“Do not avoid single mothers”, was the exhortation of Metropolitan Ioan of Banat on the feast day of Saint Joseph the New of Partoș, the spiritual protector of Timișoara and the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral in the city.
“Lend them a helping hand if possible, because they may, in their suffering and tribulation, bring up Saints, just as St. Joseph’s mother did,” His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan said Sept. 15, Glasul cetății reports.
Thousands of believers gathered on Wednesday at the Orthodox Cathedral of Timișoara to honour Saint Joseph the New.
The celebrations started on Tuesday evening with the traditional procession. The relics of Saint Joseph were carried on the streets of Timisoara to the sound of religious hymns and accompanied by lighted torches.
On Wednesday morning, Metropolitan Ioan presided over the festal Divine Liturgy. Concelebrants for the Divine Liturgy included Archbishop Timotei of Arad, Bishop Siluan of Hungary, Assistant Bishops Paisie of Lugoj and Emilian of Crișana.
Saint Joseph the New reposed in the Lord in 1656. In 1950, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided to canonize him and relocate his relics from the church of Partos monastery to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Timisoara.
The solemn proclamation of his canonization took place in Timișoara 300 years after his blessed repose, on October 6-7, 1956. This year marks 65 years since the ceremony.
Photography courtesy of Glasul Cetății
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