HE Miguel Maury Buendía, Apostolic Nuncio to Romania, visited the Library of the Holy Synod on September 7.
The distinguished guest was greeted by His Grace Varlaam of Ploiești, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop, and Archim. Policarp Chițulescu, the Director of the Library of the Holy Synod.
The hosts presented to their guest the Palace of the Synodal Library and the most important manuscripts and prints from its collections.
The Apostolic Nuncio is the permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See by a state or international organization, which makes him the head of the diplomatic mission. He has the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, with similar prerogatives as those of any other ambassador.
Msgr. Miguel Maury Buendía, 65, was born in Madrid, Spain. He joined the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See in July 1987 and activated at apostolic nuncios in Africa, Central Asia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Ireland. He speaks Spanish, English, Italian, French and Slovenian.
The Library of the Holy Synod was established in 1877 by taking over documents from the Hurezi Monastery. The institution has functioned in the Palace of the Holy Synod, inside Bucharest’s St Anthimus (Antim) Monastery, since 1912.
The library holds numerous books from Romanian old medieval libraries which belonged to famous book lovers such as Stolnik Constantin Cantacuzino, Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince Nicolae Mavrocordat, Metropolitans Teodosie, Neofit of Crete, St Anthimus the Georgian and many other hierarchs and clerics.
In 1959, Patriarch Justinian Marina reorganized the library on new bases. The Palace of the Holy Synod was restored and refurbished to make it adequate for holding the continuously growing collection of books and manuscripts.
The Library of the Holy Synod also has a lab specialized in old book restoration.
Photo: Facebook / Biblioteca Sfântului Sinod
