The Three Saints Hierarchs – Ambassadors and Protectors of the Poor
Saturday, 30 January 2016, the Orthodox Church celebrated the Three Saints Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom.
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania delivered a sermon in the chapel of the Patriarchal Residence dedicated to Saint Gregory the Enlightener, in which he spoke about the life and teaching of the Three Saints Hierarchs.
His Beatitude underlined the fact that the Three Saints Hierarchs prayed for the unity of the Church and protectors of the human dignity, having also been ambassadors of the poor.
“The Three Saint Hierarchs are great teachers and hierarchs of our Church, enlighteners of Orthodoxy, as well as prayerful for the unity of the Church, for the good life of the Christians and for the common prayer and work. They defended the true faith and the unity of the Church. Secondly, they were teachers of repentance and holiness of the Christian life. Thirdly, all of them were defenders of the human dignity humiliated because of sins, so that they have also become ambassadors and protectors of the poor, sick and suffering people. They all protected the true faith, holiness of the Christian life and preached mercy, social-philanthropic work of the Church, as we call it today”.
The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church has also said that whenever we defend the true faith we have them as helpers with their prayers, their spiritual sight and with the books they bequeathed to us. And so, “whenever we work as shepherds of souls or whenever we struggle as simple faithful to live according to the Gospel of Christ we have them as prayerful, protectors and enlighteners, teachers and helpers through our spiritualising work. They also inspire us in the social-philanthropic work of the Church”.
The Three Saints Hierarchs have also separate dates of celebration: Saint Basil on 1 January, Saint Gregory the Theologian on 25 January, and Saint John Chrysostom on 27 January and 13 November.
