self-denial

Romanian Patriarch: Self-denial and taking up the Cross lead to salvation

“Self-denial, taking up or accepting the cross and following Christ are the three conditions for being Christians and attaining salvation or eternal life through the union of man with God, the source of eternal life,” said Patriarch Daniel of Romania on Sunday. The head of the Romanian Orthodox Church explained that Christian life cannot be…

Mar 16, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Bishop of Canada says Great Lent is an invitation to light and joy

The beginning of Great Lent resounds in the Church’s hymnography as an unexpected invitation to light, Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada said in a message issued for the occasion. “Great Lent is a season which, although it calls for bodily and spiritual effort on our part, remains a time of light and of the joy…

Feb 20, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Taking up the Cross: A three-step program of salvation explained by Bishop Paisie of Sinaia

On Sunday, His Grace Bishop Paisie of Sinaia explained the significance of Jesus Christ’s call: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop emphasized that this is a “life program” for all Christians. “Christ does not force people toward the Cross ahead…

Sep 16, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Christ does not ask us to carry the cross alone, Patriarch Daniel says

“Christ does not ask us to carry the cross alone, but to carry the cross following Him, that is, asking for His help and carrying the Cross with Him,” Patriarch Daniel said on Sunday. On the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel offered his reflections on the four stages of…

Sep 21, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

God helps us to transform the cross of suffering into victory, Patriarch Daniel says

‘If we think of God when we are in trouble, suffering, illness and ask for His help, then He helps us to transform the cross of suffering into victory through hope,’ underscored the Patriarch of Romania on Sunday. Bearing one’s cross The Patriarch explained in the sermon delivered at the Church of the Holy Cross…

Sep 16, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

‘Let us make Christ the centre of our lives,’ Patriarch Daniel urges on 3rd Sunday of Lent

The symbolism of the cross, the reason why the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross is in the middle of the Lenten season, the conditions for being a good Christian are the main topics addressed by Patriarch Daniel in his homily on the third Sunday of Great Lent. In his sermon, the Romanian Patriarch…

Mar 12, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel on self-denial: ‘It means the renunciation of selfish love in order to acquire a humble, grateful love towards God’

In his Sunday homily, Patriarch Daniel reflected on the main theme of the day’s Gospel reading from Mark in which Christ calls us to self-denial. His Beatitude stressed that in order to attain to salvation, Christ asks us to renounce the selfish love in order to acquire the humble, grateful love towards God and the…

Sep 18, 2017Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: The Holy Cross is a symbol of Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection

The Holy Cross is Christ’s victorious flag. On 19 March 2017, Patriarch Daniel of Romania addressed the Orthodox faithful during his homily delivered at the Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence, focusing on the spiritual symbolism of the Cross. Our Saviour Jesus Christ tells us that whoever wants to be His disciple must deny themselves and…

Mar 21, 2017Aurelian Iftimiu