The Romanian Patriarchate will proclaim 2024 as a Solemn Year of the pastoral care of the sick and a Commemorative Year of all the holy unmercenary healers.
The selection of these themes is motivated by the need to increase concern for those enduring spiritual and physical suffering, according to a message from Patriarch Daniel predating 2024.
Simultaneously, following the solemn year dedicated to pastoral care for the elderly, the theme naturally progresses to include the care of the ill.
According to Church doctrine, demonstrating compassion towards those in need is a tangible and evident expression of merciful love; furthermore, physical well-being is intricately connected to spiritual health.
Patriarch Daniel explained repeatedly that health is not inherent to us but rather a gift from God; therefore, it must be cultivated and preserved.
Because our Redeemer Christ serves as the archetype for the pastoral care of the sick and frequently operates wonderfully through His saints, all unmercenary saints will be honoured during the Solemn Year of the Pastoral Care of the Sick.
The most famous holy healers include the first physician of the Apostolic Church, the Holy Evangelist Luke and Saint Thekla the First-Martyr, from the same period; the twelve unmercenary physicians remembered during the Prothesis: Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, Panteleimon and Hermolaus, Sampson and Diomides, Mocius and Anicetus, Thallelaios and Tryphon; also from the first centuries: Saint Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Saint Spyridon, Saint Parthenios of Lampsakos, Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch; From the contemporary period: the Holy Hierarch Nectarios of Aegina, Saint Luke the Archbishop of Crimea, Saint Gerasimos of Kefalonia or Saint Nikephoros the Leper.
The proclamation of the Solemn and Commemorative year 2024 will occur on New Year’s Day, after the Divine Liturgy, at the Patriarchal Cathedral.
The official announcement of the solemn and commemorative themes for 2025 has not yet occurred; however, 2025 will mark a significant milestone for the Romanian Orthodox Church, as it will have been autocephalous for 140 years and a patriarchate for 100 years.
Photography courtesy of Doxologia / Oana Nechifor
