Căldărușani and Sitaru Monasteries, together with the Deanery of Ilfov Nord outside of Bucharest, are organizing a procession on Saturday with the relics of St. Gregory The Teacher, Metropolitan of Wallachia, and St. Artemius, and with the Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God from Căldărușani Monastery.
The “Traveling with the Saints to Christ” pilgrimage will cover 100 miles and 17 localities. At each stop, prayers for the cessation of the coronavirus pandemic and of thanksgiving for the blessings received from God will be read.
The pilgrimage of the saints starts this Saturday at 10:30 from Căldăruşani Monastery with the relics and icon being carried in a procession by automobile.
The route:
Căldăruşani Monastery – Sitaru Monastery – Nuci – Gruiu – Ghermăneşti – Periş – Baloteşti – Corbeanca – Buftea – Mogoşoaia – Otopeni – Tunari – Ştefăneştii de Jos – Voluntari – Afumaţi – Petrechioaia – Gagu – Dascălu – Moara Vlăsiei – Căldăruşani Monastery.
The procession will be led by Dean Cristian Burcea, Archimandrite Lavrentie Gâţă, Abbot of Căldăruşani Monastery and Archimandrite Natanel Haraga, Abbot of Sitaru Monastery.
St. Gregory “the Teacher,” venerated already for a long time in Bucharest and the surrounding areas, was officially canonized in October 2005, with his feast day set as June 22, the day of his repose. His relics are currently in Căldăruşani Monastery, where he spent five years between 1818 and 1823 when he was elected Metropolitan of Wallachia.
The Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was brought to Căldăruşani Monastery by the refugee monks Dobrușa Monastery in 1940 when Bessarabia was invaded by Soviet occupiers. Bessarabia, now in the Republic of Moldova, is a historical province of Romania and most of its inhabitants speak the Romanian language.
Photo credit: Basilica.ro
