Speech of His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, when meeting the Holy Head of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First called, Protector of Romania, Bucharest, 24 October 2011


“Son of Galilee and brother of Peter, first called of the group of the Apostles, wonderful Andrew. And from your grave in Patras you call the peoples to God and now you filled us with joy, because you have come again to Romania, where you preached Christ, our Lord”.


(Troparion when bringing the relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle to Iasi, 13 October)


Your Eminence,
Metropolitan Chrisostom of Patras,


A great holy joy feels our heart at this time, the hearts of those the saints of God gathered on the Hill of the Romanian Patriarchate, at the feast of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New, Protector of Bucharest, to meet the Holy Head of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Protector of Romania, brought from his grave in Patras, through the good will of Your Eminence, Metropolitan Chrisostom of Patras. Your Eminence brought us to Bucharest, with the blessing of His Beatitude Ieronimos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, this very precious relic, so that all the pilgrims who have come to attend the celebration of the Patriarchal Cathedral should worship him properly, because he is the Apostle of all Romanians. We address you, on behalf of the hierarchs, clergy and faithful and pilgrims of Romania, with love and gratitude, a warm welcome.

From Bucharest, the Holy Head of Saint Andrew the Apostle the first one called to discipleship will be taken with piety to Sibiu, where Saturday, 29 October 2011, the canonisation of Saint Hierarch Andrei Saguna, Metropolitan of Transylvania, will take place, and to Alba Iulia, where Sunday, 30 October 2011, the canonisation of Saint Hierarch Simeon Stefan, Metropolitan of Transylvania, will be solemnly declared.

Our hearts are full of joy when we receive the Holy Head of Saint Andrew the Apostle who preached the Holy Gospel to our Gets – Dacians - Romans forerunners, setting up the Church of Christ in the territory of our country. Today, the righteous Romanian people meet the one who began their Christianization and kiss with great piety his Holy Head, where from holiness and much grace stem from for all Christians. The Saint who has lit up the flame of the love of Christ in the hearts of our forerunners, the beginner of our evangelisation and baptism as people, has come again to Romania, where he preached Christ, our Lord. The Apostle of our people, having been “useful divinely and reliever of all needs and guardian”, blesses us again and call us to convey the apostolic faith received from him.

The first return of Saint Andrew the Apostle to Romania was from 12 – 17 October 1996, to Iasi. I met at the time, the shrine of the head of Saint Andrew the Apostle who bestowed a great joy and holy peace over the faithful. The Head of Saint Andrew the Apostle was taken on a pilgrimage to Galati, from 15 – 17 October 1996. Because the bringing of the relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle was a feast of the entire Romanian Orthodoxy, the holy event of 1996 was listed in the calendars of the two eparchies, of the Archdioceses of Iasi and of Lower Danube. Following our proposal, in 1997, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church proclaimed Saint Andrew the Apostle as Protector of Romania; in 2002, the Holy Synod decided that the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (30 November) should become Church National Holyday. Another sign of the great devotion of our people for Saint Andrew the Apostle is the fact that the new Cathedral for the Nation’s Salvation is dedicated to Saint Andrew, the Apostle, Protector of Romania, besides to the Ascension of the Lord, which is the Day of the Romanian Heroes too.


Beloved pilgrims,


We congratulate you all for your presence at the Patriarchate, at Sibiu and Alba Iulia on these days of blessing and joy which Christ, our Lord, gives us through His saints, and we pray Merciful God to reward your piety and generosity, diligence and efforts, giving you good health and salvation, peace and joy, help in your family and activity for many blessed years, in order to grow in faith and brotherly love, in holiness and good deeds, for the glory of the Holy Trinity, for the joy of the saints and for getting eternal life.

And let us pray for the help of the First called by Christ, our Lord, to be in the group of His Saints Apostles, saying: “The first Apostle called and true brother of Peter, Andrew, pray to the Master of all people, to give peace to the world and great mercy to our souls” (Troparion of Saint Andrew the Apostle).

† DANIEL
Patriarch of Romania