The celebrations of Bucharest’s Patron Saint Demetrius the New began on Saturday morning when the Saint’s holy relics were taken out of the patriarchal cathedral and placed in an outdoor baldachin to facilitate access to pilgrims from across Romania.
Although usually kept inside the patriarchal cathedral, the reliquaries with the relics of Saint Demetrius the New, the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen and Saint Nectarius of Aegina were specially taken out in a small procession led by the patriarchal auxiliary bishop Paisie of Sinaia.
The relics will remain in the baldachin until next Sunday for a series of liturgical events in honour of the wonderworking Saint Demetrius the New.
“On the feast days of the saints, the honourable relics are taken out in a procession so that it is easier for the faithful to venerate and honour them,” the patriarchal auxiliary bishop explained.
A more extensive procession will take place on Tuesday, October 24, when a delegation from Greece will bring the Panagia Soumela Icon and the right hand of the Great Martyr Demetrius the Myrrh-Gusher. This procession is titled “The Path of the Saints.”
Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
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