Dionisie Kenan Wang becomes first priest of Chinese origin in Romanian Orthodox Church

An ordination in Cluj-Napoca

On Sunday, 8 November 2026, Metropolitan Andrei Andreicuț of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj ordained the theologian and historian Dionisie Kenan Wang as a priest. The ceremony was held during the Holy Liturgy at the Metropolitan Cathedral "Adormirea Maicii Domnului" in Cluj-Napoca, on the feast of the Synaxis of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The transition from deacon to priest was carried out during that service. A communiqué from the Metropolis of Cluj confirmed the ordination and said it was made for the Eparchial Centre. Vasile Bănescu, a former spokesman of the Romanian Patriarchate, presented the moment as a first for the Romanian Orthodox Church, since it is the first time a man of Chinese origin has received the priesthood in the country. One account framed the ordination as serving Orthodox mission among immigrants in Romania.

Bănescu wrote on Facebook:

“Born in China, raised in Brazil, academically trained in Romania. Three continents, three cultures, one faith.”

From China and Brazil to Bucharest

Wang was born in China and spent his childhood and adolescence in Brazil before Romania became the centre of his higher education. He studied history and Orthodox theology at the University of Bucharest, and reports published after the ordination say he went on to a doctorate in history. In a 2023 interview with Formula AS, he described himself as a doctoral student in history and a theology student, and several years before his ordination he had voiced a wish to become a priest. According to his Facebook page, he is 31 years old and has been married since 2019. Before choosing Orthodoxy he studied Buddhism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism, and accounts of his path say the choice came from personal research rather than family tradition.

His road to the priesthood was not direct. Because he had not yet been baptised, he could not enter Orthodox theology studies at first, so he began with history, received baptism, and then took the theology courses. In an interview, he said:

“I was born under the curse of survival, and Jesus is the Person who freed me from it.”

His baptismal name, Dionisie, refers to Dionysius the Areopagite, the Athenian who according to Christian tradition came to faith after hearing Paul speak about the "unknown God".

Ministry at the Schimbarea la Față parish

After the ordination, Wang will serve at the Schimbarea la Față parish, whose altar is at the crypt level (subsol) at Bulevardul Eroilor 24-26 in Cluj-Napoca. Bănescu described the church as humble yet openly welcoming, a place where the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated on Sundays and feast days, alongside catechesis, lectures and other religious-cultural gatherings. These activities will be conducted in both Romanian and English. Bănescu argued that the ordination should not be treated as an "exotic curiosity" and said it reflects something about the country's openness. He added:

“It deserves recording not only because it is a first for the Romanian Orthodox Church, but also because it says something essential about Romanian society.”

The sources do not give a date for Wang's first services at the parish.