Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church emphasized, on Thursday, at the Feast of St Pious Demetrius the New, Protector of Bucharest, that the saints, who bring peace to the soul, are also intercessors before the Most Holy Trinity for peace between peoples, told Agerpres.
"These feasts in which the saints of different nations meet through their relics, by inviting clergymen of Orthodoxy from other Churches, strengthen the Orthodox communion, especially in a time when there is a lot of individualism, a lot of division, a lot of turmoil. We, therefore, consider that the saints who bring peace to our souls are also intercessors before the Most Holy Trinity to bring peace between peoples. We permanently hold prayers for peace here, at the Cathedral, every day, especially since the war broke out in Ukraine," said His Beatitude Daniel to the thousands of pilgrims who participated in the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, told Agerpres.
The high hierarch performed the service alongside Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria, Naousa and Kampania, together with 39 hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, priests and deacons.
Patriarch Daniel recalled the promise made by Metropolitan Panteleimon to give Bucharest a piece of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki the Myrrh-streamer emphasizing that this represents "a joy and an encouragement, as well as an intensification of the bond between our Orthodox peoples, Greek and Romanian".
"Thus, the essence of spiritual life is not the fasting itself, nor the prayer itself, nor asceticism in itself, but the cleansing of the heart from bad thoughts and after that the cleansing of the words, in the sense that bad words and deeds must be avoided," emphasized the Patriarch.
Metropolitan Panteleimon praised the presence on the Hill of Joy, at the Feast of St Pious Demetrius the New, Protector of Bucharest, of tens of thousands of believers, who came to honour the Holy Relics, "wellsprings of soul and body healing for our illnesses".
"You are therefore privileged and happy, because the grace of God has given you the honour and the blessing of having here in Bucharest such a strong protector, as is your patron saint, Our Venerable Father Demetrius Basarabov the New, who protects the Citadel of Bucharest and its pious people, so that we can all run to him and to the reliquary with his honourable relics, so that we too receive grace, blessing and healing. And it is truly a great blessing in our times when the world is shaken from its foundations by conflicts and wars, by riots and disorder, to have in your midst your holy protector and defender as a strong and unshakable anchor," the Greek Metropolitan said.
Many officials were present on Dealul Mitropoliei, at the Feast of St Pious Demetrius the New, Protector of Bucharest, such as the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, the ministers of Labor and Social Solidarity and Investments and European Projects, Marius Budai and Marcel Bolos, the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies Florin Alexe, the general mayor of the Capital, Nicusor Dan, the head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Mircea Abrudean, the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Corina Corbu, the president of the National Property Restitution Authority, Cristina Florentina Stanca.
The events organized on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Demetrius the New began last Saturday and will end on Friday. Along with the relics of Saint Demetrius the New, Saints Emperors Constantine and Elena and Saint Hierarch Nectarius of Aegina, those of Saint Hierarch Gregory Palamas, brought from Greece from the Metropolis of Veria, are also being venerated this year.
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