His Holiness Metropolitan Bishop of Bessarabia Petru received on Monday, November 24, the Order of Cultural Merit in the Rank of Great Knight, awarded trough presidential decree by Romania's President Traian Basescu, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a press release from the Metropolitan Bessarabian Church, the high distinction was awarded in recognition “for the attachment and constant devotion demonstrated in promoting and preserving the cultural, linguistic and religious identity of the Romanians living in the Republic of Moldova”. The award ceremony took place at the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau. The distinguished award of Romania was bestowed by Ambassador Filip Teodorescu. In his speech, the head of the Romanian diplomatic mission appreciated the spiritual activity of His Holiness Petru and remarked that “this is one of the most important moments of the series of manifestations that the Embassy is organizing to celebrate the National Day of Romania and the 90th anniversary of the Great Unification”. The metropolitan thanked the Romanian state for the appreciation and pointed out that during his activity as archbishop he tried his best to fulfill his duties as servant of God and as a Romanian, in word and in deed. “We have always tried to maintain the relationship with our brothers across the Prut, so that Bessarabia's Romanians would not feel estranged from their country culturally, linguistically or religiously”, he said. Petru Paduraru was bishop of Balti and Chisinau before becoming, in October 1995, Archbishop of Chisinau and Metropolitan of Bessarabia, with extraterritorial jurisdiction over the Orthodox Romanians from the Eastern diaspora.