Antonio De Rosso

Who was Antonio De Rosso?

Antonio De Rosso was the founder of the Orthodox Church in Italy and the Metropolitan of Ravenna, L'Aquila and Italy.

Metropolitan Antonio was born in 1941 in Farra di Soligo and in 1968 was ordained priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Then he converted to Orthodoxy and in 1986 he became bishop of Aprilia and Latium under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili, a leader of Greek Old Calendarists movement. In 1991 he founded the Orthodox Church in Italy. In 1993 bishop Antonio joined Bulgarian Orthodox Church and in 1995 was enthroned bishop of Ravenna and Italy. After 1997 the Orthodox Church in Italy remained linked with Patriarch Pimen's Bulgarian Alternative Synod and bishop Antonio became Metropolitan of Ravenna and Italy. In the same year Metropolitan Antonio became a full member of Pimen's Holy Synod, as the head of the autonomous Orthodox Church in Italy.

Metropolitan Antonio was also a close friend of the Patriarch Filaret of Ukraine. He died on 20 February 2009 after a long illness and the church become an association in memory of its deceased Primate.