His Eminence Archbishop Irineu of Alba Iulia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the “Holy Cross” Monastery in Aiud and prayed for the souls of the confessors in communist prisons on Sunday, March 27.
In his sermon for the Sunday of the Holy Cross, the Archbishop of Alba Iulia explained that “our Saviour Jesus Christ calls us today to take up our cross and follow Him on the narrow path of tribulations and sufferings.”
The Archbishop noted that “taking up the cross begins with denying oneself and stripping oneself of the old self, full of malice and selfishness, vain ambitions and disordered passions.”
“Bearers of the cross are all those who humbly serve God and people, always ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others,” the hierarch concluded.
The Rev. Protos. Gavriil Vărvăruc, the abbot of the monastic settlement, emphasised the academic importance and the spiritual role of the symposium on martyrology held in honour of Archimandrite Ioan Iovan and thanked His Eminence Abp. Irineu for his care.
Organised under the title “Spiritual biographies and political repression in communist Romania. Centenary of the birth of Father Ioan Iovan (1922-2022)”, the scientific event opened on Saturday, March 26, at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Alba Iulia.
Photography courtesy of the Alba Iulia Archdiocese
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