Antonie Plămădeală

Antonie Plămădeală (17 November 1926, Stolniceşti, Lăpuşna County, Bessarabia, Kingdom of Romania – 29 August 2005, Sibiu) was a high-level hierarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Transylvania (1982-2005).

Born Leonida Plămădeală, he received the name of Antonie when he was tonsured a monk in 1948.

The National Church Council of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on 3 November 2005 in order to choose Antonie Plămădeală's successor in the office of Orthodox Metropolitan of Transylvania. The two candidates were Andrei Andreicuţ, Archbishop of Alba Iulia, and Laurenţiu Streza, Bishop of Caransebeş, both controversial. On the second ballot, the Council elected Laurenţiu Streza to fill the vacant seat. The next day, the same National Church Council decided to remove the eparchies of northern Transylvania and that of Alba Iulia from the jurisdiction of the Metropolitanate of Transylvania, an act that made Antonie Plămădeală the last Metropolitan of Transylvania with jurisdiction over the entirety of Transylvania. The new Metropolitanate of Transylvania encompasses just the Counties of Sibiu, Braşov, Covasna and Harghita.