The foundation stone for the church of Goranu Parish in Râmnicu Vâlcea was blessed on Saturday. The new place of worship will be dedicated to St Gabriel of Georgia, who was recently added to the calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The service was celebrated by Metropolitan Theodore of Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarjeti of the Georgian Orthodox Church and Archbishop Varsanufie of Râmnic.
Metropolitan Theodore expressed his joy at seeing a church dedicated to St Gabriel the Georgian being built in Râmnicu Vâlcea, noting that he had known the saint personally.
The Georgian hierarch also emphasised that saints are gifts from God to the entire Church and that their common veneration brings the faithful closer together and makes the unity of the Church of Christ the Saviour visible.
St Gabriel of Georgia
St Gabriel was born on 26 August 1929 in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and was baptised Goderdzi.
From childhood, he showed a strong inclination toward spiritual life, building a small church in his family’s garden and decorating it with icons he rescued from destruction during the atheist regime.
After setting fire to a portrait of Lenin during a public demonstration organised by the communist authorities, he was convicted and confined for seven months in a psychiatric hospital.
Following his release, he continued his ministry, patiently enduring the suffering and persecution he faced because of his faith.
He spent the final part of his life at Samtavro Monastery and reposed in the Lord on 2 November 1995.
The Georgian Orthodox Church canonised him in 2012. Two years later, his holy relics were uncovered and placed for veneration in the Church of the Transfiguration at Samtavro Monastery.
