On Thursday, April 25, 2019, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel blessed the new silver reliquary where the holy relics of Saint Philothea of Argeș will be kept.
During a service held at the All Romanian Saints Hall of the Patriarchal Residence, Patriarch Daniel offered prayers and sprinkled with holy water the shrine in the presence of other hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church who came to Bucharest to perform the sanctification ceremony of the Holy Chrism.
Saint Philothea (Philofthea) of Argeş was born in Trnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria, around 1206. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was from Wallachia.
Being killed by her father because she shared food with poor children, Saint Philothea miraculously chose to rest her remains at Curtea de Argeș Monastery in Romania.
Many people have been healed at the tomb of Saint Philothea in a small chapel in the belltower behind the monastery church, and those who entreat her intercession receive help from her.
Each year on December 7 there is a festal pilgrimage to the Monastery, and people come from all over Romania.
The relics of Saint Philothea are carried around the courtyard in procession, and there are prayers for the sick.
The holy Virgin Martyr Philothea is venerated in Romania, Bulgaria, and throughout the Orthodox world.
Photogrphy courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
