Yesterday, 6 August, the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, delivered a sermon in the Patriarchal Chapel of “Saint Gregory the Enlightener”, explaining the significance of this royal feast and its importance for our salvation – informs Lumina newspaper.

The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church explained that the Transfiguration of the Saviour has four great significances.

“The Transfiguration of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is a feast that gathers the spiritual meanings of the Cross and of the Resurrection, of the present time and of time of the end of the world, at the second coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ, in glory. This glory also shows the glory of the love of the Holy Trinity in the Kingdom of Heaven, the image of the future benefits. Forth, the Glory of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, shows the Mystery of Tabor as the Mystery of the Church”, said His Beatitude the Patriarch.

As for the spiritual meanings of the Cross and of the Resurrection, His Beatitude showed that this event took place soon before His Passions, in order to strengthen the Apostles’ faith that Jesus of Nazareth was not an ordinary man, but the Son of the Eternal God who was made man out of love for humans and for their salvation. “The Saviour wanted to strengthen the disciples’ faith, so that they should understand when they would see Him suffering on the Cross that He did that on His own accord, not because He would have been obligated, and that He was the ray of the Father, that is the Son of the Eternal God”, explained the Patriarch of Romania.

The Transfiguration shows the Glory of the Holy Trinity

The Transfiguration also shows the Glory of the Holy Trinity. “This glory as an appearance of His divinity through His human nature is also the Glory of the Father and of the Holy Spirit because the Son is not separated from the Father and from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit showed himself as a bright cloud. The Gospels show us that the cloud has come from above and a voice was heard from it who said: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. It is Him you must obey”, said His Beatitude Daniel in his sermon.

The Primate of our Church emphasized that the glory of the second coming is anticipated in the Transfiguration.

Another significance of the feast of the Transfiguration refers to the Mystery of Tabor as a Mystery of the Church. “The glory of Tabor is a preimagining of the Church life. It is full of the Glory of the Holy Trinity, the glory of the love that exists in the Holy Trinity. In the Church there is the grace, never setting light of the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity. This is why, when seeing the Glory of the Holy Trinity through faith, we always glorify the Father, Son and Holy Spirit through our prayers and chants. If we thank God for the glory that He gave us and to which He calls us, now and forever and ever, it means that we are always called to share it”, explained His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel.