Saint Pious Dimitrios the New, Protector of Bucharest whose holy relics are at the Patriarchal Cathedral is celebrated today, 27 October 2013. His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church officiated the Divine Liturgy at the celebration of the Saint Patron of the Patriarchal Cathedral, on the Joy Hill, in the presence of many faithful.
Besides the Patriarch of Romania, His Eminence Dionisie, Metropolitan of Corinth and hierarchs, members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church were also present. The answers at the pew were given by “Nicolae Lungu” chorus of the Romanian Patriarchate.
Important state and local personalities, hundreds of priests and deacons of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, as well as thousands of faithful and pilgrims attended the event. They waited patiently on the Patriarchate Hill to pray to the holy relics laid under the canopy specially arranged near the Patriarchal Cathedral.
After reading the Evangelical pericope, the Patriarch of Romania spoke about the significance of the evangelical pericopes scheduled for this Sunday: “The first Gospel fragment we listened to today was scheduled because today is Sunday, namely the 24th Sunday after the Pentecost or after the Descent of the Holy Spirit. We see in the first Gospel fragment how Christ heals a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for 12 years. While she was trying to be healed, somebody else was trying not to die, namely Iair’s daughter, the leader of the synagogue who came to Jesus, knelt down in front of Him and told Him full of lowliness that his daughter was about to die and that only He, Jesus, the healer, could help him, and He says “I will come”. Thus, we dramatically see Christ, our Lord, suddenly meeting the long sufferance of a sick woman about whom the Gospel says she had spent all her fortune for the physicians who could not heal her. This woman comes to Jesus to be healed. It is a significant coincidence between the 12 years of sufferance of the sick woman suffering from haemorrhages and the 12 years age of a child, a daughter who was almost dying. Jesus Christ, our Saviour, meets the sufferance of the sick woman and hears that the daughter of the leader of the synagogue was dying. This combination between sufferance on one hand and the time when the daughter of the leader of the synagogue was dying shows us that our fragile life is often threatened by death. But Christ, the Lord, the source of life and eternity is merciful when faced with sufferance and fear of death. His merciful love makes Him take time to reach the house of the leader of the synagogue, in order to heal another sufferance first, namely that of the woman who sneaked to Him and touched the fringe of his cloak. That moment Jesus felt a great power going out of Him and said: “Who touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out of me”. His disciples told him: “the crowd surround you and press on you, and you ask who touched me?” But because Jesus explained that a great power had gone out of him and that somebody used it, the shy woman who was healed when she touched the Saviour’s clothes came in front on him trembling. Seeing her trembling He told her: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace!” This woman has received three gifts at once. First of all it was the healing, or the gift of good health, and secondly the honour to be called daughter. He did not say “Do not be afraid, woman”, but “Daughter, your faith has made you well”. And the third gift was the life lived in peace, a blessing of peace. Why did He call her daughter, not woman? It was for her faith, because whenever Christ, our Lord, notices a person with strong faith, He calls the respective person daughter or son. Thus, man makes a relationship of filiation, of adoption, through strong faith in his relation with God”.
Then, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church read a lecture on the occasion of the celebration of the Patriarchal Cathedral entitled The Saints – Friends of God and of the Faithful and spoke about the life of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New and emphasised the wonders the Pious Saint made in Bucharest at the time of Ioan Voda Caragea till December 1989: “The communist leadership of the country has forbidden the celebration of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New at the Patriarchal Cathedral scheduling for 27 October 1989 a working session of the Great National Assembly in the building nearby. Submitted to pressure and threatening the worthy remembering Patriarch Teoctist transferred the shrine of the relics of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New to Saint Nicolae-Vladica church close to the Patriarchal Cathedral. But after only two months after this humiliation of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New, in December 1989 the communist atheist regime fell with great echo, and the people were singing in the streets of Bucharest full of joy: “God is with us!”.
During the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Metropolitan Dionise delivered a speech, from which we render a fragment below, by which he thanked His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel for the invitation to visit Romania and offered His Beatitude a hierarchic walking staff as a sign of gratitude: “We address with high esteem and respect to Your Beatitude, in the name of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece which we represent at these festive celebrations, thanking you for the invitation which honoured us a lot. Thank you very much for the very hospitable accommodation, so that it can be resembled to the reception Patriarch Abraham made at the Oak tree of Mamvri. Thank you for the rich distinguished blessings you bestowed over us. Thank you for giving us the blessed opportunity to attend Your Beatitude’s joy and of the faithful Romanian people too, now, in the year 2013, a year dedicated to Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen and to the commemoration of the late father Dumitru Staniloae, great Romanian theologian of the 20th century, known all over the world”.
The Patriarch of Romania took turns in thanking His Eminence Efrem for the visit to our country, as well as for having brought the miracle worker icon of Saint Empress Helen in which particles of the Holy Wood of the Holy Cross and of the relics of the Saint are kept, and the historical icon of Saint Emperor Constantine the Great displayed to be venerated by the pilgrims these days. The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church offered His Eminence Dionisie an icon of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New and two silver filigree icon lamps.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has also thanked all those involved in the good development of the celebration of the Patriarchal Cathedral: central and local authorities, priests, professors, theological students, seminarian students, gendarmes and volunteers from various medical organisations.
