His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel blessed a large reliquary made for the holy relics of Priest-Martyr Saint Constantine Sârbu on Wednesday.
“Priest-martyr Saint Constantine Sârbu was loved by the faithful during his lifetime, and after his death his memory remained alive in the hearts of those who had known him,” Patriarch Daniel said.
“When his remains were exhumed, it was found that his bones gave off a sweet fragrance, because God had rewarded his earthly life with blessing and holiness. From his soul, holiness spread to his body and his bones, which are now his holy relics.”
A life marked by hardship and suffering
The Romanian Patriarch recalled the saint’s life, marked by the loss of his wife, political imprisonment and persecution by the communist Securitate, which demanded that he betray the confidentiality of the Holy Mystery of Confession.
“He was told that unless he took his own life, he would undergo surgery and die,” Patriarch Daniel recalled.
“He said that he could not betray his faith in Christ. He did indeed undergo surgery, and afterwards the doctor was astonished that he was still alive.”
“Before his end came, he made his confession, received Holy Communion and departed to the Lord on 23 October 1975, as a holy, devout, generous and merciful priest who confessed the Orthodox faith during a time of communist persecution against the faithful,” His Beatitude added.
A hardworking and inspiring church founder
Despite the hardships he endured, the saint kept building and strengthening church communities.
He founded the Church of Sts Constantine and Helen at the Parcul Călărași Parish in Bucharest and rebuilt the parish community surrounding Sapienței Church in the Romanian capital.
“He was a hardworking and deeply devout man who left behind a great deal of light through his generosity,” the Romanian Patriarch said.
“We pray to our Saviour Jesus Christ, to all the Romanian saints and to the Priest-Martyr Saint Constantine Sârbu the Confessor to grant us strong faith, deep devotion and abundant strength to do good to those around us, for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity and our salvation,” His Beatitude concluded.
A gift for Patriarch Daniel
The local proclamation of St Constantine Sârbu’s canonisation will take place on Friday, 23 October, his feast day, at Mihai Vodă Monastery in Bucharest, situated just a few metres from Sapienței Church and the saint’s tomb.
On this occasion, Stavrophore Abbess Cipriana Tănase of Mihai Vodă Monastery presented Patriarch Daniel with a reliquary icon containing a fragment of the holy relics of the Priest-Martyr St Constantine Sârbu
The icon will remain in the Patriarchal Residence collection.
Patriarch Daniel was joined at the reliquary’s blessing by Archimandrite Dionisie Constantin, coordinating patriarchal adviser and director of the Workshops of the Biblical and Orthodox Mission Institute of the Romanian Patriarchate, and Archdeacon Macarie Grigoriu, administrator of the Patriarchal Cathedral.
The metal-chasing department of the Romanian Patriarchate’s workshops at Pasărea Monastery in Ilfov County crafted the reliquary.
