Anniversary Time at the Patriarchal Cathedral
Romanian Church
On 4 March 2012, the first Sunday of the Lent, the Orthodoxy Sunday, the Patriarch of Romania celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral assisted by a group of priests and deacons. To end with the Divine Liturgy the 22 years of episcopate of the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church were marked.
His Beatitude was ordained bishop on 4 March 1990, on the Orthodoxy Sunday, in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Timisoara, by His Eminence Nestor, Metropolitan of Oltenia, His Eminence Nicolae, Metropolitan of Banat and His Eminence Timotei, Archbishop of Arad.
Thus, on the occasion of this anniversary festivity, Rev Archimandrite Timotei Aionanei, great ecclesiarch of the Patriarchal Cathedral delivered a speech in which he underlined the importance of this moment for the Romanian Orthodox Church and offered His Beatitude an icon of today’s feast.
“This Sunday is celebrated in a special way by all the sons of the righteous Church from one edge of the earth to another. On the other hand, we remember a fresh page of history written nowadays, on the same calendrical and liturgical day in the year 1990. After times of trials and crucifixion of the work and mission of the Orthodox Church of Romania, new signs of more freedom were appearing in the spring of 1990. At the Metropolitan Cathedral of Timisoara, under the supervision and prayers of Saint Hierarch Iosif from Partos, protector of Banat, protector of Orthodoxy in the past, the group of hierarchs raised prayers and laid their hands in the sacrament of ordination over the educated archimandrite Daniel Ciobotea who was made Assistant Bishop, close to the place where he was born 39 years before”, said Rev Timotei Aioanei.
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church thanked God, the servant priests of the Cathedral, especially Rev Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei for the speech delivered, as well as for the icon offered. His Beatitude has also thanked the faithful present every Sunday at the Patriarchal Cathedral.
“Thank you who are the bunch of flowers of the faith of the Cathedral every Sunday and feast, because a church no matter how beautiful it may be from the point of view of its construction and liturgical gems, it is not fully beautiful if it is empty, so that a church is beautiful only when it is embellished with the crowd of the faithful present”, said His Beatitude.
“We pray Christ, our Lord, to give all the hierarchs, priests, deacons, monks and nuns, the faithful men and women the joy of feeling His love and work through us who become the hands of His love in the world if we have Christ, our Lord, in our soul”, also said His Beatitude.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel was ordained hierarch following his election by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church as Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Timişoara, with the title “Lugojanul”.
