The relics of Saint Priest-Martyr Constantine Sârbu were exhumed on Monday during a special service held at Sapienței Church in Bucharest.

His Grace Timotei of Prahova, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, officiated the ceremony and praised the saint’s enduring patience and faith.

“His virtues are well-known. First and foremost, his extraordinary love, a sacred love for the words of the Gospel, his zeal, and his patience of a Desert Father. A priest who spends his entire life confessing and standing before the faithful demonstrates, without many words, his love for the Gospel,” said the bishop.

He recounted the hardships endured by Father Constantine Sârbu during his imprisonment under the communist regime, including time spent in Jilava, Gherla, Dej, Salcia, and other detention centres.

“One fellow prisoner, also a priest, who later moved to America, testified to Father Sârbu’s natural humility. After their release, he visited Father Sârbu and was struck not by rigorous religious demands but by the joy he radiated. This joy stemmed from shared experiences, suffering, and the humiliations they had both endured.”

Bishop Timotei highlighted Sainte Constantin Sârbu’s steadfast refusal to betray the sanctity of confession despite pressure from the communist regime.

“Father Constantine Sârbu is among the confessing priests of the Orthodox Church, selected for recognition during this significant period marking 100 years since the Church was elevated to patriarchal status and 140 years since the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized its autocephaly. He is one of several worthy priests chosen for canonization,” His Grace added.

The exhumation is part of ecclesiastical procedures to prepare the holy relics for veneration. The relics will later be enshrined in a silver reliquary currently being crafted at the Romanian Patriarchate’s workshops. The official proclamation of Saint Constantin Sârbu’s canonization is planned for early 2025.

Holy Priest-Martyr Constantine Sârbu

St. Constantine Sârbu was canonized by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the meeting of July 11-12, along with 15 other venerable confessors of faith during communism.

The Hieromartyr Constantine Sârbu was born in a poor peasant family on January 10, 1905, in Cavadinești, Galați County. His mother passed away when he was one year old while trying to give birth to her second child. His father, following an accident, was unable to care for himself or his child. Then, young Constantine was taken and raised by his grandmother, Ioana.

In 1919, at age 15, St. Constantine was admitted to the Theological Seminary in Galați, where he entered as a scholarship student, ranking third among 500 candidates. He was so thirsty for knowledge that he completed two years in one at the seminary despite working nights at a lumber factory. In 1925, he became a student in Bucharest at the Faculty of Theology and the Academy of Music. Still poor, he slept on the floor for two years, first in an attic in Amzei Square and then the North Railway Station’s waiting room.

He was ordained a priest for the diocesan cathedral in Huși, at the Holy Dormition-Adam Monastery, by Bishop Nifon Criveanu of Huși, then in the same year was appointed director and professor of the Cantors’ School, later being designated as archpriest of Fălciu. St. Constantine stayed in Huși until November 1, 1938, when he transferred to Bucharest, to the newly established Călărași Park parish, because his wife had received a position as a German and French language teacher at the Nicolae Bălcescu High School.

On January 12, 1954, he was arrested, passing through the prisons of Jilava (1954-1955), Gherla (1956-1962), and Dej (1955), and the labour camps at Poarta Albă (1955-1956) and Salcia (1959). Christ’s martyr endured many tortures in prison. He was burned with hot iron on his soles, had his beard torn out, and was beaten and humiliated to deny Christ. However, Blessed Constantine responded with spiritual courage: “You can torture me as much as you want, but I will not deny Christ.”

Released on January 10, 1962, he received two years of mandatory residence in Bărăgan, in Viișoara village. He returned to Bucharest in 1964, and Patriarch Justinian entrusted him with the Church of the Holy Wisdom. Alone, sick, hungry, in rags, with broken shoes, but full of confidence, St. Constantine arrived on June 1, 1965, at a church in ruins. The saint restored the church and gathered around him a Eucharistic community deeply involved in philanthropic activities.

St. Constantine Sârbu reposed in the Lord on October 23, 1975, at the age of 70.