The Official Proclamation of the Solemn and Commemorative Year 2016 in the Romanian Patriarchate
January 2o16
After the Te Deum service officiated on the first day of the year, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, officially proclaimed the year 2016 as a Solemn Year of the Religious Education of the Orthodox Christian Youth and a Commemorative Year of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite and of the Church Typographers in the Romanian Patriarchate.
His Grace Varlaam of Ploieşti, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch, read out the decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Religion is a light for understanding the universe and the life as a gift of God
In his homily, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church stressed on the importance of religious education of young people.
“Religion is a light for understanding the universe and the life as a gift of God in order to promote the values of family, hospitality, righteousness, peace, solidarity, goodwill and communion among people. Faith in God is the greatest spiritual heritage that the family, the school and the Church can convey to children, and that is because faith helps young people to differentiate the eternal values of the ephemeral values; it forms their personality, teaching them to cultivate kindness and amiability, love of God and of the fellow people, gratitude for the past generations and responsibility for the present and the future time. The values offered by religious education represent an essential spiritual landmark and an existential binder for the knowledge acquired by studying every other school subjects. Teaching religion in school has profound educational valences through its formative role played in the life of children and young people, which was also demonstrated by the educational and sociological studies in this field. Religion class helps reduce the negative effects of the contemporary crisis of identity and orientation for it proposes viable models of kindness, holiness and human coexistence”, the Romanian Patriarch said.
Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite – a genuine creator of liturgical language and of oratorical literature
Furthermore, His Beatitude Romanian Patriarch Daniel referred to the particular personality of the Holy Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite. His Beatitude emphasized the fact that this Holy Hierarch was “a genuine creator of liturgical language and of oratorical literature”, as evidenced by his printings: the Euchologion of Râmnic (1706) and the first Liturgikon completely in Romanian language, printed at Târgovişte (1713), which „have marked the complete triumph of the Romanian language in the worship of the Church”.
“Saint Hierarch Anthimos the Ivirite was born in Georgia at about 1650 or 1640, and was the abbot of Snagov Monastery (Romania), Bishop of Râmnic and then Metropolitan of Wallachia. Although a Georgian by birth, he was very attached to the Orthodox Church in Wallachia. His most intensive pastoral ministry was editing liturgical books, different teachings for the right-believing people and their leaders, but also guide books for clergy. The books printed by Saint Anthimos the Ivirite, a total of 63 volumes, confirm his virtues and qualities as a typographer, by the perfect level of calligraphy, the engravings, the miniatures, but especially by the theological depth and accuracy”, His Beatitude underlined.
The press served the Church and the Church served the entire people
In addition, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church pointed out the fact that the press served the Church and the Church served the entire people, by increasing their cultural and spiritual level.
