Faithful from Constanța and pilgrims from several regions of Romania venerated the reliquary containing the right foot of St Anne, the mother of the Mother of God, on Sunday. The sacred relic was brought from St George the New Church in Bucharest to the Archdiocesan Cathedral in Constanța.
The holy relics, which belong to Koutloumousiou Monastery on Mount Athos, arrived in the city on Friday.
On this occasion, Archbishop Teodosie of Tomis highlighted the importance of venerating Sts Joachim and Anne and their role in salvation history.
“For several days now, we have been in a continuous celebration. Holiness was prepared by God,” His Eminence said, explaining that the Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anne, “prayed throughout their lives for God to give them a child whom they would dedicate to Him”.
The Archbishop of Tomis thanked His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel for blessing the reliquary to be brought to Constanța from the New St George Church in Bucharest.
Veneration of St Anne on Mount Athos
The Athonite delegation accompanying the reliquary was led by Fr Chrysostomos, a representative of Koutloumousiou Monastery, who highlighted the spiritual bond between the Holy Mountain, the Mother of God and St Anne.
“We offer glory to God, the Trinity of Persons, who has cared for us through the intercessions of the Most Holy Mother of God and through the prayers and intercessions of St Anne, the mother of the Mother of God,” the Athonite monastery representative told Trinitas TV.
Several portions of St Anne’s relics are preserved on Mount Athos. Koutloumousiou Monastery keeps the saint’s right foot, while St Anne’s Skete preserves the lower part of her left foot and Stavronikita Monastery holds her hand.
The pilgrimage in Constanța is part of the visit of St Anne’s holy relics to Romania. They were first received at the New St George Church in Bucharest, where they remained from 5 to 10 September.
Photo: Facebook / Archdiocese of Tomis
