The monks of Putna Monastery pray for a miracle from the monastery’s patron saints to rescue Romania from the coronavirus outbreak.
Carrying relics and icons, the monks walked around the outside of the monastery’s main church on Sunday, praying the coronavirus away.
The procession was organized as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the spiritual trouble caused by it, Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, the abbot of Putna Monastery, explained.
While walking around the katholikon, the monks made four stops to mark the sing of the holy cross and offered petitions to put an end to the epidemic.
‘We made this procession kneeling and bowing our heads and asking our Compassionate God for mercy and compassion “for the whole Adam”, that is for the whole world,” said the abbot March 29. “We must turn to ourselves. Let each one investigate himself.”
Father Melchisedec urged to guard ourselves against vainglory and to perform good deeds.
‘God wants that kindness, mercy, love be in our hands. When they are in our hands, each of us becomes God’s hands. That is why the church is calling for solidarity these days.’
Addressing the faithful who were watching the live streaming on Putna Monastery’s Facebook page, the abbot urged them to nurture their mind with useful things and to pray, having the struggle of the ancestors as an example.
‘Let us look at our holy ancestors, how they went through much more difficult trials, how they had to bear wars, concentration camps, deportations, prisons, plagues.’
Abbot Melchisedec mentioned Anita Neandris’s book ‘Twenty years in Siberia‘ and the writings of the anticommunist resistant Ion Moraru.
‘Let us learn from them the holy patience and trust in God.’
‘You have parents and grandparents. Ask them about the ancestors,’ Fr Melchisedec said instructing everyone to remember the names of their ancestors in prayer to receive more courage.
The archimandrite said that the Mother of God would protect Romania, cautioning Romanians that to keep the calmness of heart they need to stick to Christ.
Photography courtesy of Putna Monastery
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