This is how Romanians in Zagreb celebrated Theophany: “By fasting and prayer we untie the Saviour’s sandals”

On the feast of Theophany, Father Nicolae Ceruta explained to the Romanians in Zagreb the meaning of the untying of the sandals of Christ’s feet, a sentence used by Saint John the Forerunner to describe his humble approach to the Saviour.

‘To untie someone’s sandals is on one hand an act of humility, and on the other hand an invitation to rest,’ said Fr Nicolae Ceruta, the parish priest of the Romanian Orthodox community in the Croatian capital.

‘Saint John the Baptist, an ascetic par excellence, did not see himself worthy to rest with God.’

‘The gospel passage urges us to be diligent to wait for Theophany like saint John, with fasting and prayer, and thus to untie the straps of the sandals of Christ the Saviour so that He may rest with us on this great day of Theophany, and from here in our entire life,’ Fr Nicolae said Jan. 6, 2020.

Following the divine services, Fr. Nicolae Ceruță paid a visit to His Eminence Metropolitan Porphyry of Zagreb and Ljubljana to convey best wishes on the feast of the Nativity of the Lord. Photo: Romanian Orthodox Parish in Zagreb

Attendees included His Excellency the Romanian Ambassador to Croatia Mihail Grigore and Consul Corina Galatanu.

The Romanian Orthodox Parish in Zagreb was established on March 16, 2017, and is dedicated to the Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner.

Photography courtesy of the Romanian Orthodox Parish in Zagreb

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