Pastoral letter of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the Orthodoxy Sunday
To our
Beloved clergy, monks and nuns and righteous faithful of the Romanian Patriarchy, grace, mercy and peace from God-the-Father, and hierarchic blessings from us
Beloved spiritual sons,
On the first Sunday of the Lent, also called the Orthodoxy Sunday, the righteous Church all over the world remembers one of the most brilliant victories of the first millennium, namely the final victory over the iconoclasts, that is against those who rejected the Holy Icons, and who disturbed the life of the Church and of the faithful for more than one hundred years (725 – 843). In that hard time in the life of the Church, the worshippers of the Holy Icons suffered a lot: some of them were tortured, others were exiled from their families, houses, towns or countries, while a large number of clergy, monks and lay people sacrificed their lives in order to defend the right faith and the Holy Icons.
The Ecumenical Synod VII from Niceea (787) established the Orthodox teaching on the worship of the icons and saints. Next century, the Church did proclaim the victory of Orthodoxy over all heresies, so that the Synod of Constantinople, of 11 March 843, established once for all the teaching on the icons as representations of the Saviour, of the Mother of God, and of some other persons who lived a holy life, pleasant to God. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the synodal fathers also reaffirmed the entire teaching of faith of the Church comprised in the dogmatic decrees of the seven Ecumenical Synods. This is why the first Sunday of the Lent is called the Orthodoxy Sunday.
Although during the first Christian centuries, the worship of the icons in the Church rite was gradually established, as an answer to the religious requirements and to the piety of the moment, “the teaching on the icons has belonged to the Church from the very beginning”, so that at the time of the iconoclast controversy “the icon had already got its place in the life of the Church”, having been a constitutive part of private religious life of the faithful and of the public life of the Church. This is why at the time both of the Ecumenical Synod VII in 787 and of the Synod of Constantinople of 843, the establishment of the teaching on the worship of the holy icons was possible on the basis of the Holy Scripture and of the writings of the Holy Fathers, making difference between the worship of God – called adoration, of the Holy Birth Giver of God - called over-veneration, and of the saints called simply veneration.
The possible iconographic representation of Christ, our Lord, of the Mother of God and of the saints, as a proof of the working and consecrating grace of God in humanity, for bringing the man closer to God, is based on the very Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, the Christological basis of the icon, according to the confession of Saint John the Evangelist, who says: “the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it and our hands have touched it. When this life became visible, we saw it; so, we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was with the Father and was made known to us” (1 John 1, 1-2). These words have been masterly deciphered by Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadochia, in his Liturgy: “When the time came, You spoke to us through Your Own Son Who (…) came to live on the earth with the people, and making Himself human through the Holy Virgin, He humbled Himself, taking the image of a slave, making Himself according to our humble body, so that He may make us according to the image of His glory.”
The Orthodox teaching on the icon shows that, although people cannot see God in all His divine brilliance, untold, not understood and unperceived by human nature, yet, due to His love for humans, the Son and Word of God was made Man, taking human body and image, in order to help us to see the image of the divine glory. Therefore, the light of the icon of Christ and of the icons of the saints takes us to the everlasting light of the eternal glory in the Kingdom of God. The holiness of the icon calls us to the holiness of life and to living the Christian virtues.
Christian righteous faithful,
The joy of seeing the icon of Christ assures us that the eternal Son, the One Who is not comprised in the limits of the world, made Himself comprised, according to His humanity, in order to be always with the humans, showing us His glory in the icon: “The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw His glory, the glory which He received as the Father’s only Son”. (John 1,14). So, He humbled Himself and became man in time, in order to raise the humans to His eternal glory.
While we remember, when seeing the icon, that the salvation is a divine and human work, a consequence of meeting the grace of God with faith, piety and human good deeds, we are also convinced that when worshipping the Holy Icons, our hearts get warmer, and our mind is brighter when faced with the love of Christ for the humans, as He “for us men and our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnated by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made Man.” (The Creed).
The worshipping of the icon of Christ, in a spiritual manner, means worshipping the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ, Who calls us to come closer to Him with faith and love, to let ourselves permeated by the purifying and consecrating mystery of His Incarnation, as He was made man, so that He may make us sons of God, according to the grace (cf. John 1, 12-13).
The icons of Christ, of the Mother of God and of the saints, just like the Divine Liturgy, confess in a visible manner, the coming down of God to man and man’s permanent diligence or effort to come closer to God. The Holy Icons reveal the mystery of faith and of the communion with God, due to the graceful presence that brightens and consecrates them, having been means of confession and strengthening the faith, increasing the prayer and promoting the spiritual holiness and beauty. Rev. Stăniloae shows us that it was through the Holy Icons that the unity and Holy Tradition of the Church was kept. It was only where the word was associated with the Sacraments and with the worshipping of the icons that the unity of faith was preserved, as they are, by their identity in all times, the breaks that kept the Word in the matrix of the Tradition received from the Apostles” – says the great Romanian theologian.
While accomplishing her holy mission, the Church always calls us through the words of Christ, our Lord: “Come you, that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34), that He addresses to all those who, in their life time, obeyed the Gospel of love of Christ, took the divine communion through the Holy Sacraments and aspired to the Kingdom of God through the light of the Holy Icons, always showing merciful fraternal love to all people, but especially to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, sick and imprisoned (cf. Matthew 25:35-40).
This is why we urge you, beloved spiritual brothers and sons, to follow the example of His life, when seeing, in the Holy Spirit, in the icon Christ, our Lord, the merciful and lover of people, and to pray to the icon of the Holy Virgin Mary and strive to be good, pure as she is, and calling for the help of the saints, by praying and kissing their holy icons, to try to find holiness, just like them, through repentance, fasting, prayer and mercy.
Beloved spiritual sons,
The Orthodoxy Sunday is the holiday of the righteous faith, through word and deed, of all the Orthodox faithful all over the world, of all those who keep and confess the teaching of faith of the Church of the seven Ecumenical Synods, that lies at the foundation of the true Christian Orthodox faith and of the holy work of the Church of Christ in the world.
The Romanian Orthodox Church, of apostolic origin, permanently cultivates, through the preaching of Saint Andrew, the first called to apostleship, the Protector of Romania, the preservation of the right faith, confirmed from the very beginning through distinguished deeds of piety and Christian mercy of the Christian righteous faithful, of the priests and monks, many of them raised to the worthiness of holiness, becoming the friends of God (cf. John 15:15).
The merciful deeds of our righteous people were manifested, in the course of time, either by building holy places of worship, both parochial and monastic ones – or by raising the cultural buildings, for educational or social-charitable purposes, preserved all over the country. This presence and effect of the merciful deeds is still continued today, reaching far away territories, in the Western Europe and in some other parts of the world, where many Orthodox Romanians settled and live in the tradition of our ancient Church.
The Christian merciful deeds are the concrete expression of the love of our neighbour, as fruit of the right faith that are always present and designed to help those in need, as Saint Paul the Apostle teaches us: “Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God” (Hebrews 13:16).
No matter how big the challenges and the crises of the world may be, in the context of the spiritual life, of the social and economic climate all over the world, as well as in our country, we ought to stay firm in our faith and in the good deeds, hoping in the help of God “who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment” (I Tim. 6:17). Let us do good together as it brings comfort to the sick, compassion to those in distress, and help our fellow creatures, with generosity and Christian love, as Christ, the Saviour of the world, teaches us.
We address, this year too, to the priests and faithful of our Holy Church, fatherly urging them to organise a fund raising for the Central Missionary Fund, showing, as we did so far, our love for God and our Church. Let us contribute on this day designed to celebrate Orthodoxy and the next one too, every one of us according to his or her gift and heart, as we know that: “God loves the one who gives gladly” (II Cor. 9:7).
We assure you that just the previous years, every amount that you decide to give now will be accounted for and used, as Saint Paul the Apostle said “to everyone, according to his needs” (Rom. 4:35), either to help some of our fellow creatures who are poor, who live in extreme situations or are in terrible sufferance, or to build churches and Orthodox charitable centres, as well as to continue and finish various missionary and charitable programmes for our Romanian brothers who live abroad.
The same as we heard at the Divine Liturgy the words of Saint Basil the Great whom we commemorate this year, 2009, together with the other Cappadochian brothers, so we must pray for the benefactors of our Holy Church and for all those in need and pray Jesus Christ, our Lord: “Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good to Your Holy Churches and remember the poor ones. Reward them with Your rich heavenly gifts (…). Remember Lord, our Lord, all Your people, and bestow Your rich mercy over all of them, and fulfil all their requests for their salvation.”
We are sure you will prove the same Christian generosity and answer with love to our fatherly call to this holy work of charity, and we thank you very much for the generosity you proved the previous years and pray our Merciful God “And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause” (II Cor. 9:8).
We, the members of the Holy Synod, embrace you with fatherly love, and give you the apostolic blessing: “Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.
President of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church
† DANIEL
Archbishop of Bucharest,
Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrudgea
Locum Tenens of Caesarea of Cappadochia and
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
† TEOFAN
Archbishop of Iaşi and Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina
† LAURENŢIU
Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania
† BARTOLOMEU
Archbishop of Vad, Feleac and Cluj
Metropolitan of Cluj, Alba, Crişana and Maramureş
† IRINEU
Archbishop of Craiova and
Metropolitan of Oltenia
† Nicolae
Archbishop of Banat and Metropolitan of Banat
† PETRU
Archbishop of Chişinău,
Metropolitan of Bessarabia
† IOSIF
Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan
of Western and Meridional Europe
† SERAFIM
Archbishop of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg and
Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Germany, Central
and Northern Europe
† NIFON
Metropolitan, Archbishop of Târgovişte and Patriarchal Exarch
† TEODOSIE
Archbishop of Tomis
† PIMEN
Archbishop of Suceava and Rădăuţi
† ANDREI
Archbishop of Alba Iulia
† NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of the two Americas
† GHERASIM
Bishop of Râmnic
† EFTIMIE
Bishop of Râmnic
† EPIFANIE
Bishop of Buzău and Vrancea
† CALINIC
Bishop of Argeş and Muscel
† IOACHIM
Bishop of Huşi
† CASIAN
Bishop of Lower Danube
† TIMOTEI
Bishop of Arad and Ienopole
† Lucian
Bishop of Caransebeş, Hălmagiu and Hunedoara
† SOFRONIE
Bishop of Romanian Orthodox of Oradea
† JUSTINIAN
Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese
of Maramureş and Sărmar
† NICODIM
Bishop of Severin and Strehaia
† DAMASCHIN
Bishop of Slobozia and Călăraşi
† IOAN
Bishop of Covasna and Harghia
† GALACTION
Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman
† AMBROZIE
Bishop of Giurgiu
† SEBASTIAN
Bishop of Slatina
† VISARION
Bishop of Tulcea
† PETRONIU
Bishop of Sălaj
† DANIIL
Bishop Locum tenens (Administrator)
of Dacia Felix Diocese
† SILUAN
Romanian Orthodox of Hungary
† SILUAN
Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Italy
† MACARIE
Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Northern Europe
† TIMOTEI
Romanian Orthodox Bishop
of Spain and Portugal
† MIHAIL
Romanian Orthodox Bishop
of Australia and New Zealand
† VINCENŢIU PLOIEŞTEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch
† CIPRIAN CÂMPINEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch
† VARSANUFIE PRAHOVEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest
† CALINIC BOTOŞĂNEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Iaşi
† ANDREI FĂGĂRĂŞANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archbishop of Sibiu
† IRINEU BISTRIŢEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the
Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj
† VASILE SOMEŞANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad
† GURIE GORJEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Craiova
† PAISIE LUGOJANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Timişoara
† MARC NEMŢEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
of Western Europe
† SOFIAN BRAŞOVEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg
† IOAN CASIAN DE VICINA
Assistant Bishop to the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
of the two Americas
† IOACHIM BĂCĂOANUL
Assistant Hierarch to the Diocese of Roman
† CORNELIU BÂRLĂDEANUL
Assistant Hierarch to the Diocese of Huşi
† IUSTIN SIGHETEANUL
Assistant Hierarch to the Romanian Orthodox Diocese
of Maramureş and Sătmar
1. Rev. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, Symbol as anticipation an basis of the icon, in Studii teologice magazine, VII (1957), no. 7-8, p. 427
1. Rev. Prof. Ene Branişte, Teologia icoanelor, in Studii teologice magazine IV (1952), no. 3.3, p. 175
1. The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, in Liturghier, printed with the blessing of the Holy Synod and of His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, EIMBO, 2008, p. 234-235
1. Rev. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, The Icons in the Orthodox Rite, in Ortodoxia magazine, XXX (1978), no. 3. p. 478
1. The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, iin Liturghier, in Liturghier,
quoted edition p. 244 – 245
Beloved clergy, monks and nuns and righteous faithful of the Romanian Patriarchy, grace, mercy and peace from God-the-Father, and hierarchic blessings from us
Beloved spiritual sons,
On the first Sunday of the Lent, also called the Orthodoxy Sunday, the righteous Church all over the world remembers one of the most brilliant victories of the first millennium, namely the final victory over the iconoclasts, that is against those who rejected the Holy Icons, and who disturbed the life of the Church and of the faithful for more than one hundred years (725 – 843). In that hard time in the life of the Church, the worshippers of the Holy Icons suffered a lot: some of them were tortured, others were exiled from their families, houses, towns or countries, while a large number of clergy, monks and lay people sacrificed their lives in order to defend the right faith and the Holy Icons.
The Ecumenical Synod VII from Niceea (787) established the Orthodox teaching on the worship of the icons and saints. Next century, the Church did proclaim the victory of Orthodoxy over all heresies, so that the Synod of Constantinople, of 11 March 843, established once for all the teaching on the icons as representations of the Saviour, of the Mother of God, and of some other persons who lived a holy life, pleasant to God. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the synodal fathers also reaffirmed the entire teaching of faith of the Church comprised in the dogmatic decrees of the seven Ecumenical Synods. This is why the first Sunday of the Lent is called the Orthodoxy Sunday.
Although during the first Christian centuries, the worship of the icons in the Church rite was gradually established, as an answer to the religious requirements and to the piety of the moment, “the teaching on the icons has belonged to the Church from the very beginning”, so that at the time of the iconoclast controversy “the icon had already got its place in the life of the Church”, having been a constitutive part of private religious life of the faithful and of the public life of the Church. This is why at the time both of the Ecumenical Synod VII in 787 and of the Synod of Constantinople of 843, the establishment of the teaching on the worship of the holy icons was possible on the basis of the Holy Scripture and of the writings of the Holy Fathers, making difference between the worship of God – called adoration, of the Holy Birth Giver of God - called over-veneration, and of the saints called simply veneration.
The possible iconographic representation of Christ, our Lord, of the Mother of God and of the saints, as a proof of the working and consecrating grace of God in humanity, for bringing the man closer to God, is based on the very Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, the Christological basis of the icon, according to the confession of Saint John the Evangelist, who says: “the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it and our hands have touched it. When this life became visible, we saw it; so, we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was with the Father and was made known to us” (1 John 1, 1-2). These words have been masterly deciphered by Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadochia, in his Liturgy: “When the time came, You spoke to us through Your Own Son Who (…) came to live on the earth with the people, and making Himself human through the Holy Virgin, He humbled Himself, taking the image of a slave, making Himself according to our humble body, so that He may make us according to the image of His glory.”
The Orthodox teaching on the icon shows that, although people cannot see God in all His divine brilliance, untold, not understood and unperceived by human nature, yet, due to His love for humans, the Son and Word of God was made Man, taking human body and image, in order to help us to see the image of the divine glory. Therefore, the light of the icon of Christ and of the icons of the saints takes us to the everlasting light of the eternal glory in the Kingdom of God. The holiness of the icon calls us to the holiness of life and to living the Christian virtues.
Christian righteous faithful,
The joy of seeing the icon of Christ assures us that the eternal Son, the One Who is not comprised in the limits of the world, made Himself comprised, according to His humanity, in order to be always with the humans, showing us His glory in the icon: “The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw His glory, the glory which He received as the Father’s only Son”. (John 1,14). So, He humbled Himself and became man in time, in order to raise the humans to His eternal glory.
While we remember, when seeing the icon, that the salvation is a divine and human work, a consequence of meeting the grace of God with faith, piety and human good deeds, we are also convinced that when worshipping the Holy Icons, our hearts get warmer, and our mind is brighter when faced with the love of Christ for the humans, as He “for us men and our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnated by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made Man.” (The Creed).
The worshipping of the icon of Christ, in a spiritual manner, means worshipping the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ, Who calls us to come closer to Him with faith and love, to let ourselves permeated by the purifying and consecrating mystery of His Incarnation, as He was made man, so that He may make us sons of God, according to the grace (cf. John 1, 12-13).
The icons of Christ, of the Mother of God and of the saints, just like the Divine Liturgy, confess in a visible manner, the coming down of God to man and man’s permanent diligence or effort to come closer to God. The Holy Icons reveal the mystery of faith and of the communion with God, due to the graceful presence that brightens and consecrates them, having been means of confession and strengthening the faith, increasing the prayer and promoting the spiritual holiness and beauty. Rev. Stăniloae shows us that it was through the Holy Icons that the unity and Holy Tradition of the Church was kept. It was only where the word was associated with the Sacraments and with the worshipping of the icons that the unity of faith was preserved, as they are, by their identity in all times, the breaks that kept the Word in the matrix of the Tradition received from the Apostles” – says the great Romanian theologian.
While accomplishing her holy mission, the Church always calls us through the words of Christ, our Lord: “Come you, that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34), that He addresses to all those who, in their life time, obeyed the Gospel of love of Christ, took the divine communion through the Holy Sacraments and aspired to the Kingdom of God through the light of the Holy Icons, always showing merciful fraternal love to all people, but especially to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, sick and imprisoned (cf. Matthew 25:35-40).
This is why we urge you, beloved spiritual brothers and sons, to follow the example of His life, when seeing, in the Holy Spirit, in the icon Christ, our Lord, the merciful and lover of people, and to pray to the icon of the Holy Virgin Mary and strive to be good, pure as she is, and calling for the help of the saints, by praying and kissing their holy icons, to try to find holiness, just like them, through repentance, fasting, prayer and mercy.
Beloved spiritual sons,
The Orthodoxy Sunday is the holiday of the righteous faith, through word and deed, of all the Orthodox faithful all over the world, of all those who keep and confess the teaching of faith of the Church of the seven Ecumenical Synods, that lies at the foundation of the true Christian Orthodox faith and of the holy work of the Church of Christ in the world.
The Romanian Orthodox Church, of apostolic origin, permanently cultivates, through the preaching of Saint Andrew, the first called to apostleship, the Protector of Romania, the preservation of the right faith, confirmed from the very beginning through distinguished deeds of piety and Christian mercy of the Christian righteous faithful, of the priests and monks, many of them raised to the worthiness of holiness, becoming the friends of God (cf. John 15:15).
The merciful deeds of our righteous people were manifested, in the course of time, either by building holy places of worship, both parochial and monastic ones – or by raising the cultural buildings, for educational or social-charitable purposes, preserved all over the country. This presence and effect of the merciful deeds is still continued today, reaching far away territories, in the Western Europe and in some other parts of the world, where many Orthodox Romanians settled and live in the tradition of our ancient Church.
The Christian merciful deeds are the concrete expression of the love of our neighbour, as fruit of the right faith that are always present and designed to help those in need, as Saint Paul the Apostle teaches us: “Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God” (Hebrews 13:16).
No matter how big the challenges and the crises of the world may be, in the context of the spiritual life, of the social and economic climate all over the world, as well as in our country, we ought to stay firm in our faith and in the good deeds, hoping in the help of God “who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment” (I Tim. 6:17). Let us do good together as it brings comfort to the sick, compassion to those in distress, and help our fellow creatures, with generosity and Christian love, as Christ, the Saviour of the world, teaches us.
We address, this year too, to the priests and faithful of our Holy Church, fatherly urging them to organise a fund raising for the Central Missionary Fund, showing, as we did so far, our love for God and our Church. Let us contribute on this day designed to celebrate Orthodoxy and the next one too, every one of us according to his or her gift and heart, as we know that: “God loves the one who gives gladly” (II Cor. 9:7).
We assure you that just the previous years, every amount that you decide to give now will be accounted for and used, as Saint Paul the Apostle said “to everyone, according to his needs” (Rom. 4:35), either to help some of our fellow creatures who are poor, who live in extreme situations or are in terrible sufferance, or to build churches and Orthodox charitable centres, as well as to continue and finish various missionary and charitable programmes for our Romanian brothers who live abroad.
The same as we heard at the Divine Liturgy the words of Saint Basil the Great whom we commemorate this year, 2009, together with the other Cappadochian brothers, so we must pray for the benefactors of our Holy Church and for all those in need and pray Jesus Christ, our Lord: “Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good to Your Holy Churches and remember the poor ones. Reward them with Your rich heavenly gifts (…). Remember Lord, our Lord, all Your people, and bestow Your rich mercy over all of them, and fulfil all their requests for their salvation.”
We are sure you will prove the same Christian generosity and answer with love to our fatherly call to this holy work of charity, and we thank you very much for the generosity you proved the previous years and pray our Merciful God “And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause” (II Cor. 9:8).
We, the members of the Holy Synod, embrace you with fatherly love, and give you the apostolic blessing: “Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.
President of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church
† DANIEL
Archbishop of Bucharest,
Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrudgea
Locum Tenens of Caesarea of Cappadochia and
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
† TEOFAN
Archbishop of Iaşi and Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina
† LAURENŢIU
Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania
† BARTOLOMEU
Archbishop of Vad, Feleac and Cluj
Metropolitan of Cluj, Alba, Crişana and Maramureş
† IRINEU
Archbishop of Craiova and
Metropolitan of Oltenia
† Nicolae
Archbishop of Banat and Metropolitan of Banat
† PETRU
Archbishop of Chişinău,
Metropolitan of Bessarabia
† IOSIF
Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan
of Western and Meridional Europe
† SERAFIM
Archbishop of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg and
Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Germany, Central
and Northern Europe
† NIFON
Metropolitan, Archbishop of Târgovişte and Patriarchal Exarch
† TEODOSIE
Archbishop of Tomis
† PIMEN
Archbishop of Suceava and Rădăuţi
† ANDREI
Archbishop of Alba Iulia
† NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of the two Americas
† GHERASIM
Bishop of Râmnic
† EFTIMIE
Bishop of Râmnic
† EPIFANIE
Bishop of Buzău and Vrancea
† CALINIC
Bishop of Argeş and Muscel
† IOACHIM
Bishop of Huşi
† CASIAN
Bishop of Lower Danube
† TIMOTEI
Bishop of Arad and Ienopole
† Lucian
Bishop of Caransebeş, Hălmagiu and Hunedoara
† SOFRONIE
Bishop of Romanian Orthodox of Oradea
† JUSTINIAN
Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese
of Maramureş and Sărmar
† NICODIM
Bishop of Severin and Strehaia
† DAMASCHIN
Bishop of Slobozia and Călăraşi
† IOAN
Bishop of Covasna and Harghia
† GALACTION
Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman
† AMBROZIE
Bishop of Giurgiu
† SEBASTIAN
Bishop of Slatina
† VISARION
Bishop of Tulcea
† PETRONIU
Bishop of Sălaj
† DANIIL
Bishop Locum tenens (Administrator)
of Dacia Felix Diocese
† SILUAN
Romanian Orthodox of Hungary
† SILUAN
Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Italy
† MACARIE
Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Northern Europe
† TIMOTEI
Romanian Orthodox Bishop
of Spain and Portugal
† MIHAIL
Romanian Orthodox Bishop
of Australia and New Zealand
† VINCENŢIU PLOIEŞTEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch
† CIPRIAN CÂMPINEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch
† VARSANUFIE PRAHOVEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest
† CALINIC BOTOŞĂNEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Iaşi
† ANDREI FĂGĂRĂŞANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archbishop of Sibiu
† IRINEU BISTRIŢEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the
Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj
† VASILE SOMEŞANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad
† GURIE GORJEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Craiova
† PAISIE LUGOJANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Timişoara
† MARC NEMŢEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
of Western Europe
† SOFIAN BRAŞOVEANUL
Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg
† IOAN CASIAN DE VICINA
Assistant Bishop to the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
of the two Americas
† IOACHIM BĂCĂOANUL
Assistant Hierarch to the Diocese of Roman
† CORNELIU BÂRLĂDEANUL
Assistant Hierarch to the Diocese of Huşi
† IUSTIN SIGHETEANUL
Assistant Hierarch to the Romanian Orthodox Diocese
of Maramureş and Sătmar
1. Rev. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, Symbol as anticipation an basis of the icon, in Studii teologice magazine, VII (1957), no. 7-8, p. 427
1. Rev. Prof. Ene Branişte, Teologia icoanelor, in Studii teologice magazine IV (1952), no. 3.3, p. 175
1. The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, in Liturghier, printed with the blessing of the Holy Synod and of His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, EIMBO, 2008, p. 234-235
1. Rev. Prof. Dumitru Stăniloae, The Icons in the Orthodox Rite, in Ortodoxia magazine, XXX (1978), no. 3. p. 478
1. The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, iin Liturghier, in Liturghier,
quoted edition p. 244 – 245
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Patriarchate News
Today, 15 May 2012, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church met in Saint John Casian room of the Patriarchate Palace the foreign lecturers present at the International Symposium dedicated to the Sacrament of the Holy Unction and ...
The Patriarchate Palace has hosted for two days an international symposium dedicated to the Sacrament of the Holy Unction and Looking after the Sick. The event held from 15 -16 May 2012 reunites Orthodox hierarchs, theology professors from the country ...
Monday, 14 May 2012, seven hundred clergy of the Archdiocese of Bucharest participated in the Spring semestral pastoral-missionary conference. The Conference was held under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church at the Patriarchate Palace, ...
Today, 13 May 2012, the 5th Sunday after the Holy Easter, named of the Samarinean woman, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church re-consecrated the church of Saint Basil the Great and of Saint Pious Parascheva situated in ...
Today, 8 May 2012, the Orthodox faithful celebrate Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist. He was one of the 12 Apostles of the Saviour and wrote the Gospel of his name, three canonical epistles and the book of the Revelation. ...
These days, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church is at Caraiman Monastery, Bucegi locality, county of Prahova. Today, 6 May 2012, after the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude delivered a sermon in which he explained the significance of ...
The Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate informs us:
On 3 May 2012, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church received at the Patriarchate Palace, His Excellency Mr. Nicolae Timofti, President of the Republic of Moldova, who was ...
The church of One Day Saint Nicholas of Bucharest dressed festive vestments on the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women. On 29 April 2012, after the re-consecration service of this place of worship dating as far back as 1702, the ...
