{"id":356237,"date":"2022-02-21T17:46:21","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T15:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=356237"},"modified":"2022-02-21T17:46:21","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T15:46:21","slug":"martyr-valeriu-gafencu-commemorated-at-targu-ocna-on-70th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arhiva.basilica.ro\/en\/martyr-valeriu-gafencu-commemorated-at-targu-ocna-on-70th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Martyr Valeriu Gafencu commemorated at T\u00e2rgu Ocna on 70th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valeriu Gafencu, one of the most beloved 20th-century Romanian martyrs, was prayerfully commemorated on Friday, February 18, on the 70th anniversary of his martyric repose in the Lord.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Divine Liturgy and a memorial service were officiated at the Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen in the eastern town of T\u00e2rgu Ocna, where Gafencu died in prison in 1952 at the tender age of 31, having been arrested by the communist authorities at the age of 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did these Christians become, through suffering, in communist prisons? They became saints, luminaries. Because if we judge the world by labels, then the sinful woman in today\u2019s Gospel (Luke 7:36-50) would have had no chance,\u201d preached Fr. Gheorge Holbea, professor at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr the Saviour Jesus Christ, perhaps unexpectedly for some, has shown that this will remain as a testimony of repentance in this Gospel that the Savior Jesus Christ will write to the end of the ages, not on paper, but in the being of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay the good God help us to acquire this ethos that the saints had, those who turned hell into a Resurrection Paradise,\u201d Fr. Holbea said.<\/p>\n

The memorial service following the Liturgy was served for Valeriu Gafencu and other confessors of the T\u00e2rgu Ocna Prison.<\/p>\n

English article by OrthoChristian<\/span><\/p>\n