Archdiocese of Râmnic

Archdiocese of Râmnic Arhiepiscopia Râmnicului
Location
Country	Romania
Territory	Vâlcea County
Ecclesiastical province	Metropolis of Oltenia
Metropolitan	Râmnicu Vâlcea
Statistics
Area	5,765 km2 (2,226 sq mi)
Population - Total	(as of 2011) 355,320
Parishes	320
Information
Denomination	Romanian Orthodox
Rite	Byzantine Rite
Established	1503-1504
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Nicholas
Current leadership
Archbishop	Varsanufie Gogescu Archbishop of Râmnic
Auxiliary Bishops	Emilian Lovișteanul
Map
Website
arhiram.ro

The Archdiocese of Râmnic (Romanian: Arhiepiscopia Râmnicului) is a Romanian Orthodox archdiocese based in Râmnicu Vâlcea (or Râmnic), Romania, in the historic region of Oltenia, and covering Vâlcea County. Established in 1503-1504, although with a bishop residing there from the previous century, it is a continuation of the medieval Metropolis of Severin. Initially covering all of Oltenia, it saw a flourishing cultural and religious output during the 16th to 18th centuries, both in the see and in the monasteries of the region. The area of the diocese began to fall in 1939, reaching its current proportions in 2008, a year before it became an archdiocese.

The first Romanian metropolis, the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia, was created in 1359, followed in 1370 by the Metropolis of Severin west of the Olt River. Due to incursions by the Kingdom of Hungary, it was moved in 1375 from Severin to Strehaia, reaching Râmnic at some point after the death of Mircea I of Wallachia in 1418. When Severin returned to Wallachian jurisdiction, the Oltenia diocese was re-established under the name of Râmnic New Severin in 1503-1504, during the reign of Radu IV the Great. It was established in memory of the former metropolis, the cathedral church of which was located on the site of the present cathedral. The diocese covered all of Oltenia and was directly subordinate to the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia.

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Wikipedia