The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church met in a solemn session on October 26, 2023, at the Patriarchal Palace in Bucharest.
The goal of the meeting was to analyze the activity of the Church related to the themes of the ongoing Solemn and Commemorative year. Year 2023 has been declared the Solemn Year of the Pastoral Care of the Elderly and the Commemorative Year of Hymnographers and Church Chanters (psaltes).
This activity has been described in a synthetic report presented at the meeting by Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești, Secretary of the Holy Synod.
The report includes the canonizations decided in the context of Commemorative Year 2023, congresses and symposia dedicated to this year’s solemn-commemorative year, editorial and catechetical projects, and their reflection in the Church mass media.
The theme of elderly people has raised interest
“We can see that the theme of pastoral care for the elderly has raised a lot of interest, as we have many elderly people who mostly suffer from loneliness,” the Patriarch of Romania said after the report was presented.
His Beatitude emphasized that many elderly people feel abandoned after they raised children hoping they would become their support in old age.
“Unfortunately, many of these children have left to work abroad and seldom remember the old people left behind in the country. Lack of communion is the latter’s greatest need, sometimes more profound than lack of material food.”
Patriarch Daniel also emphasized that, for the old persons who have not been accustomed to prayer, “loneliness is even more painful”.
“In many villages, the priest has remained the only person who still visits the elderly and addresses them with words of encouragement. That is why it is so important to continue to care for the elderly in the years to come.”
In the context of the 2023 Commemorative Year, Patriarch Daniel also said there is a great deficit of well-prepared church chanters in parishes and that is why the domain should be further cultivated and addressed in the years to come.
Book presentations
The session continued with presentations of four volumes published by the Romanian Patriarchate’s Basilica Publishing House.
- “Evanghelia slavei lui Hristos. Predici la Duminicile de peste an” (“The Gospel of Christ’s Glory. Homilies to the Sundays throughout the Year”) by Patriarch Daniel (second edition, revised and enriched);
- Volume 21 from the new series dedicated the the Holy Fathers and Church Writers: “Scrieri despre Rugăciune” (“Writings on Prayer”);
- “Tâlcuire la Psalmi” (“Explanation of the Psalms”) by Saint Cyrill of Alexandria, published in the collection “Dumitru Stăniloae. Complete works – the translation series”.
- “Cronica Mitropoliților Țării Românești“ (“The Chronicle of the Metropolitans of Wallachia”), vol. I: “From the establishment of the Metropolis of Wallachia until the end of the 17th century” by His Grace Paisie of Sinaia, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop.
In the end, the members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Church watched the documentary “Light of the Wise”, produced by Trinitas TV, the television channel of the Romanian Patriarchate.
On the previous day, the hierarchs met in a working session.
More photos from the solemn session are available in the Photo Gallery.
Photo credit: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
