Silvestru Morariu-Andrievici (born ''Samuil Morariu''; –) was an ethnic Romanian Orthodox cleric in the

Duchy of Bukovina The Duchy of Bukovina (; ; ) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918. Name The name ''Bukovina'' came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation ...

, in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. From 1880 until his death, he served as Metropolitan of Bukovina and Dalmatia. Born in Mitocu Dragomirnei, north of

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

, his father Gherasim was the local parish priest, while his mother Zamfira (née Grigorovici) was the daughter of another priest from the same village. A school principal replaced his original surname with the Ukrainian-sounding ''Andrievici'', for purposes of de-nationalization; the authorities restored ''Morariu'' upon his request in 1871. After attending primary school in his native village and in Suceava, he went to high school and university at the

Cernăuți Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

theological institute, graduating with high honors in 1843. He was a priest at

Ceahor Chahor (; ) is a village in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Chahor rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Until 18 July 2020, Chahor belonged to Hlyboka Raion. The raion was abolished in July 20 ...

(1843-1862), an adviser to the archbishop's council at Cernăuți (1862-1880). He showed great skill as a professor at the diocesan seminary there. He became a monk after his wife's death in 1873, taking the name ''Silvestru''. He rose to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

and, in 1877, general vicar of the archdiocese. In 1880, Morariu was elected archbishop of Cernăuți and metropolitan of Bukovina and Dalmatia; his consecration took place in Vienna that April. He was an ''ex officio'' member of the Diet of Bukovina and the

House of Deputies The House of Deputies is one of the legislative houses of the bicameral General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The other is the House of Bishops. Membership Each diocese of the Episcopal Church, as well as the ...

.Satco and Niculică, pp. 594-95 While in office, Morariu campaigned for the preservation of ecclesiastical autonomy and for the rights of the province's Romanians. He encouraged the 1889 establishment of Academia Ortodoxă, a society of theology students. He sponsored the painting of the cathedral, and was a patron of the arts. In 1881, he approved the establishment of Armonia Musical Society, which disseminated folk music. He helped expand the network of Romanian-language village schools and ensured their endowment with textbooks. He edited a series of widely circulated textbooks on reading, religion and arithmetic, making him the first author of Romanian textbooks and pedagogical manuals for primary schools in Bukovina. He established the first Romanian press in the province (later named after him) and the church magazine ''Candela''. He was among the first Bukovina Romanians to write sonnets (of which he published four) and fables (''Cucoșul curcănit'', “The Turkeyed Rooster”). He pushed for the use of Romanian in the Diet. In an 1879 work of church music, he was an early adopter of linear note transcription. He died in Cernăuți.

Notes

References

*Emil Satco, Alis Niculică (eds.), ''Enciclopedia Bucovinei'', Vol. II. Suceava: Editura Karl A. Romstorfer, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morariu, Silvestru 1818 births 1895 deaths People from Suceava County Ethnic Romanian politicians in Bukovina Members of the Diet of Bukovina Romanian textbook writers Romanian Orthodox metropolitan bishops