Homilies

Patriarch Daniel: Christmas is a celebration of God’s humble and merciful love

“This feast is a celebration of God’s humble and merciful love shown in His eternal Son, who out of love for humankind and its salvation became exactly what He loved – a Man,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said during the Divine Liturgy celebrated at the patriarchal cathedral on the feast of the Nativity of the…

Dec 30, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: Saints correct people’s mistakes, strengthen ties between countries. Pilgrimage is not wasted time

Patriarch Daniel’s sermon on the feast of Saint Demetrius the New focused on the meaning of the relationship between saints and believers, in general, and on how devotion to the Protector of Bucharest has helped and still helps the Church and society. Numerous believers participated in the patronal feast of the Patriarchal Cathedral, with more…

Nov 1, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

The Cross is the sign that unites heaven and earth and transforms suffering into the joy of Resurrection: Patriarch Daniel

“The Cross of Christ shows the humble and merciful love of the Holy Trinity. It is the sign that unites heaven and earth and transforms suffering into the joy of the Resurrection,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said on Thursday on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Orthodoxy does not separate the Cross…

Sep 15, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel’s practical advice inspired by the Gospel: About food waste, environmental protection, crowd discipline

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel attended the Divine Liturgy at Pasărea Monastery in Ilfov County on Sunday and addressed the faithful, stressing the need to prioritise spiritual things over material ones. Referring to the Sunday’s Gospel reading about the multiplication of the loaves and two fish, His Beatitude emphasised that the Saviour preached to the crowds,…

Jul 31, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: Before being a feast, our Pascha is a Person – Jesus Christ

“The Ressurection, before being an event, is a Person. It is Jesus Christ Himself,” said His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel during the Easter midnight vigil while reflecting on the Saviour’s words: “I am the resurrection and the life.” “The Jewish Passover remembered the Jewish people crossing the Red Sea, escaping from the slavery of Pharaoh, from…

Apr 24, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Live the life of Christ: Patriarch Daniel explains the mystagogical meaning of Holy Week

The Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem connects the Lenten period with the beginning of a mystagogic, mystical period, the Romanian Patriarch explained on Palm Sunday. “Until now, the period of forty days has been one of asceticism, hardships, and fasting,” His Beatitude said. Patriarch Daniel explained that “asceticism” was translated into…

Apr 12, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: Forgiveness is a condition to make a good beginning for Lent

On Cheesefare Sunday, when the Church remembers Adam’s Expulsion from Paradise, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel attended the Divine Liturgy at St George Chapel of his Patriarchal Residence. In his sermon, His Beatitude explained why forgiveness is one of the conditions to make a good beginning for Lent. “By forgiving our neighbours, we crucify our selfishness…

Feb 28, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: The Creator comes to His creation / It is a celebration of a cosmic dimension

On the eve of the Theophany of the Lord, the Patriarch of Romania welcomed the clergy of the Patriarchal Cathedral at his patriarchal residence. His Beatitude spoke to them about the cosmic character of the celebration and about how important it is for the faithful to receive the priest on the feast’s eve. Patriarch Daniel…

Jan 13, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: Offer Christ the gold of faith and good deeds, the frankincense of prayer and the myrrh of a pure life

If rich in spirit, every Christian, whether rich or poor in material terms, “can offer Christ more precious gifts than the gifts offered by the wise men of the East.” These are “the gold of faith and good deeds, the frankincense of fervent prayer and the myrrh of a pure life,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel…

Dec 29, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel on grace and hesychasm: St Gregory Palamas was a fruit of St Paul’s exhortation to pray unceasingly

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel spoke on Thursday about St. Demetrius the New as a hesychast saint and outlined his connection with the believers on both banks of the Danube River. His Beatitude also referred to St. Gregory Palamas, the Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and described him as a fruit of the work of grace among the…

Oct 28, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: The Tabor Light, perceived by the Hesychasts, is sought by every Christian enlightened at baptism

The light that appeared on Mount Tabor at the Saviour’s Transfiguration “is the light that every Christian enlightened at baptism by water and the Holy Spirit seeks,” Patriarch Daniel said Saturday. Fruit of prayer and a symbol of hesychasm, this light “is given to those who pray much and live a Christian life of fasting,…

Aug 9, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu