The first church in Bessarabia dedicated to Saint Blandina of Iași was consecrated on Sunday in Cimișlia, the Republic of Moldova. The church is also placed under the protection of Saint Nicholas and Saint Eudokia.
The consecration service and Divine Liturgy were celebrated by Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia together with Archbishop Casian of the Lower Danube and Bishops Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia, Visarion of Tulcea and Ieronim of Dacia Felix.
Metropolitan Petru highlighted the importance of the newly canonised saints for the life of the Church.
“We rejoice in this canonisation because they are our national saints, born on this land,” the Metropolitan of Bessarabia told Trinitas TV.
He added that these canonisations offer believers the opportunity to discover examples of lives lived in faith and patience amid suffering and persecution.
Unity of the Church
In his homily, Bishop Visarion interpreted the Gospel reading for the Seventh Sunday after Pascha and spoke about Christ’s prayer for the unity of the Church.
The hierarch recalled that Christ “prays to the Heavenly Father to preserve His disciples in unity”, stressing that this prayer also embraces the faithful of all generations.
Referring to Saint Paul’s words that there is “one Lord, one faith and one baptism”, the Bishop of Tulcea explained that this unity finds its foundation in faith, through which the Church remains, according to the Creed, “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic”.
A home in her native land
Archbishop Casian underlined the special significance of the occasion, explaining that the new church marks a spiritual landmark in the life and witness of the newly canonised saint. “This church is, in memory of Saint Blandina the Confessor, her first permanent home in her native lands.”
“His Grace Bishop Veniamin prepared this warm spiritual home for her during the year dedicated to holy women and the Christian family,” the Archbishop added.
Archbishop Casian also noted that the construction of the church comes at a meaningful moment for the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia, eight years after Bishop Veniamin received episcopal ordination from Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
A unique event
Bishop Veniamin highlighted the development of the local community and the efforts made to build the new wooden church.
“We greatly rejoice that, with God’s help, over the past five years we have succeeded in building here a wooden church for the Orthodox community.”
At the end of the event, distinctions were awarded to those who supported the construction of the church, while Fr Petru Goreanu, the community’s parish priest, was promoted to the rank of stavrophore economos.
The event in the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia also marked the first feast celebration following the canonisation of Saint Blandina of Iași, a daughter of Bessarabia.
Saint Blandina was canonised during the 1 July 2025 session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, together with 15 other Romanian women of holy life. The general proclamation of their canonisation took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest on 6 February 2026, while the local proclamations in honour of Saint Blandina were held in May in Iași and Chișinău.
Photo: Facebook / Diocese of Southern Bessarabia
