Patriarchal Cross to university senior lecturer dr. Adrian Lemeni

Church of Romania

On Thursday, 26 November 2015, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, awarded the Patriarchal Cross for lay people, with gramata, and the title of Honorary Patriarchal Counsellor to university senior lecturer dr. Adrian Lemeni, for his entire activity unfolded within the state and the patriarchal administration.

As State Secretary for Religious Affairs, Mr Adrian Lemeni contributed to drafting and supporting Bill no 489/2006 on the religious freedom and general regime of the religious denominations, as well as to promoting a suitable legislative frame for the recognised religious entities in Romania. Within his activity as patriarchal counsellor, coordinator of the Theological-educational Department of the Romanian Patriarchate, he was directly involved in signing the Protocol on teaching Religion – Orthodox denomination in the pre-university education and on organising pre-university and university Orthodox theological education, concluded between the Romanian Patriarchate, Ministry for National Education and the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations (29 May 2014); he participated in the important demarche in the process of enrolling to Religion class; he initiated and brought to completion the Strategic plan for growing the quality of religious education; he coordinated some of the academic and cultural activities and events at national and international level.

The event was held in the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence.

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Adrian Nicolae Lemni was born on 27 September 1971, in Cugir city, county of Alba. He graduated the courses of “David Prodan” College of Cugir city, and then, from 1990-1995, studied at the Faculty of Mechanics, Engineering of Production Systems, within the Polytechnic University of Timișoara city. As long as he attended technical courses in Timișoara, he had the opportunity to meet a series of great spiritual fathers such as Rev. Cleopa Ilie, Rev. Sofian Boghiu, Rev. Arsenie Papacioc, Rev. Teofil Părăian, Rev. Dumitru Stăniloae. These encounters led him to attend theological studies. From 1994-1998, he attends the courses of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Bucharest, graduating the first in his series, with the diploma theme Transcendence and Immanence of God in Relation to Creation. He improved his theological training attending master courses from 1998-1999, specialising in Doctrine and Culture within the same faculty, delivering the graduation thesis on the theme “Cosmos and Science. A Theological Evaluation”.

From 1999-2002, he was a student for a doctoral degree in Dogmatic theology within the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Bucharest, under the supervision of Rev. Prof. Acad. Dr. Dumitru Popescu, with the theme of his PhD thesis: Eschatological Dimension of Creation delivered in July 2002. From 2004 forward, Adrian Lemeni worked as university lecturer at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Bucharest, and since 2007 as university senior lecturer.

On 27 January 2005 he was appointed State Secretary for Religious Affairs within the Ministry for Culture and Religious Affairs. From 22 June 2007 until the beginning of 2009, he was personal counsellor of the Prime Minister, in the religious field. On 4 February 2009, he became State Secretary for Religious Affairs again, within the Ministry for Culture, Religious Affairs and National Patrimony, and since 21 January his position passed under the authority of the Prime Minister. From 2010-2012, he was State Secretary for Religious Affairs within the Romanian Government.

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The Patriarchal Cross for clergy and lay persons is the highest distinctionawarded by the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, with gramata, following the proposal of the eparchial hierarchs, to clergy and lay people with a long worthy activity in the pastoral-missionary, church-administrative, didactical-educational, and social-philanthropic fields (article 147 paragraph (1) of the Statutes for the Organisation and Functioning of the Romanian Orthodox Church). 

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