Today, 17 December 2012, the Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Daniel the Prophet. On this occasion, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the historical chapel of the Patriarchal Residence which celebrates, on this day, its second saint patron.
His Beatitude evoked the virtues of Saint Daniel the Prophet in the sermon delivered – we learn from Trinitas Radio station.
“It is a joy for us to pray in this chapel, on the celebration day of Saint Daniel the Prophet and of the three young men who have always been with him in prayer and in keeping the ancient faith of the chosen people. We learn that first of all we must pray God and keep the right faith in the world. Then, we must keep a right living and live right, pleasantly to God and helping the wronged people. The three young men of Babylon are very often remembered in our spiritual chants during this period of preparation for the feast of the Nativity of the Lord because the mystery of their redemption through fire shows on one hand the power of God, and on the other hand, the preparation of the chosen people for the coming of the Saviour. All the prophets are the servants of God for preparing the coming into the world of Jesus Christ, the Messiah”, said His Beatitude.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has also shown that Saint Daniel the Prophet is remarkable for his interpretation of the prophetic images: “Certain dreams that he interprets, such as the one concerning the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and of Balthazar, are related to concrete historical situations. The prophecy on the mysterious words shown on the wall to King Balthazar announced, in fact, the end of his reign and of the kingdom of the Chaldeans. So, this interpretation was done just on the night when the Chaldeans’ kingdom toppled. Thus, he had the wisdom inspired by God and showed that God counted, weighed and shared. He counted the years of the Chaldeans’ kingdom and put an end to it. He weighed and saw that it was no longer precious and shared it to the Medes and to the Persians. Yet, what he revealed to king Nebuchadnezzar concerning the history of the world is very significant because it is the revelation concerning the never ending Kingdom of God. Thus, he revealed that the image of a giant man that the emperor saw was significant for the entire history of the humankind. It was a giant man with the golden head which symbolised the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, the silver chest, copper thighs and feet of copper blended with mud. A stone detached from the mountain, but not by a human hand, hit this statue which fell down and turned it into dust. The mountain that grew instead and spread all over the world is the Kingdom of Messiah, the Kingdom that will have no end. These words of the prophecy of Prophet Daniel were included in the Orthodox Creed taken over from the Gospel according to Saint Evangelist Luke: And His Kingdom will have no end”.
“Thus, the prophecies of Saint Daniel the Prophet are messianic meaning that Messiah will found a Kingdom that will have no end. Its beginning is in history as the Church in which the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is mysteriously present as a foretaste. The Kingdom spread all over the world is the Church, as well as the perspective of the Kingdom of God where the peoples who believed in God and worshipped Him as the Creator of the heaven and earth and fulfilled His enter”, also said His Beatitude.
The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church underlined the fact that Saint Daniel the Prophet represents a model of keeping the Orthodox faith: “Those who are far from their native country are urged – by Saint Daniel the Prophet and by the three young men who kept their faith even when they were thrown into fire in the hot oven and God saved them or by Daniel who was thrown into a den of lions but they did not attack him – to learn that the Orthodox faith received from the parents must be preserved even when they are in difficult situations, among strangers. This is why we can consider Saint Daniel the Prophet as a protector of those who are far from their country and strive to keep their faith and spiritual identity”.
To end with his sermon, the Patriarch of Romania congratulated all those of the name of Daniel or Daniela.
“We wish all those named Daniel or Daniela many years of life in good health, joy and much help of God for the joy of the entire Church”, said His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
To end with the service for the celebration of the historical chapel of the Patriarchal Residence a polichronium service was officiated on the occasion of the name day of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel.
His Beatitude was baptised Dan Ilie, and Daniel when he joined the monastic life, and became a monk, in 1987.
