His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas offered new antimensia to two Romanian Orthodox parishes in California following the establishment of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States of America.
As reported by the official website of the Metropolis, His Eminence visited the Holy Cross Parish in Upland and the Holy Archangels Parish in Torrance, California, on the feasts of the Theophany of the Lord and of Saint John the Forerunner.
The antimension is a rectangular piece of cloth typically decorated with representations of the entombment of Christ, the four Evangelists, and scriptural passages related to the Eucharist, on which the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in Orthodox Churches.
A small relic of a martyr is sewn into the antimension, which is blessed and signed by the local bishop.
The antimension is placed in the centre of the altar table and is unfolded only during the Divine Liturgy, before the Anaphora.
When folded, the antimension sits in the centre of another slightly larger cloth, the eileton, which is then folded around it, encasing it completely.
The antimension is usually changed when a new bishop is enthroned or when administrative changes occur within the Diocese.
The Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas was established in 2016 following the resolution of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The Metropolis is comprised of the Archdiocese of the United States of America and the Diocese of Canada.
Photography courtesy of Mitropolia.us
