Romanian Orthodox Church Consecrates The Great Myrrh

2/3/2010

Romanian Orthodox Church

Romanian Orthodox Church Holy Synod Has Consecrated The Great Myrrh For The 21st Time

On 1st April, the Great Myrrh was consecrated, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest, within the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, united with the Vespers. The Divine Liturgy and the consecration of the Great Myrrh were celebrated by His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, together with the hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Patriarchal Counsellors and Metropolitans, theology professors, monks and nuns, a large number of faithful and representatives of the public life were also present at the consecration service of the Great Myrrh. On this occasion, every eparchial hierarch or delegated hierarch, representatives of the eparchies, received a stainless amphora of five litres of Myrrh.

After a thorough preparation and permanent prayers, the vessels of the Great Myrrh were brought to the Patriarchal Cathedral from Antim Monastery to be consecrated within the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, united with the Vespers, celebrated by His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, together with 42 hierarchs of the Holy Synod of our Church.

After reading the “Happy Light” and lectures of the Old Testament, during the Divine Liturgy, there followed the troparion and condac of the Pentecost “Blessed are You, Christ, our Lord…”. Then, His Beatitude said the first prayer for consecrating the Great Myrrh, and His Eminence Teofan, Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina read the second one. After reading the Holy Gospel, the Primate of our Church delivered a sermon in which he underlined the fact that this pericope comprised four moments and as many great works with special significance.

Four great works with special significance

“The Gospel reading you have just listened to comprises four special moments and as many great works with special significance. The first one is the institution of the Last Supper or of the Holy Eucharist. The second work mentioned in the calendar of our Church, which we remember, is the washing of the disciples’ feet by their Teacher, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, God-the-Man, who for us men and our salvation was made man. Thirdly, the calendar says that the Church established on this holy great day a remembrance of the prayer of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in Gethsemane Garden, when He prayed so intensely that the sweat of his head was like drops of blood. Fourthly, today we remember the beginning of the Passions of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, from the moment of the treacherous kiss Judas gave Him. So, wall these four works reflect, on one hand, the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, who shows us beforehand the mystery of the Cross as love stronger than death. (…) His humble sacrificial love is stronger than the fear of death, although, as Man, He says: “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet, not what I want, but what you want!” The will of God is life, and disobedience is death! The first Adam fell because he disobeyed God, but through obedience of God “till the death on the cross”, Christ, the New Adam, heals, redeems and saves us. So, the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist is the mystery of the sacrificial love, which places God in the centre of life. “The love of God is better than life”, says Psalm 62. So, spiritual life, as life lived in communion with God, the Spring of the eternal life, is more precious than the simple biological existence, and this is the thought of Jesus Christ, our Saviour (…). Thus, we celebrate today the sacrificial love of God, of Jesus Christ, our Saviour”, also said His Beatitude Daniel.

Great solemnity and holy blessing

Then, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church delegated His Grace Ciprian, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch, as Secretary of the Holy Synod, to read the Homily for the Consecration of the Great Myrrh, which showed that yesterday the first consecration of the Great Myrrh in the time of His Beatitude Daniel, as Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church took place, by convening all the hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church within the Divine Liturgy, so that: “The fact that all the hierarchs of an Autocephalous Orthodox Church meet on the Holy Thursday of the Holy Week of the Passions of Jesus Christ, our Lord, three days before the Holy Easter, to celebrate together the Great Myrrh, just during the Liturgy for remembering the Last Supper or Eucharist, is an event of great strength, solemnity and holy blessing”.

The homily His Grace Ciprian read taught the faithful that the Holy Great Myrrh is the visible sign of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the life and work of the Church, pointing out that through the ointment with the Holy and Great Myrrh in the Unction Sacrament, after the reception of the Holy Baptism, the gift of adoption in the Church is given, as spirit of our adoption by the Father through the Son; through the ointment of all the holy churches and antimises with myrrh – without which the Divine Liturgy cannot be celebrated – Christ is present and offers the Holy Spirit to every place of worship consecrated, where the faithful are given the Holy Communion.

The servant hierarchs carried the vessels of Myrrh

After bringing forward the Blessed Gifts, the servant hierarchs brought the vessels of Myrrh in the middle of the church, and after the blessing “May the mercies of Great God be…”, the Patriarch of Romania uncovered the vessels of Myrrh, marked them with the cross sign three times and read loudly the third prayer for consecrating the Great Myrrh and then, the fourth one.

In order to remember this great event over the years, all the members of the Holy Synod signed the Synodal Act listed in the Golden Chronicle of the Romanian Orthodox Autocephalous Church, which showed that “this solemn event of the consecration of the Great Myrrh took place in the homage year of the Orthodox Creed and of the Romanian Autocephaly, for the 21st time in our Holy Romanian Orthodox Church protected by God, after the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the other sister Orthodox Autocephalous Churches recognised it as autocephalous in 1885, and for the first time during the hierarchic service of His Beatitude Daniel, as Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church”.

Thanks

To end with the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude, the Patriarch, thanked especially those who contributed to the achievement of this holy work: “We thank His Grace Siluan and His Eminence Metropolitan Dionisios of Corinth. We also thank some other persons who helped us to find the best smelling natural ingredients so that we may pay due honour to Jesus, our Saviour, because He is called the Great Myrrh, He is the anointed One of God-the-Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit, so that all the saving work should be a work remaking the communion: of the Holy Trinity with the humans and of the humans with God.

Rev. Archimandrite Quais Sadiq, from the Patriarchate of Antioch and of All Orient, who celebrated here, with us, brought us very precious ingredients from Syria and Jordan introduced in this Myrrh when it was prepared. We have also received the nard myrtle from Jerusalem, on behalf of rev. archimandrite Ieronim, which we poured in this morning. From Bulgaria and France we have received essences and perfumes. We also thank especially His Eminence Laurenţiu who supervised, together with His Grace Ciprian Câmpineanul, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch, the whole work, assisted by priests and deacons. Much was written and will continue to be about all the countries where from we have received the purest and most beautiful spices and essences so that this Holy Great Myrrh should be the symbol of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as of the call to Christian unity, of the call to the Orthodox communion”. (Article written by Gheorghe – Cristian Popa and published in „Ziarul Lumina”, on 2 April 2010).

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