About Teoctist Arăpașu
Teoctist (Romanian pronunciation: [te.okˈtist], born Toader Arăpașu, 7 February 1915 – 30 July 2007) was the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1986 to 2007. Teoctist served his first years as patriarch under the Romanian Communist regime, and was accused by some of collaboration. He offered his resignation after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, but was soon restored to office and served a further 17 years. A promoter of ecumenical dialogue, Patriarch Teoctist invited Pope John Paul II to visit Romania in 1999. It was the first visit of a Pope to a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the East-West Schism of 1054. == Studies and ecclesiastic career == He was born as the tenth of eleven children of Dumitru and Marghioala Arăpașu, of Tocileni, Botoșani County. He attended the primary school in Tocileni (1921–1927). In 1928, Arăpașu became a novice at Sihăstria Voronei hermitage, and later at Vorona Monastery. He became a monk on 6 August 1935 at the Bistrița-Neamț Monastery. In 1940, he began his studies at the Theology School of the University of Bucharest, from which he graduated in 1945.
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