The Patriarch of Romania Celebrated the 40 Days Remembrance Service since the Passing away of Archbishop Epifanie
On 16 February 2013, His Eminence Epifanie was remembered in the Archiepiscopal Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord of Buzau.
The remembrance service was celebrated by His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, assisted by a group of hierarchs made up of His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Targoviste and Patriarchal Exarch, His Eminence Teodosie, Archbishop of Tomis, His Eminence Calinic, Archbishop of Arges and Muscel, His Eminence Casian, Archbishop of Lower Danube, His Grace Ambrozie, Bishop of Giurgiu, His Grace Visarion, Bishop of Tulcea, and of many priests and deacons.
In the sermon delivered, the Patriarch of Romania emphasised the fact that His Eminence Epifanie was an example of fruitful responsible work, showing that he passed away sacrificially, after he celebrated the Sacrament of Eucharist in the morning; in the afternoon, on his way to other monasteries he passed away as a missionary, as a diligent shepherd, aware of his hierarchic service in the Archdiocese of Buzau and Vrancea.
A model of fruitful responsible work
“The Arch-shepherd of the Archdiocese of Buzau and Vrancea was a model of fruitful responsible work; he found 3 monasteries and left over 30, built 250 churches, repaired other ones and encouraged these works. Although in certain villages the population is old and scarce because of depopulation, the shepherd’s care was the same both for the big crowded parishes and for the small and more modest ones. This fatherly love for all the units of cult of the Archdiocese shows a total responsibility and special diligence”, His Beatitude said.
“This 40 days remembrance is a remembrance of the work His Eminence Epifanie did in various places by God’s grace, multiplying the bags of gold”, His Beatitude has also said.
“Certainly, this remembrance will continue every Sunday, every feast and day because we are in the Cathedral that His Eminence Archbishop Epifanie founded and where his grave is, close to the Holy Altar and to those who celebrate here and to the faithful who come to pray for God’s help together with priests.”
The love stronger than death is the prayer for the dead
His Beatitude has also shown the importance of remembering those passed away saying that when someone’s commemoration is done through prayer, this one is much more than a remembrance, it is communion, while the prayer for the dead is love stronger than death. “Remembering the dead is a very important work of the Church especially of the Orthodox Church. The commemoration of a person, who passed away, even in the laic world, is a respectful remembrance of a person who lived in this world, worked for the family, for community, for country, and some of them for the whole humankind. This commemoration means the common remembrance of the respective person with a feeling of gratitude and respect. But when the commemoration is done through prayer it is much more than a remembrance, it is communion. In the prayers for the dead we pass from the simple commemoration to communion, to the spiritual relation in the same love of Christ, love for the living and dead. The love stronger than death is the prayer for the dead, love which keeps in the soul the remembrance of the one who passed away. (…) There is a mysterious relationship of love in this prayer for remembering the dead, it is a love stronger than death because it is a special love, united with the grace of God through prayer so that our remembrance reaches the loving memory of God”, His Beatitude said.
The remembrance is not a simple commemoration, but an act of faith
His Beatitude has also shown that the funeral and the remembrance services established by the Church are first of all an act of faith: “Both the funeral service and the remembrance service are first of all an act of faith, not a psychological emotion, the faith that man is created in the image of God always alive, and this is why, although the body is mortal, the soul is immortal. Thus, the act of faith in the remembrance of the dead is the faith that the soul is immortal. (…) So, we celebrate the remembrance service not as simple civil commemoration, but as an act of faith”.
Remembrance is an act of hope
Secondly, the remembrance is an act of hope, His Beatitude has also pointed out: “The deceased one is laid with the face to the East, wherefrom the Lord will come in Glory to judge the living and the dead, to gather the righteous in his never ending Kingdom: Because You are the Resurrection, life, and rest of the soul of your servant, Christ, our Lord”.
The remembrance of the passed away is an act of love
At the same time, the Patriarch of Romania showed that the remembrance of the dead is an act of love, underlining the fact that the flowers of faith are our candles and prayers, as well as the flowers of our faith and love for the dead.
“Thirdly, the remembrance of the dead is an act of love. The flowers of faith are our candles and prayers, as well as the flowers of our faith and love for the dead. This is how today in the love of the Most Holy Trinity, Their Eminences and Graces, the hierarchs present here, the monks, priests, honourable authorities and the young students of the Theological Seminary, we all celebrated an act of faith, hope and love stronger than death for commemorating the worthy remembering Archbishop Epifanie for the glory of God and our salvation”, His Beatitude said.
On this occasion, several books dedicated to His Eminence Epifanie were launched, published by the publishing houses of Lower Danube and of the Archdiocese of Buzau and Vrancea, as deacon Cornel Enache, present in the Archiepiscopal Cathedral of Buzau, conveyed to Trinitas Radio station. Thus, the first book, the Light of the Sacrificial Service signed by His Eminence Casian was presented by the hierarch of Lower Danube himself. The books Archbishop Epifanie since the anniversary of his birth till his funerals, and New church foundations at the Curb of the Carpathians, published by the Eparchy of Buzau and Vrancea were presented by Rev Costica Panaite, cultural counsellor of the eparchy. A DVD of the funerals of His Eminence Epifanie, made by Trinitas TV was also launched.
His Eminence Epifanie passed away on 7 January 2013, in the afternoon. The funerals took place Thursday, 10 January 2103, in the Archiepiscopal Cathedral of Buzau, where he was buried.
