Bucharest, Romania - After a tight contest, Metropolitan Daniel was elected Wednesday as the sixth Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Daniel, 56, is known for his ecumenical stance, and is disliked by some Church traditionalists because he worked as a professor at a Protestant institute abroad.
Daniel's main rival was Metropolitan Bartolomeu Anania, 86, a former political prisoner during the communist regime.
He is now a harsh critic of political corruption and of what he sees as the excessive influence of capitalism on modern life.
The previous patriarch, Teoctist, died in July, aged 92, after a heart attack.
Almost 90 per cent of Romania's 22 million people belong to the Orthodox Church, which has enjoyed a revival since the collapse of communism in 1989.