Metropolitan Antonie urges Bessarabian students to know their Romanian language, history and identity

“A dignified future can only be built through knowing and embracing one’s own identity,” Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia told students at the Ion Creangă Pedagogical College in Bălți, Republic of Moldova, on Tuesday.

In his message marking the start of the new school and academic year, the Metropolitan of Bessarabia emphasised that education is not limited to accumulating information.

“Beyond classes and examinations, however, a far more important work is being accomplished: the formation of character and the inner renewal of the person.”

‘A common endeavour of the family, school and Church’ His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie at the opening ceremony of the school year in Bălți. Photo credit: Metropolis of Bessarabia His Eminence also referred to the challenges posed by increasingly widespread access to information and artificial intelligence, emphasising the need to cultivate discernment.

“We live in an age in which access to information and artificial intelligence is almost unlimited, yet the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood and good from evil is becoming increasingly difficult to acquire without spiritual experience and a spiritual mindset.”

“We are…