Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia celebrated on Monday the Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of Waters at the Metropolitan Chapel of St John the Theologian in Chisinau, as believers in the Republic of Moldova mostly follow the unrevised Julian calendar.
The service was held together with an assembly of clergy from the diocesan centre, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
“Each of us awaits this royal feast, the baptism of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who came to the Jordan, and there the Holy Spirit also brought John the Baptist to receive this baptism, this mystery, because this mystery of baptism is great for us all,” Metropolitan Petru told Trinitas TV.
The Metropolitan of Bessarabia stressed that the Mystery of Baptism remains for each of us a seal of the Holy Spirit.
“We are baptised, and we believe in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who came into the world and accepted this ordinance, because He asked John to baptise Him, and John refused, saying he could not raise his hand against his Master. In other words, John the Baptist recognised Christ the Saviour at the River Jordan as the Son of God.”
At the end of the service, the faithful were blessed with Epiphany Holy Water.
Photo: Trinitas TV / Jan. 19, 2026
