His Eminence Metropolitan Laurențiu of Transylvania said on Sunday at the Holy Trinity Metropolitan Cathedral in Sibiu that the Romanian saints who lived in recent times and were canonized by the Church represent “the greatest gift we can receive.”
The metropolitan referred to the recent local proclamation of the canonization of Saint Dumitru Stăniloae, whose reliquary icon was placed for veneration in the Sibiu cathedral at the blessing of Patriarch Daniel.
Metropolitan Laurențiu recalled that Saint Dumitru Stăniloae profoundly transformed the lives of those he encountered in communist prisons:
“He was arrested and tortured, yet in prison, he preached to many faithful who had been unjustly imprisoned. Many of those politically condemned and confined in communist prisons met this Confessor and were left with a deep inner transformation,” the Metropolitan said.
The work of the saints in word and spirit
The Metropolitan highlighted the importance of the Philokalia translation and commentary undertaken by Saint Dumitru Stăniloae together with Saint Arsenius of Prislop and Saint Seraphim the Enduring of Sâmbăta de Sus.
“By reading these volumes, we understand what the Holy Fathers experienced from the divine truth revealed to them, for theology is not easily grasped. When theology is explained in an accessible way, expressed through a lived and exemplary life, we too can approach it. By imitating these examples and applying God’s commandments in our own lives, we become followers of the Philokalic Fathers,” Metropolitan Laurențiu continued.
He added that the recent canonizations of contemporary Romanian saints are clear evidence of God’s work among the Romanian people.
“God has arranged to send us signs through the saints who lived in our time — and this is the greatest gift we can receive. We honor saints who lived in distant times, but the Church is alive and continues to give birth to saints even now. This is proof that our Church is an institution of holiness — one that embodies the holiness of God in our lives. We have models, and at the same time, intercessors,” he concluded.
Photo: Metropolis of Transylvania
