His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, consecrated on Saturday, 03 October 2015, the church dedicated to Holy Great Martyrs George the Victory-bearer and Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher located in Poşta Village, Cernica town, Ilfov County. Together with His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, His Grace Timotei Prahoveanul (of Prahova), Assistant bishop to the Archbishopric of Bucharest, concelebrated assisted by an assembly of priests and deacons, of which we mention the V. Rev. Archimandrite Veniamin Goreanu, administrative adviser at the Archbishopric of Bucharest, and Rev. Fr. Romică Macovei, archpriest of Southern Ilfov deanery.
The consecration ceremony was preceded by the Divine Liturgy at which His Grace Timotei Prahoveanul (of Prahova) officiated. On this occasion, the director of photography of Trinitas Television Mr Nicolae Sevastre was ordinated a deacon.
The Church is the only place in the world where remission of sins is granted
In his sermon, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel pointed out that the Church is the only place in the world where remission of sins is granted; in the Church man acquires salvation, which means uniting with Christ.
“Only the Church has received from Christ this power to remit the sins of people. Why is that? Because unless sins are remitted, nobody can be saved. Therefore, the state in which people find themselves still on earth just before they die is very important. If death finds them in a state of repentance, in unity with God through the Holy Eucharist, in a state of prayer, then they enter in the joy of the eternal communion with the Most Holy Trinity and with the Saints of God in the Kingdom of Heaven”, His Beatitude Daniel said.
A praying man is a blessed man
The Romanian Patriarch also said that a praying man who does good is blessed.
“Our Saviour says that blessed are those who hear the word of God and fulfil it. Blessed is the man who hears the Word of God that calls us to love God through prayer and love the fellow people through good deeds. The blessed man is the person who prays and does good. This is the true blessing as aguarantee of the blessed state in the Kingdom of Heaven”, the Primate of theRomanianOrthodox Church said.
The soul separated from God represents spiritual death
Nevertheless, His Beatitude explained that we receive the guarantee of eternal life in the Church, even during our earthly life.
“Even in this world we receive in the Church the guarantee of eternal life according to the promise of our Saviour Jesus Christ who said: «He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live». Even if he physically dies, his soul will live, because life means the human immortal soul is united with God. The soul separated from God represents spiritual death. Therefore, in the Church, during partaking of the Body and Blood of the Lord, we say: «you partake of the Body of Christ, and taste the Fountain of Immortality», while the Holy Sacraments are called « holy, heavenly, divine, life giving Mysteries of God». So, the church is the place where we prepare ourselves for the communal resurrection”, the Patriarch of The Romanian Orthodox Church said.
In his sermon, the Romanian Patriarch also spoke about the tradition of our Church that allows all orthodox faithful to enter and pray inside the Holy Altar, in the day of the consecration of a place of worship.
“We have this beautiful tradition in the Romanian Orthodox Church that after the consecration all faithful, orthodox baptised men and women are allowed to enter through the Northern door of the Holy Altar, they kiss the Holy Gospel, the Holy Cross, the Altar Table, and everybody mystically utters: «Sanctify, o Lord, and embellish our life, as this church was consecrated, and grant us Your blessing so that we can fulfil Your will, and acquire salvation and eternal life». We congratulate you, we wish you much help from God, and we present you as an example for other communities where new churches have to be built, or old churches have to be repaired and embellished” His Beatitude said.
Also, Mr. Gelu Apostol, the mayor of Cernica town, thanked the Romanian Patriarch for the officiating the service of consecration of the place of worship and emphasized the importance of cooperation between the Town Hall and a parish for the common benefit of the citizens.
“After eight years of labours united with prayers, today we have had the joy of having consecrated this church dedicated to St George. We are honoured that Your Beatitude has consecrated the church in our town, wherefore we thank you. At the present moment, we are carrying out different works at all the parishes of the town, and we hope to finish them soon. We also hope that the faithful will increase their zeal for the sacred things and will understand the importance of the cooperation between the Town Hall and a parish for common benefit”, the Mayor of Cernica said.
Awards for the benefactors
In the end,His BeatitudePatriarchDanielgranted,as asign of appreciation, severalawardsto the persons involved in the completion of the works at this parish.
The Commemorative diploma St John Chrysostom with a medal was awarded to parish priest Iustinian Guţea, while Mr. Gelu Apostol, Mayor of Cernica Town, received the Sanctus Stephanus Magnus Order. A Diploma ofworthinessSt Pious Demetriousthe New, Protector of Bucharest, was granted to Mr Ilie Mihai, manager of the company that built the church. Also, on this occasion, distinctions were granted to other representatives of local institutions. At the same time, the new place of worship received as a gift a blessing cross and several service books.
Next, on behalf of the City Council, Mayor Gelu Apostol granted His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel the title of honorary citizen of Cernica Town, as a sign of chosen gratitude.
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The building works of the church started in the autumn of 2007 and ended in 2010. Until the spring of 2011, the painting of the place of worship was done in al secco technique, by church painter Marian Bonea. The construction and the painting of the church were completed with the blessing of the Head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, with the support of the City Hall, represented by Mr Gelu Apostol, as well as through the effort of the parish priest Fr Iustinian Guţea.
