A glance into the depths of Romania: The Sunday of Romanian Saints [O privire către străfundurile României: Duminica Sfinţilor români]

Right after typing on Google ‘Romanians are…’, the first word suggested by the search engine’s (most often politically incorrect) autocomplete automated system was (to my pleasant surprise!) ‘Dacians’. 

There was no surprise though about the other suggestions… criminals, racist, thieves etc. As if that’s all there is to say about Romanians :-(

Use the Romanian language and type ‘Românii sunt…’ and you’ll find even much worse epithets, as before being looked down upon by foreigners, it is us that fiercely hate ourselves!

Nevertheless, irrespective of real or imaginary shortcomings, Romanians have been and most likely still are a nation who gives birth to Saints.

This isn’t the merit of those who happen to be called Romanians today, but a result of the successful spiritual warfare to preserve the right faith that our ancestors waged throughout the centuries.

On the Sunday of Romanian Saints, I dare suggesting to all Orthodox believers in the world a few of those to whom I pray, though not as often and as intensely as I should. 

They are some of the greatest Romanian Saints, yet surely not the only ones. Hierachies among Saints (as friends of our Lord Jesus Christ) are probably impossible to establish.

St. Stephen the Great (pic 2) is the one thanks to whom our contemporary (rather Antichristic) Europe exists. Had he, by the grace of the Lord, not stopped the advance of the Ottoman Turks in the late 1400s, Europe would have not been as we know it today.

He wasn’t just a brilliant statesman and military commander, but a most devout Orthodox Christian, who lived in humbleness and repentance, and who built some of the most beautiful churches and monasteries in the world.

St. Sava from Buzău (pic 3), also known as Sava the Goth, is a martyr from the late fourth century A.D., who was tortured and drowned for not renouncing his faith in Christ. He protects all the country, especially Buzău (BZ) county where he lived.

St. Calinic from Cernica (pic 4) was a providential Holy Hierach whose ascetic life and divine wisdom stood against the poisonous wave of secularism which could have all but obliterated the substance of Romanian Orthodoxy in the second half of the 19th century.

The Holy Martyrs Brâncoveni, Voivode Constantin with four sons (pic 5) and advisor Ianache (missing in the pic) were beheaded in Istanbul on August 15, 1714, because none of them were willing to relinquish their faith.

Voivode Constantin’s words “I have been born in it and I have lived in it, it is in my faith that I shall die. I have filled the land of my country with Christian churches and now, you would have me worship in your Turkish djamies?” keep rippling over the centuries.

Similar confessions of faith were made in Communist prisons, by thousands of people (pic 1), some of whom are undoubtely Saints, long before any earthly authority ever acknowledges their sainthood.

Sadly, not all Romanians are aware of how powerful these Saints are. If only other Orthodox believers from around the world would discover them and pray to them, as they are no less holy and able to work wonders than famous Greek and Russian Saints!

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]