His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem is expected to visit Romania this autumn to attend the first patronal feast of the National Cathedral only a few days after its consecration ceremony will be performed.
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos accepted Patriarch Daniel’s invitation to lead the festivities occasioned by the patronal feast of the Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral that will take place Friday, November 30, 2018, in Bucharest.
As earlier announced, the National Cathedral will be consecrated by His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on November 25.
Saint Andrew – Apostle to the Romanians
The devotion to Saint Andrew is spread all over Romania since he is considered the Apostle to the Romanians and the enlightener of our people.
Many monasteries and parish churches are dedicated to St Andrew and organize multiple religious and cultural activities on the feast day of the saint.
Legal holiday
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided in 1995 to mark the feast day of Saint Andrew with a red colour in the liturgical calendar. In 1997 the Synod proclaimed Saint Andrew Romania’s Patron Saint.
His commemoration day became a national church feast day following the resolution of the Holy Synod of November 14, 2001.
In 2012, St Andrew’s Day became a legal holiday in Romania.
Romanian Heroes’ Cathedral protected by St Andrew
Given the devotion of the Romanian Orthodox believers to Apostle Andrew, the Saint was chosen as protector of the National Cathedral.
The future Patriarchal Cathedral will be an important architectural and touristic destination for Bucharest, the only European capital that still has no cathedral built for the majority religious belief of its citizens.
The cathedral will be dedicated to the feast of the Ascension of the Lord and to St Andrew the First-called and represents a symbol of gratitude for all Romanian heroes who have sacrificed their lives for the defense of the homeland and the ancestral faith.
Patriarch Theophilos visited Romania in 2014
Last time when Patriarch Theophilos III visited Romania was in 2014 to attend the festivities honouring Saint Demetrios the New, bringing for veneration a particle of the Precious Wood of the Holy Cross.
‘I have no words to express my thanks for the cordial, spontaneous, very warm and brotherly hospitality you have shown,’ His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem said at his departure from Romania in October 2014.
Photography courtesy of Robert Nicolae / Basilica.ro Archive
