Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church praised the role of Christian women as witnesses of the Resurrection, in a message marking the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women—celebrated in the Romanian Patriarchate as the Sunday of Christian Women—and the first-ever Synaxis of All Romanian Women Saints.
“The Myrrh-bearing Women… are great teachers of the Church… expressing faith and courage, humility and reverence for the Saviour who was crucified and rose from the dead,” the patriarch said, describing them as “apostles to the Apostles.”
He underlined that their example remains relevant today, noting that they are “models for Christian women” called to become “bearers of the Light of Christ” through family life, monastic dedication and service to others.
Referring to the newly proclaimed group of Romanian women saints, he said they “shone through deep humility, steadfast faith, sacrificial love and fearless confession of Christ,” offering contemporary believers “a model of spiritual life.”
On the occasion, the patriarch extended “congratulations, gratitude and blessings to all women” who cultivate their Christian vocation, wishing them “health and salvation, peace and holy joy, for many blessed years.”
Please find below the full text of Patriarch Daniel’s message.
Myrrh-bearing Women – models for Christian women dedicated to serving others and witnessing to the Risen Christ
Christ is risen!
The Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Myrrh-bearing Women on the third Sunday after Holy Pascha. They are great teachers of the Church through their calling both to be and to act, to express faith and courage, humility and reverence for the Saviour who was crucified and rose from the dead. Through their love for Christ, the Myrrh-bearing Women become teachers of the Church—apostles to the Apostles.
Together with the Mother of God and the other holy women listed in the Church calendar, the Myrrh-bearing Women are models for Christian women who fulfil their vocation as bearers of the Light of Christ. They represent those women who, early in the morning at dawn, go before the icon of the Saviour and ask Him to roll away the many “heavy stones of life” from their hearts and souls. They represent women who seek Christ’s help in order to become bearers of the values of faith, faithful wives and mothers in the family, and devout women in the Church.
Thus, the precious spices that faithful women bring to Christ signify the richness of spirituality—that is, the relationship between the human person and God—the gifts of the Holy Spirit as a pledge of the eternal blessings of the Kingdom of the Most Holy Trinity.
At the same time, the Myrrh-bearing Women also represent those women who, through tears of repentance and much prayer, through ascetic struggle and early participation in church services, have become monastics who give birth to the virtues of the Christian faith.
Therefore, the Myrrh-bearing Women are the icon of all faithful women in the Church—women who, through their faith, courage and self-sacrifice, have become martyrs, venerable nuns in monasteries, and diligent Christian mothers in families, proclaiming that the crucified and risen Christ often meets us in unexpected ways and becomes the life of our life, granting us the pledge of eternal life.
On this day, the Romanian Orthodox Church also celebrates the Sunday of Christian Women and the Synaxis of the Holy Romanian Women, who through their virtuous lives and courage have followed the example of the Myrrh-bearing Women, confessing the Risen Christ through prayer, word and deed.
We recall that on Friday, February 6, 2026, the general proclamation of the canonisation of the 16 Holy Romanian Women took place, in the context of the Solemn Year of the pastoral care of the Christian family and the Commemorative Year of holy women in the calendar (myrrh-bearers, martyrs, monastics, wives and mothers).
Reflecting on the model of spiritual life offered by the holy Romanian women—who shone through deep humility, steadfast faith, sacrificial love, patience in trials and fearless confession of Christ in times of persecution—we remember martyrs, confessors, monastics, wives, mothers, noblewomen and princesses, as well as simple women from among the people, known or unknown, including those whose relics are found in Romania.
On the occasion of the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women and the celebrations dedicated to Christian women and the Synaxis of the Holy Romanian Women, we extend congratulations, gratitude and blessings to all women who cultivate the gifts and talents specific to the Christian vocation—within the family, in monastic life, and in the educational, cultural and philanthropic service of the ecclesial community and society.
We wish them all health and salvation, peace and holy joy, for many blessed years!
† DANIEL
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca-Emanuela Ene
