{"id":529590,"date":"2025-06-06T13:23:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=529590"},"modified":"2025-06-06T13:23:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T10:23:48","slug":"pentecost-encyclical-romanian-bishops-western-southern-europe-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/pentecost-encyclical-romanian-bishops-western-southern-europe-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Holy Spirit, the most precious gift of Christ for us: Pentecost Encyclical by Romanian bishops in Western & Southern Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Holy Spirit is the most precious Gift that Christ the Lord offers us\u2014after His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven\u2014and the source of all gifts,\u201d declare the members of the Metropolitan Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe in their Pentecost Pastoral Letter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Romanian hierarchs affirm that the presence of the Holy Spirit within us shapes us from the inside, transforms our attitudes, and renews our lives:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom old people, fearful and enslaved by sin, he makes us new people, in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod\u2019s answer to our weaknesses, to our shortcomings and our troubles, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which we received at Baptism and which Christ the Lord renews at every Holy Liturgy. \u201d<\/p>\n

Unity in Diversity<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe Holy Spirit does not cancel out cultural or personal differences, but harmonises them, creating unity in diversity,\u201d write the Romanian hierarchs serving in Western and Southern Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the mystery of the Church, and we are called to recognise and testify to the work of God in her. This testimony is needed in our world today, wounded by wars, polarisation and division. God trusts us and calls us to be workers with Him in the great and holy work of salvation of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faith United with Love Heals Division<\/h2>\n

The archpastors emphasize that the Holy Spirit opens the mind to a fuller knowledge of God:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe multitude of languages and peoples is called to a single confession of faith. The Holy Apostles, who once did not understand the full meaning of the words of the Saviour Christ, have now become teachers of the nations. They preach the Scripture and the prophecies in the light of Him in whom all things find their fulfilment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd their preaching is understood by all, each hearing in his own language the wonders of God. If at the Tower of Babel tongues became an occasion for division, at the Descent of the Holy Spirit they became the path of unity,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen faith is alive, it smooths differences and heals divisions. But when differences prevail over faith, it is diluted. Only an authentic faith, united with love, can dispel contradictions and enmities between us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate Calls for Deeper Responsibility<\/h2>\n

A significant part of the message is dedicated to the 2025 Solemn and Commemorative Year in the Romanian Patriarchate. This year marks both the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate and the Commemorative Year of Romanian Orthodox Confessors and Spiritual Fathers of the 20th Century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative is not only a simple commemoration of the past \u2013 that is, 140 years of autocephaly of our Church and 100 years<\/a> since it was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate \u2013 but also an opportunity to strengthen spiritual and national identity, in which the church mission is combined with the challenges of this tumultuous century,\u201d the bishops write.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy evoking the confessors of the faith and the sacrificial work of our predecessors, the Church calls us to a deeper awareness of the gift of freedom in which we live today and to a responsible assumption of the spiritual heritage that has been entrusted to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Call to Living Testimony<\/h2>\n

\u201cEspecially for us, those of us in Western Europe, this commemoration becomes a call to living confession, to preserving the unity of faith, where God has placed us, thus continuing the work of those who, in times of trial, guarded the treasure of faith at the cost of their lives,\u201d the hierarchs add.<\/p>\n

The canonization<\/a> of sixteen new Romanian saints provides \u201cluminous and contemporary figures to follow,\u201d the message continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey not only root us deeper in the Tradition of the Church, but also become mediators and guides on our path today, showing that holiness is not a distant ideal, but a living and possible reality even in times of suffering and pain, where hearts remain steadfast in love for Christ and the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pastoral letter is signed by:<\/p>\n