The Patriarch Of Romania At The Dedication Day Of Caraiman Monastery

On 14 September 2011, the Orthodox Christians celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On this occasion, Caraiman Monastery, in Prahova county, celebrated its dedication day. His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy on a scene specially arranged close to the church monastery.

As Trinitas Radio station informs us, in the sermon delivered His Beatitude emphasised the fact that every faithful should assume the Cross: “The Cross internalized in our life means a permanent fight with the crucifixion of our selfishness. Once we crucify the passions, violence, greed, all the possessive passions, we also crucify all the selfish passions so that we may release true love, sacrificial love, the love dedicated to other people. Our epoch is marked by strong individualism. Everybody thinks only of himself or herself. Even in the family there is no more harmony between parents and children, between children and parents because this selfish possessive love which wants pleasure and success right now and by all means dehumanises the people. But the love we cultivate through fasting, prayer, mercy, participation in the religious services, where we meet the merciful love of Christ changes our greedy love into generous love.”

The Patriarch of Romania has also underlined the fact that the investment in Christian faith is a long eternal term investment because whole generations are prepared for life: “Nothing is more precious, no investment is greater than Christian education, because it is through the Christian education that we form not only citizens of our homeland, of Romania, but also citizens of Heaven, namely the children grown in faith by their parents who kept the faith. When they pass from this world into the other one, they will be happy because they loved God in this world and they will love Him eternally. This is why the greatest investment is growing the children in faith. The greatest wealth is the relationship of man with the immortal God, the merciful, forgiving, life giving one. Christian education is a long or eternal term investment. We congratulate the parents who grow their children so that they may have the people to remember them later on, to pray for them.”

The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church has also announced that the holy head of Saint Andrew the Apostle will be brought to our country on the occasion of the celebration of the dedication day of the Patriarchal Cathedral: “When the Holy Head of Saint Andrew the Apostle – the first one the Saviour called to Apostleship because He called his brother Peter afterwards – will arrive in our country, we would like to go first to the place where the new Cathedral dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle is being built; to surround the foundation, and then to go to the Patriarchate where the relics of Saint Pious Dimitrios the New, of Saints Constantine and Helen will be also laid, as relics who receive Saint Andrew the Apostle, the one who preached the Gospel of Christ in Dobrugea and who is the Christianizer of the Romanian people, because it is from him that the Christianisation of the Romanian people began. Then, all the members of the Holy Synod will go in procession to Sibiu, where we shall proclaim the canonisation of Saint Hierarch Andrei Saguna”.

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