Sunday, 7 September 2014, one week before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church consecrated Dudu II parish church of Rosu village, Chiajna commune. His Grace Varlaam Poliesteanul, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch, priests and deacons concelebrated.
The feast of the parish of Dudu II began early in the morning with the blessing of the holy water and continued with the Matins and the Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Grace Varlaam Ploiesteanul.
To end with the consecration service His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel delivered a sermon in which he said: “We consecrated this new church by God’s grace at a significant time, on the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This is why the Gospel spoke about the Exaltation of the Cross of the Crucified Saviour just as of the serpent which Moses the Prophet raised in the desert to get rid those who were looking at the copper serpent of the serpents’ venom. At the same time, this Sunday precedes the feast of the Birth of the Mother of God, the main dedication day of this church. Both feasts have a special significance not only for this church, but for the Church in general”.
His Beatitude has also spoken about the blessing of the Orthodox community protected by the Mother of God: “The consecration of this church has a close relationship with the Mother of God because it is dedicated first of all to the protection of the feast of the Birth of the Mother of God. The Mother of God is the living icon of the Church who bears Christ inside her, gives birth to Him, grows Him up, holds Infant Jesus on her left arm near her heart, showing Him with her right hand and saying in a low voice what she said at the wedding party at Cana Galilee: Do what He tells you to, namely Christ. The Mother of God is the living icon of the Church because she bears Christ inside her, and this is why Saint Maxim the Confessor said that the soul of every Christian must be similar to that of the Mother of God, be pure through fidelity or faithfulness in the right faith towards Christ and be fatherly fruitful through the good virtues and deeds that the soul generates. When we keep the right faith and living we have the soul of pure virgin, and when we do good deeds and have good thoughts, nice words and good deeds we are like the Mother of God who gave birth to Christ and showed Him to the world, and we show Christ to the world, working in us, through the good thought, through the nice words and good, and merciful deeds aiding our fellow beings. Thus, either if it is a laboratory of Resurrection, or a prayerful icon of the Mother of God for the entire world, but especially for the righteous Christians, this church is the place of blessing, the place where we receive the forgiveness of our sins, the place where we receive the foretaste of the everlasting life when we communicate with the Holy Eucharist. It is said: Receive the Body of Christ and taste from the deathless spring.”
The Patriarch of Romania has also shown that the brick church built by humans in the course of time was the gift that we give to God, who consecrates the place of worship with His permanent presence in it and who deifies the faithful: “This day is great, and so is the joy and blessing. A new church is built once in a hundred, two or three year time. We do not know if we, those who are building this new church now are the best of all the Christians of this part of the world, but God preferred to use our hands, work, and sacrificial love to build this house of the Most Holy Trinity. The house was made of material things of this world, but today, once consecrated it was filled with the heavenly grace which gives us forgiveness of sins, blessing, good health and help. The church has been a gift of the humans to Christ so far. Today, after consecration, it is the gift of the Most Holy Trinity to us, and this is why we sang at the end of the celebration: This church was built by the Father, strengthened by the Son, and enlightened and consecrated by the Holy Spirit, and it has also deified your souls. This is why splash you with the same holy water that we consecrated the church, you, who are the content of the brick church.”
To end with the consecration service, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel awarded the parish priest Narcis Mihail Ursuleasa the title of iconom stavrofor, and the co-servant priest Ilie Chiscari the homage medal of the Brancovean Saints Martyrs. His Beatitude has also conferred the Order of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen for laic to the founders of the parish church of Dudu II, Constantine Capatana and Iulian Robu, the Order of Maria Brancoveanu to Mrs Stela Elena Capatana, and the Homage Diploma of the Brancovean Saints Martyrs with medal to the parish council and committee. The Patriarch of Romania has also offered a blessing cross and several liturgical and spiritual books to the new church.
Parish priest Narcis Mihail Ursuleasa offered, in his turn, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, as thanksgiving sign, a stole, an icon of Saint Daniel the Prophet and a basket of flowers, and an icon of the Mother of God to His Grace Varlaam Ploiesteanul, as well as icons of the Mother of God and two Holy Scriptures to the founders of the church.
The new church is dedicated to the Birth of the Mother of God, to Saint Andrew the Apostle, the first called, Protector of Romanians and to Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen, and it was raised at the request of the faithful in the area.
