Chinese man becomes first Chinese orthodox priest in Romania

Dionisije Kenan Vang became the first priest of Chinese origin in the history of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

The 31-year-old man, who was born in China and raised in Brazil, received his ordination on November 8 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He will serve at the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the city center, where he will conduct services, catechesis, and cultural events in both Romanian and English.

Vang lived in China for the first 14 years of his life before moving to Brazil, where he completed his education. He chose to study in Romania in 2014 after finding he lacked the Greek language certification required for his initial goal of studying theology in Greece. He studied history and later theology at the University of Bucharest. Before converting to Orthodox Christianity, Vang studied Buddhism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism.

Vang is married to a Romanian woman and lives in Cluj-Napoca. His appointment marks the beginning of missionary work aimed at foreign communities living in Romania. Vasile Banescu, a former spokesperson for the Romanian Patriarchate, described the man's journey as involving three continents and three cultures united by one faith.