On Saturday, Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj, Maramureș, and Sălaj celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Cluj-Napoca, marking the first official feast day of Saint Liviu Galaction of Cluj following his canonization.
In his sermon titled “Saint Liviu Galaction of Cluj, Martyr for Catechesis,” Metropolitan Andrei emphasized that the saint “died for the religious education.”
“Today, when we have the freedom to teach religion and catechize in church, we are sometimes saddened that not enough effort is made to teach children about God’s law. He was a martyr for religious education.”
Metropolitan Andrei highlighted the importance of educating children, quoting Solomon’s Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
“We live in a secularizing world, and many forces are working against religious education, but we pray that God helps parents and teachers raise children in the fear of the Lord.”
Martyr for Religious Education
Metropolitan Andrei recounted how Saint Liviu Galaction became a martyr for catechesis.
“He was given an important task. The communists had removed religion from schools, and Bishop Teofil, determined that children should not grow up without religious knowledge, entrusted him in 1958 with the mission of drafting a catechetical program for use in churches.”
“Together with Father Ioan Bunea, he developed two catechetical programs—one for youth and one for adults.”
However, this brought him under the scrutiny of the communist regime.
“The Securitate arrested them. Father Liviu Galaction Munteanu endured severe persecution and humiliation—first in Gherla prison, then in Aiud. When his trial was held at the Military Tribunal in Cluj, he was briefly allowed to speak with his wife. What did he say? ‘My dear, know that we will never see each other again in this world.’ And they never did.”
“Tortured beyond measure in Aiud—Saint Dumitru Stăniloae recounts that he was one of the most brutally tormented prisoners there—he endured until 1961, when he surrendered his soul to God. He was buried in the common grave at Râpa Robilor in Aiud.”
Life and Canonization of Saint Liviu Galaction
Saint Liviu Galaction Munteanu was born on May 16, 1898, into a family of teachers in Cristian, Brașov County. He earned a Doctorate in Theology from Cernăuți University and was ordained a priest by Bishop Nicolae Ivan, later becoming rector of the Theological Academy of Cluj-Napoca.
In 1958, under the blessing of Bishop Teofil Herineanu, he drafted a catechetical program for children and adults, which led to his arrest by the communist regime. In 1959, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for “conspiring against social order.” Due to inhumane treatment, he died in Aiud Prison in 1961.
The local proclamation of his canonization will take place on March 25 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Cluj-Napoca.
Photo: Metropolis of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj
