“Christ the Lord grants His rest, or His peace, to all pilgrims who undertake the effort of travelling long distances and waiting in long queues to venerate the holy relics of the saints or their wonderworking icons,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said on Tuesday, as St Demetrius the New, the patron saint of Bucharest, was honoured at the Patriarchal Cathedral.
“Pilgrimage is an act of faith, hope and love, but it is also an occasion to give thanks to God for the blessings received from Him.”
“Pilgrimage is also an act of repentance for sins and a plea for forgiveness. It is an opportunity to ask the saints to help us love God as they loved Him, to grant us strength so that we, as travellers in this world, may ultimately reach our heavenly homeland, the eternal city in heaven, as the Holy Apostle Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 14,” His Beatitude continued.
“The saints do not compete with Christ. Rather, they show that the holiness of the One Who alone is holy is shared with those who believe in Him and love Him. In the saints, we do not venerate human nature in itself, but God’s holy and sanctifying grace, present and active in human nature,” Patriarch Daniel explained.
On the solitude of a person at prayer
His Beatitude spoke about the life and spiritual struggles of St Demetrius the New, who, although his work as a shepherd was solitary, “never felt alone, precisely because, through prayer, he was always together with God and His saints”.
“When a person prays, they are not alone, but are together with God and His saints. A person becomes lonely only when they no longer pray,” the Romanian Patriarch emphasised.
A victory for St Demetrius the New and the faith
A significant part of the sermon was devoted to a series of events which, the Patriarch said, demonstrated the saint’s power and the triumph of good over those who oppose God’s power.
“In the autumn of 1989, the country’s communist leadership banned the celebration of the patronal feast of St Demetrius the New at the Patriarchal Cathedral, scheduling a working session of the Great National Assembly for the same date, 27 October 1989, in the building near the Cathedral,” His Beatitude recalled.
Under pressure from the authorities, the late Patriarch Teoctist transferred the reliquary containing the relics of St Demetrius the New to St Nicholas Vlădica Church, near the Patriarchal Cathedral.
“However, on 22 December 1989, the atheist communist regime fell as a result of the anti-communist Revolution, and joyful people sang in the streets of the capital: God is with us.”
“Meanwhile, the building where communist leaders once held sessions of the Great National Assembly was placed at the disposal of the Romanian Orthodox Church,” the Romanian Patriarch recalled.
His Beatitude added that, in 2007, in the same building, on the very feast of St Demetrius the New, the establishment of the Romanian Patriarchate’s Basilica Media Centre was announced.
Its radio and television services broadcast daily services from the Patriarchal Cathedral, where the relics of St Demetrius the New are kept.
“Seeing the work of the saints in people’s lives, we too can say with the Psalmist: God is wondrous in His saints,” the Romanian Patriarch exclaimed.
A message of appreciation for pilgrims
Patriarch Daniel concluded his homily by congratulating the pilgrims who attended the Divine Liturgy or waited in queues to venerate the holy relics despite the rainy weather, and by offering his best wishes.
“We congratulate all of you, beloved faithful pilgrims, for the great devotion and patience you have shown, and we pray that the most merciful God will reward your zeal and efforts with His spiritual and saving gifts: health and happiness, peace and joy, help in your work and family life, and many blessed years in which to grow in faith and Christian love, in holiness and good works, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, to the joy of the saints and for the attainment of salvation,” His Beatitude concluded.
Patronal feast celebrations continued
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, together with 42 other hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church, celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the feast of St Demetrius the New, the autumn patronal feast of the Patriarchal Cathedral.
Throughout the patronal feast celebrations, until 28 October, pilgrims could venerate the relics of St Demetrius the Myrrh-Gusher, St Demetrius the New, patron saint of Bucharest, Sts Constantine and Helen, St Nectarios of Aegina and St Elizabeth of Pasărea.
Pilgrims could check the length of the queue on the dedicated website by scrolling down to the interactive map and clicking on the pedestrian icon inside the red circle to see the estimated waiting time.
The patronal feast programme continued Tuesday evening at the Patriarchal Cathedral’s outdoor altar with a Vigil service in honour of St Hyacinth, Metropolitan of Wallachia, and St Theophano Basarab.
On Wednesday evening, the holy relics were to be returned to the Patriarchal Cathedral after the final pilgrim had venerated them.
