Vincent (Vinkenty, Vichentie, russian: Викентий; born Viktor Aleksandrovich Morar or Morari or Moraru, on December 4, 1953), is a bishop 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 ...

. He serves as Metropolitan of

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

and he is a permanent member of the

Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church ( rus, Священный синод Русской православной церкви, Svyashchennyy sinod Russkoy pravoslavnoy tserkvi) serves by Church statute as the supreme administrative go ...

Life

Victor Moraru was born in

Sculeni Sculeni ( yi, סקולען, ''Skulen'') is a commune in Ungheni District, Moldova. It is composed of four villages: Blindești, Floreni, Gherman and Sculeni. It is also a border checkpoint to Romania. History The town had an important Jewis ...

Moldovan SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

. His father was an orthodox priest. He wanted to become a physician, but because of his family's religiosity, he chose to become a priest. In 1981 he was tonsured a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

in honour of saint

Vincent of Saragossa Vincent of Saragossa (also known as Vincent Martyr, Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon), the Protomartyr of Spain, was a deacon of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zaragoza, Church of Saragossa. He is the patron saint of Lisbon and Valenci ...

. In 1982 he graduated from the

Moscow Theological Academy Moscow Theological Academy (russian: Московская духовная академия) is a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, training clergy, teachers, scholars, and officials. The Academy traces its origin to ...

. On July 20, 1990, 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 , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

elected Vincent Morari as Bishop of Bender (Tighina). The ceremony was held by

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, russian: link=no, Патриарх Алексий II; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger russian: link=no, Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ри́дигер; 23 February 1929 – 5 December ...

. Wincenty has been involved in the establishment and development of the Teological Seminary at the

Noul Neamț Monastery Noul Neamț Monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Noul Neamț; russian: Свято-Вознесенский Ново-Нямецкий монастырь) is an all-male Moldovan Orthodox monastery located in Chițcani, near Bender and Tiraspol. Geographi ...

Chițcani Chițcani (russian: Кицканы, Kitskany; uk, Кіцкань, Kitskan) is a commune in Căușeni District, Moldova. It consists of the village ''Chițcani'' and two small villages (hamlets), ''Merenești'' and ''Zahorna''. Chițcani is situa ...

, which is currently the largest spiritual and educational center of the Chisinau Metropolis. This period also coincided with the Gagauz independence movement and with the war in Transnistria. He sees the Transnistrian conflict as an incomprehensible war, in which, according to him, they fought "son against father, brother against brother", describing the people who fought on both sides as "our soldiers". Along with Vladimir Cantarean, he was a strong opponent of the reactivation of the

Metropolis of Bessarabia The Metropolis of Bessarabia ( ro, Mitropolia Basarabiei), also referred to as the Bessarabian Orthodox Church, is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan bishopric of the Romanian Orthodox Church, situated in Moldova. Its canonical jurisd ...

(under the leadership of Peter (Păduraru)) within the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

, even persecuting some of its believers. Dmitry Medvedev with archbishop Vikenty

In July 1995, he was appointed by the Holy Synod bishop of

Abakan Abakan (russian: Абака́н, p=ɐbɐˈkan; Khakas: , ''Ağban''/, ''Abaxan'') is the capital city of the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, located in the central part of Minusinsk Depression, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers. A ...

and

Kyzyl Kyzyl (; Tuvan and russian: Кызыл; , ) is the capital city of the republic of Tuva, Russia. The name of the city means "red" or "crimson" in Tuvan (and in many other Turkic languages). Its population was History The city was founded in 1 ...

. In February 1999 he was raised to the rank of Archbishop and in July that year he was elected Archbishop of

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

and Verhotursk. He also became rector of the Ekaterinburg Theological Seminary. The local press in Ekaterinburg repeatedly accused him of a tendency toward "luxury", especially because "in the face of poverty in Russia", he sat in a “Tsarist seat”, to which Archbishop Wincenty replied: “the terrible catastrophe in Russia has happened from this imaginary struggle with poverty - the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. If we are discussing this, then we should all sit down in misery." On July 27, 2011, by the decision of the

, he was appointed Bishop of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, head of the newly formed Central Asian Metropolitan District. In matters concerning the Central Asian Metropolitan District, as well as during liturgical commemoration in dioceses other than those headed by himself, he titled as Metropolitan of Central Asia. In addition, he was entrusted with the temporary management of the newly formed Bishkek and Dushanbe diocese. Although active in Russia and Central Asia, Wincenty continued to visit Moldova and engage in the life of the local Orthodox Church.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wincenty Russian bishops Bishops of the Moldovan Orthodox Church Russian people of Moldovan descent People from Sculeni Moldovan expatriates in Uzbekistan Russian expatriates in Uzbekistan Eastern Orthodox Christians from Moldova Eastern Orthodox monks Living people Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church 1953 births Moldovan bishops