia. In particular, it may refer to: *Moldovans, the main ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova *''Moldavians'', the inhabitants of the historical territory of the ...

under the

Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. He serves as

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Ungheni and Nisporeni, a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Life

Born in 1967, Valeriu completed secondary school in 1985 and entered the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, serving from 1986 until 1988. Following his discharge from 1988 until 1992 Valeriu studied at the Odessa Theological Seminary in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. In 1992 Valeriu was tonsured a monk with the name Peter, and later on in 1992 Metropolitan

Vladimir (Cantarean) Vladimir (Cantarean), born Nicolae Cantarean on August 18, 1952, is a bishop of the Moldovan Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. He serves as Metropolitan of Chişinău and All Moldova and thus as first hierarch of the Church of Mo ...

of Chisinau ordained him first a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

(in July) and then a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

(in August). In September 1992

Hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

Peter was appointed as confessor of the Hâncu Monastery, in 1993 becoming its abbot. In November 1995 Igumen Peter was elevated to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

. On October 6, 2005, Archimandrite Petru was elected Bishop of

Nisporeni Nisporeni () The city is administrative center of the Nisporeni District. Demographics Most of the population (80.5%) are Moldovans. History The first historical appearance was in 1618. The Romanian People's Salvation Cross, the largest cros ...

by the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

of the Russian Orthodox Church and appointed as a vicar of the

Eparchy of Chișinău Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

. On November 13, 2005, Fr. Peter was consecrated to the episcopacy in Chisinau's Holy Nativity Cathedral. On October 6, 2006, the Russian Orthodox Church established the Ungheni and Nisporeni Eparchy and elected Bishop Petru as diocesan Bishop of Ungheni and Nisporeni. Due to disturbances within the eparchy the Russian Orthodox Holy Synod decided in March 2007 to temporarily relieve Bishop Petru of his responsibilities, limiting him to the administration of the Hâncu Monastery and later designating him as a vicar of the Chisinau Eparchy as Bishop of Hâncu. In December 2010 the Holy Synod restored Vladica Petru to the leadership of the Ungheni and Nisporeni Eparchy.

External links

Biography of His Grace Peter, Bishop of Ungheni and Nisporeni (Romanian)

* Petru Musteata (Romanian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter 1967 births Living people Eastern Orthodox monks Bishops of the Moldovan Orthodox Church Recipients of the Order of Honour (Moldova) Moldovan bishops