The Patriarch of Romania Consecrated the Episcopal Cathedral of Caransebes

His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church has consecrated the new Cathedral of Caransebes dedicated to the “Resurrection of the Lord” and to “Saint Prophet Elijah the Tishbite”, assisted by a group of priests and deacons. Central and local officials, politicians, representatives of some other religious cults and thousands of faithful coming from the surrounding localities together with their parish priests attended the event, according to “Lumina” newspaper. 

His Beatitude Daniel arrived in Caransebes on Saturday night, where a group of hierarchs, priests and deacons, as well as the local and county officials, and hundreds of faithful met him in front of the church of “Saint Great Martyr George”, known as the historical cathedral of the city. His Grace Emilian Lovisteanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Ramnic celebrated a Te Deum service at 8.30 p.m., assisted by a group of priests and deacons, in the presence of the Primate of our Church, of the hierarchs and of the guests. His Grace Lucian, Bishop of Caransebes welcomed His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and presented a few historical data on the Diocese of Banat and on the old cathedral of the city, where the most important events in the life of the eparchy took place. 

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel emphasized the role the city of Caransebes and the diocese over here had in the life of the Church and of the Romanian people. 

“The city of Caransebes was a place of witnessing the Orthodox faith at the edge of the country and a city for defending the national identity and unity, and re-establishing the national unity together with Arad. This city has contributed to the development of the national conscience, to the re-establishment of the national unity achieved in 1918. The Eparchy of Caransebes remains in the conscience of the Romanian Orthodox Church as a city of theological culture as well. The Theological Seminary over here had brilliant professors who wrote books of high academic level and formed many generations of priests, professors and people of culture”, underlined His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. 

The Patriarch of Romania consecrated the new Cathedral of Caransebes together with the hierarchs present. After the usual surrounding of the place of worship, there followed the sealing of the Holy Table, in whose leg the relics and the parchment were laid. After vesting the Holy Table, His Eminence Timotei, Archbishop of Arad, read the parchment in front of the faithful gathered to attend the consecration and the Divine Liturgy. Some of the officials present were the State Secretary for Religious Affairs Adrian Lemeni, the prefect of Caras-Severin county and president of the County Council, Octavian Tunea and Sorin Frunzaverde, the mayor of the city Ion Marcel Vela, as well as members of the Parliament and politicians from several parts of the country. 

The group of hierarchs who celebrated the consecration service of the Cathedral and the Divine Liturgy was made up: His Eminence laurentiu, Metropolitan of Transylvania, His Eminence Irineu, Metropolitan of Oltenia, His Emienence Iosif of Western and Meridional Europe, His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Targoviste and Patriarchal Exarch, His Eminence Teodosie, Archbishop of Tomis, His Eminence Andrei, Archbishop of Alba Iulia, His Eminence Casian, Archbishop of Lower Danube, His Eminence Timotei, Archbishop of Arad, His eminence Luchian, Bishop of the Orthodox Serbs of Budapest and Timisoara, His Grace Lucian, Bishop of Caransebes, His Grace Sofronie, Bishop of Oradea, His Grace Sofronie, Bishop of Oradea, His Grace Nicodim, Bishop Nicodim, Bishop of Severin and Strehaia, His Grace Vincentiu, Bishop Slobozia and Calarasi, His Grace Galaction, Bishop Alexandriei and Teleormanului, His Grace Ambrozie, Bishop of Giurgiu, His Grace Sebastian, Bishop of Slatina and Romanati, His Grace Visarion, Bishop of Tulcea, His Grace Daniil, Bishop Locum Tenens of Dacia Felix Diocese, His Grace Siluan of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Hungary, His Grace Vasile Somesanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj, His Grace Paisie Lugojeanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Timisoara, His Grace Emilian Lovisteanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Ramnic, His Grace Ioachim Bacauanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Roman and Bacau. 

In the sermon delivered during the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude spoke to the faithful present in the new Cathedral in Caransebes about the saving sacrifice on the cross, as a supreme expression of the divine love for people and about the Cross, as a sign of victory over evil. “The love of God, Who sends His One Son into a world suffering from sin, hate and evil to heal it of sin and death, is a saving life giving love. The signs of the Cross remain forever in the body of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, Risen and Ascended to Heaven, in order to show us how much He loved us, and wanted to raise us to heaven. This is why the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is the glorification of the humble sacrificial love, the only love that God appreciates. He does not appreciate the proud possessive love, but the humble love, which opens the man’s soul to love God and his fellow beings. 

To end with, the Primate of the Church offered diplomas and distinctions to the founders, benefactors and all the servants of the holy Cathedral of Caransebes, who essentially contributed throughout the years to the construction of the holy place of worship. His Grace Bishop Lucian received an engolpion and a cross, and a blessing cross for the altar of the cathedral. Other distinctions were awarded to the counselors and archpriests of the Cathedral, to the city mayor, to the prefect of Caras-Severin county, as well as to the directors of the firms who built the place of worship. 

There followed the speech of His Eminence Laurentiu, Metropolitan of Transylvania, who recalled the hardships met when the construction of the Cathedral began: “When we laid the foundation stone, we put on the vestments of the first Bishop of Caranebes, Ioan Popasu, and said we wished to continue the desire of our predecessors. Today, this desire has come true.” 

His Grace Bishop Lucian thanked all the founders, and all those present: hierarchs, priests, authorities and faithful. 

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