His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel marked his name day on Thursday, the feast of Saint Daniel the Hesychast, on which occasion he spoke about hesychasm as God’s gift of uncreated light to those who call upon Him, as well as about the chapel located in the basement of the National Cathedral, placed under the patronage of Saint Daniel the Hesychast.
The ceremonies, moderated by Fr Ionuț-Gabriel Corduneanu, Patriarchal Administrative Vicar, began in the Europa Christiana Hall of the Patriarchal Palace with a Te Deum service celebrated by His Grace Bishop Timotei of Prahova, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, in the presence of Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishops Varlaam of Ploiești and Paisie of Sinaia, members of the Standing Committee of the National Church Council, and members of the Diocesan Council of the Archdiocese of Bucharest.
A lover of the saints and a contemporary of the saints
The festive address was delivered after the Doxology by Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova: “I would like to say a few words about the privilege and blessing of being a contemporary of the saints, of venerating the saints, of praying to them, and of being a model for others,” he said.
“Apart from Saint Dositheus (of Moldavia), I do not believe there has been any hierarch who was a contemporary of so many saints,” the assistant bishop said, describing the current Patriarch of Romania as a “lover of the saints.”
“It is again a great privilege to place these saints upon the walls of the National Cathedral,” His Grace added. “In the most recent period—more precisely one or two months before the blessing of the painting—the final mosaics of the recently canonised saints were being set in place.”
Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova explained that it is both a privilege and a gift from above for Patriarch Daniel to be the one involved in the canonisation and veneration of the new saints.
“I believe that these contemporary saints of our time—contemporary also through their being invoked in prayer and through the hymns dedicated to them—are of great help in the ministry of a hierarch, of a primate, and in the work of those who strive continually to draw closer to the Chief Shepherd.”
The gift of light
In his concluding remarks, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel spoke about Saint Daniel the Hesychast, one of his personal patrons, about hesychasm as an expression of God’s providential care for the Christian people, and provided details regarding the construction of the chapel in the basement of the National Cathedral.
“We are grateful to the good God for the gift of life and for the help granted to us in the work we carry out together for the faithful entrusted to our pastoral care,” the Patriarch of Romania said, thanking Bishop Timotei of Prahova for his kind words and for emphasising the importance of the saints in the life of the Church.
“It is essential to stress—because this has not been done sufficiently—the role of hesychasm in the transmission of the Orthodox faith in difficult times,” His Beatitude continued.
The Patriarch of Romania noted that “this movement throughout history has been continuous, though with varying intensity,” and that it intensified particularly before the shock of the collapse of two great empires: “the Byzantine Empire, which fell in 1453, and the Tsarist Empire, which considered itself Christian.”
The hesychast vocation of the Romanians
“The Romanian Principalities—Wallachia and Moldavia—had a special vocation for hesychasm. This explains the fact that the first Philokalia, printed in Greek in Venice, was financed by a ruler of Wallachia,” Patriarch Daniel said.
His Beatitude recalled that, in the contemporary period, Holy Confessor Priest Dumitru Stăniloae recognised the depth of the Philokalic writings and published them with extensive theological notes and commentaries: “Thus, the first annotated Philokalia, elucidated through very rich and profound notes, also reveals our vocation as a hesychast people.”
Patrons of the National Cathedral’s basement chapel
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel recalled that the chapel located in the basement of the National Cathedral is placed under the patronage of Saint Daniel the Hesychast and Saint John Jacob of Neamț, the New Chozebite, both depicted in the stained-glass window at the entrance of the National Cathedral.
Both saints lived in caves: one near Voroneț, and the other in the cave where the Prophet Elijah the Tishbite also lived as a hermit. The relics of Saint John Jacob were later transferred to the church hewn into another cave, that of the Monastery of Chozeba.
The chapel has a surface area comparable to that of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Timișoara—over 1,500 square metres—and will be used primarily for weekday services. “The large iconostasis, carved in Arad and painted in Bucharest, is already prepared, but the walls still need to be painted,” His Beatitude noted.
The Patriarch of Romania further recalled that in 2025, dedicated to the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Romanian Orthodox Church also canonised other hesychast saints, among them Saint Paisius (Olaru) of Sihăstria Monastery in Neamț County and Saint Sofian (Boghiu) of Antim Monastery in Bucharest.
“One was a hesychast in the mountains, the other amid the multitude of people in the capital, showing that it is not the place where the hesychast lives that matters, but rather his relationship with God, the eternal source of peace, joy and salvation,” Patriarch Daniel emphasised.
His Beatitude further revealed that “at least 16 or 17 Athonite ascetics could, in the near future, God willing, be added to the ranks of the saints, because their holiness is recognised not first and foremost by other Romanians, but by foreigners who have come to know it.”
Among them, the Patriarch of Romania mentioned Archimandrite Dometius Trihenea, former abbot of the Athonite Monastery of Zografou, which Saint Stephen the Great refounded.
Book launches and online cultural-missionary projects
In the second part of the event, the Aula Magna “Patriarch Teoctist” of the Patriarchal Palace hosted three cultural events dedicated to the 2025 solemn year marking the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate.
Two books published by the Romanian Patriarchate’s publishing houses were launched: A Century of Patriarchal Ministry in the Romanian Orthodox Church (two volumes), coordinated by Rev. Prof. Dr George Grigoriță and issued by the Basilica Publishing House of the Romanian Patriarchate, and O Lord, I Have Loved the Beauty of Your House: The National Cathedral and the Stages of Completing an Ideal, published by the Cuvântul Vieții Publishing House of the Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobruja.
Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Paisie of Sinaia presented the volumes.
Subsequently, Archimandrite Augustin Coman, Patriarchal Adviser and coordinating counsellor of the Department for Christian and Interreligious Relations, presented the English-language version of the Romanian Patriarchate’s website.
Archdeacon Gheorghe Popa, Patriarchal Adviser, coordinating counsellor and Director of Trinitas TV, introduced Trinitas Film, the new official streaming platform of Trinitas Television of the Romanian Patriarchate, launched on this occasion.
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Photo: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
