On the feast day of the outdoor chapel of the patriarchal residence, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel urged the faithful ‘to pray to Saint John the Baptist to grant us a strong faith and a sense of repentance for our sins.’
During his Sunday homily, the Patriarch of Romania referred to the work carried out by Saint John the Forerunner ‘to preach the Saviour Jesus Christ, to make him known.’
That is why, Patriarch Daniel noted, ‘he would baptize Jesus of Nazareth at the Jordan River and confess that He is the One who will baptize men not with water unto repentance, but with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’
The outdoor chapel of the Patriarchal Residence is dedicated to the Resurrection of the Lord and to St John the Forerunner, and was founded by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel.
In the residence’s courtyard there is a statue of St John as a child holding a cross in his hand, which is a replica of the statue made by the French sculptor Paul Dubois in 1861, and which is now exhibited at the Orsay Museum in Paris.
The healing power of merciful love
The Patriarch of Romania also pointed to the healing power of merciful love and stressed how important prayer for others is.
His Beatitude offered the example of the centurion in the Bible who went to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant.
‘In the Roman centurion we see those who come to the Church and pray for the sick people who cannot move so that Jesus may heal them and relieve their suffering.’
‘Even if they are not healed miraculously as in today’s gospel reading, prayer greatly helps the sick and lonely. That is why, the Church prays in all its services, but especially at the Divine Liturgy and at the Sacrament of Holy Unction, for the health and salvation of those who suffer,’ Patriarch Daniel said June 24.
Saint Nicetas of Remesiana: ‘A special shepherd of souls’
Closing his remarks, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church spoke about the special pastoral work of Saint Nicetas of Remesiana, celebrated by the Orthodox Church on June 24.
His Beatitude noted that St Nicetas is ‘the protective father and special shepherd of Daco-Romans who lived in the southern Danube region, on the territory of today’s Serbia,’ being also a missionary for the Romans living in the northern Danube regions, in Dacia Felix and Dacia Mediterranea.
The Patriarch of Romania called the Saint ‘a special shepherd of souls’, stressing that he carried out his mission ‘through catechesis on the understanding of the people, and through the church hymns composed in Latin.’
His Beatitude recalled that the Te Deum laudamus hymn (Thee, O God, we praise) is attributed to the great hierarch Nicetas of Remesiana.
‘He was a gentle man, a spiritual man, and a very kind shepherd who brought to Christ many pagans, undertaking a particularly important work during the 4th-5th centuries.’
The chapel inside the Patriarchal Residence’s courtyard was consecrated in 2010 by Patriarch Daniel.
Photography courtesy of ZL
