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<\/a>At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Assistant Bishop Nichifor read the Synodal Tomos<\/a> announcing the saints’ canonisation. This was followed by the unveiling of their icon and the chanting of their troparion and kontakion.<\/p>\n His Eminence Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina read a message from His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel delivered on the occasion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe canonisation of Saints Nazaria, Olympias and Elizabeth of V\u0103ratec, together with the other 13 Romanian holy women, demonstrates God\u2019s blessed work among the Romanian people, from whom these holy women arose,\u201d His Beatitude said.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough their spiritual lives, they enlightened the souls of nuns and lay believers, showing them the path to salvation in Christ.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n After delivering the Patriarch of Romania’s message, His Eminence Metropolitan Teofan shared several personal reflections on the historic occasion at V\u0103ratec Monastery.<\/p>\n \u201cSaint Nazaria shows us that pure prayer is not a utopia. A person with a vigilant mind, pure thoughts and a watchful heart is helped by God to build up the inner person, the hidden person of the heart, as the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul testify, and thereby to acquire, in a humble spirit, the sweetness of prayer,\u201d the Metropolitan said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cSaint Olympias likewise shows us that taking on external concerns and responsibilities related to building, administration, or leadership does not prevent a person from reaching God,\u201d the Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina continued.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the contrary, if these ministries are undertaken in the name of God and with fear of Him, they become an offering of pure sacrifice presented before the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Saint Elizabeth shows us that there have been people who fulfilled the word of the Lord addressed to the rich young man in the Gospel: Go, sell your possessions, give to the poor, and then come and follow Me,\u201d the Metropolitan added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Stavrophore Iosefina Giosanu, Abbess of V\u0103ratec Monastery, delivered an address emphasising the community\u2019s responsibility to carry forward the legacy left by previous generations.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch a celebration is not prepared in a day, nor even in a year. We could say that it has been in preparation for almost 240 years, since the foundations of this monastery were laid. Generations of nuns have come here in prayer and obedience, preserving the rule of the Church and the order established by the founders of this coenobitic community,\u201d the Abbess said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cEach generation received something from the one that preceded it \u2013 an order, a prayer, an obedience, a responsibility \u2013 and each was called to preserve this heritage and pass it on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLooking at the three venerable saints, we discover three distinct expressions of the same life in Christ. Saint Nazaria introduced the hesychastic rule, Saint Olympias cultivated liturgical beauty, while Saint Elizabeth translated prayer into works of mercy. Through their lives, they show us that prayer, service and love of neighbour are not separate paths, but expressions of the same spiritual work,\u201d Stavrophore Iosefina Giosanu added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cFor those of us who live in this monastery today, their proclamation is not merely a privilege; it is also a calling \u2013 a calling to preserve the rule, not to allow prayer to weaken, and to pass on to those who come after us what we ourselves have received.\u201d<\/p>\n A special moment during the ceremony was the presentation of relic fragments to the Br\u00e2ncoveanu Foundations \u2013 the \u201cLady B\u0103la\u0219a\u201d Church in Bucharest, founded by Saint Elizabeth (Safta) Br\u00e2ncoveanu.<\/p>\n The sacred relics were presented to Father \u0218tefan Ababei, parish priest of \u201cDomni\u021ba B\u0103la\u0219a\u201d Church and Patriarchal Adviser within the Department for Patriarchal Stavropegia and Social Centres of the Patriarchal Administration.<\/p>\n The events were broadcast live on Doxologia.ro\u2019s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Photo galleries from Sunday\u2019s Divine Liturgy<\/a> and from the proclamation<\/a> of the canonisation of the three saints are also available on the Doxologia.ro website.<\/p>\n Events connected with the local proclamation of the canonisation of Saints Nazaria, Olympias and Elizabeth of V\u0103ratec began on Friday, on the eve of the Dormition of the Mother of God, with the Vigil for the great feast, celebrated by abbots and clergy from the Moldavia region, followed by a procession<\/a> with the Epitaphios of the Mother of God.<\/p>\n On Saturday, the Divine Liturgy for the Dormition of the Mother of God<\/a> was celebrated by Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia. In the evening, Assistant Bishop Nectarie of Bogdania of the Archdiocese of Chi\u0219in\u0103u celebrated the Vigil for the feast of Saint Joseph of V\u0103ratec.<\/p>\n Saints Nazaria, Olympias and Elizabeth of V\u0103ratec have been jointly entered into the Orthodox synaxarion, with their feast day observed on 17 August. Their first liturgical commemoration will take place on Monday.<\/p>\n The three monastic saints were canonised<\/a> last year, along with 13 other Romanian holy women, and the Patriarchal Cathedral formally proclaimed<\/a> their canonisation on 6 February 2026.<\/p>\n V\u0103ratec Monastery also houses the relics of Saint George the Pilgrim and Saint Joseph of V\u0103ratec.<\/p>\n Photo: Doxologia.ro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ten hierarchs and numerous abbots from the Moldavia region, joined by clergy from across Romania and the diaspora, celebrated the Divine Liturgy last Sunday at V\u0103ratec Monastery in Neam\u021b County, where the local proclamation of the canonisation of Saints Nazaria, Olympias and Elizabeth of V\u0103ratec took place after the liturgy. The assembly of hierarchs comprised…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":584777,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[33545,34749,37659,38078,38076,38077,16685,38075],"class_list":["post-585401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dioceses","tag-commemorative-year-2026","tag-local-canonization","tag-romanian-holy-women","tag-saint-elizabeth-of-varatec","tag-saint-nazaria-of-varatec","tag-saint-olympias-of-varatec","tag-varatec-monastery","tag-varatec-saints"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Taking on responsibilities is no obstacle to holiness<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Prayer, service and love as expressions of the same spiritual work<\/h2>\n
<\/a>St Elizabeth’s foundation receives relics<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Feast programme<\/h2>\n
<\/a>About the saints of V\u0103ratec<\/h2>\n
<\/a>