His Grace Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St Catherine University Chapel to inaugurate the new academic year at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest on Monday, October 3, 2022.
The patriarchal auxiliary bishop also officiated a Doxology, during which he prayed to God to bless theology students and their professors.
Magdalena Platis, vice-rector of the University of Bucharest, and Romiță Iucu, president of the Council for Orientation and Strategic Analysis of the University, both attended the service.
At the start of the new academic year, Bishop Varlaam delivered Patriarch Daniel’s message. In his address to students, Patriarch Daniel underlined that “young people need prayer as a source of hope and instruction in their intellectual and spiritual maturation.”
In addition to Patriarch Daniel’s message, Bishop Varlaam emphasised the necessity for priests with academic training and able to address issues of today’s society.
“Society unquestionably needs very well-prepared intellectually priests because they have to respond to challenges that previous generations did not face. Today, a priest must be the light of the world and the salt of the earth,” Bishop Varlaam said.
The faculty members and student leaders were introduced to the first-year students after the ceremony.
Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
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