After a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the “Way of the Saints” procession was organised again in Bucharest on Monday as part of the festivities dedicated to Saint Demetrius the New, the Romanian capital’s patron saint.
Thousands of pilgrims took to the streets of Bucharest carrying icons and relics of Saints in procession, showing that they wanted to follow their example of holiness. The guest of this year’s pilgrimage was Saint Gregory Palamas.
Two groups of clergy and believers left from the Patriarchal Cathedral and the New St Spyridon Cathedral.
The group from the Patriarchal Cathedral, carrying the relics of St. Demetrius the New, was headed by Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova.
The other group, bringing the relics of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen and St. Nectarios, was led by the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiesti.
The two groups met with the Greek delegation that brought a fragment of the relics of St. Gregory Palamas to Bucharest and went up to the Patriarchal Cathedral.
The relics were welcomed at the outdoor altar by the Patriarch of Romania. His Beatitude greeted the Greek delegation, led by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria, Naoussa and Kampania, and addressed a message to “the pilgrims of St. Demetrius.”
The relics were placed in the Baldachin of Saints on the Patriarchate’s Hill and will remain there until Friday, October 28.
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Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
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