{"id":572209,"date":"2026-05-18T15:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=572209"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:34:13","slug":"saint-blandina-iasi-local-canonization-proclamation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/saint-blandina-iasi-local-canonization-proclamation\/","title":{"rendered":"Romanian Orthodox Church locally proclaims canonisation of Saint Blandina of Ia\u0219i"},"content":{"rendered":"

The local proclamation of the canonisation of Saint Blandina the Confessor took place<\/a> on Sunday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Ia\u0219i.<\/b><\/p>\n

The solemn event was held at the end of the Divine Liturgy celebrated by an assembly of seven hierarchs led by Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina.<\/p>\n

The Synodal Tomos proclaiming the canonisation was presented by Assistant Bishop Nichifor of Boto\u0219ani of the Archdiocese of Ia\u0219i.<\/p>\n

Through the official act, it was decreed that \u201cSaint Blandina the Confessor of Ia\u0219i shall be numbered among the saints of the Church and commemorated with hymns of praise on her feast day, May 24, each year, and shall be included in the Synaxarion, the liturgical books, and the calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patriarch Daniel\u2019s message<\/h2>\n

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel sent a message for the solemn occasion, highlighting Saint Blandina’s humility and obedience.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaint Blandina showed profound humility, carrying out in prison, together with her cousin, the most humiliating tasks, always bearing in mind the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: \u2018Whoever desires to be first among you shall be servant of all\u2019 (Mark 10:44).\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThus, what the world regarded as humiliation, the confessor of Christ clothed in the garment of humility pleasing to God, transforming the lowliest work into a hidden labour of love for God and neighbour,\u201d the Patriarch of Romania emphasised.<\/p>\n

The message was presented by R\u0103zvan Mihai Clipici, Patriarchal Counsellor at the Culture, Painting, and Restoration department of the Patriarchal Administration.<\/p>\n

Strong faith in God<\/h2>\n

At the conclusion of the event, Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina said that Saint Blandina was defined by her strong faith in God and in God\u2019s love for the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe faith manifested, as Saint Paul testifies in the Epistle to the Hebrews, through the knowledge of unseen things and the obtaining of what is hoped for. In other words, Saint Blandina\u2019s faith was certainty regarding God\u2019s presence in her life and in the life of the world. And the obtaining of what was hoped for meant that the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life were already lived here and in her own time by Saint Blandina the Confessor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cShe showed confessor-like courage in Bessarabia and Siberia, in Bucharest and in Ia\u0219i. Therefore, we ought to thank God for this wonderful gift, which becomes a source of consolation in the Holy Spirit, alongside Saint Paraskeva, the Great Martyr George, and Saint Joseph the Merciful, who also came to Ia\u0219i from the blessed lands of Bessarabia,\u201d Metropolitan Teofan added.<\/p>\n

Saint Confessor Blandina of Ia\u0219i<\/h2>\n

Saint Blandina the Confessor of Ia\u0219i was born on February 24, 1906, in the village of Gru\u0219eu\u021bi, Hotin County, in Bessarabia, to Fr. Zaharia and Presbytera Serafima Popovici.<\/p>\n

She completed studies to become a teacher and married engineer Gheorghe Gobjil\u0103 in 1926. Together, they had a son, Vladislav. After the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, the family was deported to Siberia, enduring 15 years of suffering.<\/p>\n

In 1957, she arrived in Romania. Her son and daughter-in-law, hostile to the faith, forced her to choose between God and family. Mother Blandina chose faith without hesitation, becoming homeless and eventually reaching Ia\u0219i, where she found support from a Christian family.<\/p>\n

She became a discreet yet steadfast presence at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Ia\u0219i, dedicating her time to prayer, translating and copying akathists, and helping those in need. Saint Confessor Blandina reposed in the Lord on May 24, 1971.<\/p>\n

The general proclamation<\/a> of Saint Blandina and the other 15 holy women<\/a> canonised by the Holy Synod in 2025 took place on February 6 at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest.<\/p>\n