Pastoral Letter of the Holy Synod
of the Romanian Orthodox Church
on Sunday of Orthodoxy in the Year of the Lord 2022
To the Most Reverend Clergy and
the beloved faithful of the Romanian Patriarchate,
Grace, peace and joy from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
and from us, hierarchical blessings!
Most Reverend Fathers,
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The VII Ecumenical Council, convened by the Holy Empress Irina (752-803) in 787 and presided over by the Holy Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople, being based on the biblical and patristic tradition of the six Ecumenical Councils, established that, as the Holy Cross is honored, the Holy Icons must be honored: “Just as the model of the most precious and life-giving Cross, so may the most precious and holy icons be raised, either in color or in mosaic, or in any other suitable material, in the holy Churches of God, on the holy vessels, on the holy garments, on walls and wood, in houses and near roads; namely the icon of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to our Most Holy Virgin, the Holy Mother of God, to the most precious angels and to all holy and pious men.”[1]
But the victory at the Seventh Ecumenical Council did not mean the end of the struggle to defend the true faith. Heavy storm clouds rose in the clear skies of Christianity with another iconoclastic emperor ascending the throne of Byzantium - Leo the Armenian (813-820). But this time too, God did not leave His Church without a strong defense.
Theological resistance in this new war was shown by another great defender of Orthodoxy, St. Theodore the Studite (759-826), who, a century after St. John of Damascus († 749), raised his voice and wrote down a renewed foundation of the worship of icons, in simple words, but of great spiritual depth. Here is his argument: “We know that the Son of God, being truly human, was like us in all things. And because man can be portrayed, that means Christ can also be portrayed. And the painted icon is a holy light to us, a saving memory for those of us who see Him being born, baptized, performing miracles, being crucified, buried, rising from death, and elevating into heaven, not wandering that they would not be thus, cooperating with regard to the contemplation of the mind and sustaining through both the faith in the mystery of salvation.”[2]
The final victory of the veneration of the Holy Icons was proclaimed by the Council of 843, convened by the Holy Empress Theodora, another Orthodox empress, who, together with Patriarch Methodius of Constantinople (843-847), on Saturday, March 11, 843, in the Blachernae Church in Constantinople, reaffirmed the decisions of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, strengthening and consolidating them in final and valid decisions for the whole Church.
The next day, Sunday, was read, solemnly, from the floor of St. Sophia Church in Constantinople, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Synodicon of Orthodoxy, in front of the faithful people, present in impressive numbers. Thus, beginning in that year, 843, the first Sunday of Lent became, for the whole Orthodox world, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, a day of great and holy feast, in which the victory of the true faith over all heresies and wrong doctrines is celebrated.
Beloved Christians,
Sunday of Orthodoxy, celebrated since 843 throughout Orthodox Christendom, reveals God’s relentless care for the Orthodox Church.
When we honor, venerate and worship the Holy Icons, we meet Christ, the Mother of God, and the Saints of God. St. Theodore the Studite makes it very clear that the veneration of the icon of Christ is directed to the Person of Christ: “The icon of Christ is nothing but Christ, obviously apart from the difference of substance, as has already been shown many times. That is why its worship is a worship of Christ, because it is not worship of anything in the matter of the icon, but only Christ, the One who is like in it. And those who have a single resemblance have a single worship.”[3]
Therefore, we believe and confess, as the Fathers inspired by God believed and confessed, that in the holy Churches, when we participate in the Divine Liturgy, we share in the sanctifying divine grace by listening to the Holy Gospel, by prayers recited before the Holy Icons and in the fullest way by communion with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. When we honor the icon of Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ is before us, and when we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ becomes inner to us, that is, becomes the Life of our lives (cf. John 6: 53-54).
Beloved faithful,
It has become a tradition in the Romanian Orthodox Church that, on the first Sunday of Lent, a fundraiser be organized in all parishes and monasteries, to support the missionary activity of the Church.
In this sense, the Central Missionary Fund is intended for the missionary and social work of the Church and for the support of poor parishes in home country and abroad. The establishment of the Central Missionary Fund has been initiated by Patriarch Justinian Marina, during the session of the Holy Synod of September 18, 1956, when it was decided that on Sunday of Orthodoxy a collection should be made in all parishes and monasteries of the Romanian Patriarchate.
Following the organization of the Romanian diaspora, by setting up new dioceses, parishes and monasteries, in 2011 the Holy Synod decided that this collection should be extended to all dioceses in the Romanian Patriarchate, both in the home country and abroad.
The basis for such collections is found in Scripture, which tells us in the Book of Acts that “all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, as every man had need” (Acts 2: 44-45). For his part, the Holy Apostle Paul was concerned about the plight of the troubled Christians in Jerusalem, and he initiated “a collection of aid for the poor among the saints of Jerusalem” (Romans 15:26).
Our Romanian tradition of generosity is very rich in acts of charity and in caring for the Church of Christ and for the faithful people. The Romanian people are a hardworking and generous people, loving God and their fellows. Through their hard work and their goods, Orthodox believers have dedicated themselves to building and maintaining places of worship, but also to supporting all the activities of the Church.
The solidarity shown by the Romanian Orthodox believers at the beginning of the pandemic, in 2020, and throughout it, when the Church supported the hospitals with what was necessary to get through a very difficult period, is still alive in recent memory. Thus, Churches, monasteries and cathedrals helped hospitals. It was then that a true communion of Christian love was created between the doctors of the body and the shepherds of the soul, which helped us to get through the great ordeal of the pandemic more easily.
Therefore, we urge you to open your heart this year as well and to help those whom life has brought in difficult situations. Thus, “let each one give according to his heart’s desire, without regret or by obligation, because God love the one who give with good will” (2 Corinthians 9: 7), supporting with his gift the missionary and social-philanthropic work of our Holy Church in the home country and abroad.
Let us use the period of Lent as an occasion for humble prayer, sincere repentance and acts of almsgiving, let us confess more often and share more often into the Holy Eucharist, in preparation for the great feast of Holy Easter.
Entrusting you with our paternal love, we bless you with the apostolic blessing: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:13). Amen!
† D a n i el
Archbishop of Bucharest,
Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrogea,
Locum Tenens of the throne of Caesarea of Cappadocia and
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
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† Teofan, Archbishop of Iaşi and Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina
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† Laurențiu, Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania
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† Andrei, Archbishop of Vad, Feleac and Cluj and the Metropolitan of Cluj, Maramures and Salaj
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† Irineu, Archbishop of Craiova and Metropolitan of Oltenia
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† Ioan, Archbishop of Timisoara and Metropolitan of Banat
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† Petru, Archbishop of Chișinãu, Metropolitan of Basarabia and Exarch of the Plains
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† Iosif, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Western Europe and Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Western and Southern Europe
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† Serafim, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg and Metropolitan Romanian Orthodox of Germany, Central and Northern Europe
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† Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of the United States and Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of of the Americas
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† Nifon, Honorary Metropolitan, Archbishop of Târgovişte and the Patriarchal Exarh
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† Teodosie, Archbishop of Tomis
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† Calinic, Archbishop of Suceava and Rădăuţi |
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† Irineu, Archbishop of Alba Iulia
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† Varsanufie, Archbishop of Râmnic |
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† Ioachim, Archbishop of Roman and Bacau
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† Calinic, Archbishop of Arges and Muscel
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† Ciprian, Archbishop of Buzau and Vrancea
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† Casian, Archbishop of the Lower Danube |
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† Timotei, Archbishop of Arad
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† Ignatie, Bishop of Huşilor |
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† Lucian, Bishop of Caransebes |
† Sofronie, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Oradea |
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† Iustin, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Maramures and Satmar
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† Nicodim, Bishop of Severin and Strehaia |
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† Antonie, Episcopul de Bălți
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† Veniamin, Episcopul of Southern Basarabia |
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† Vincențiu, Bishop of Slobozia and Calarasi
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† Andrei, Bishop of Covasna and Harghita |
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† Galaction, Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman
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† Ambrozie, Bishop of Giurgiu |
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† Sebastian, Bishop of Slatina and Romanati
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† Visarion, Bishop of Tulcea |
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† Petroniu, Bishop of Salaj
† Siluan, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Hungary |
† NESTOR HUNEDOAREANUL, Bishop of Deva and Hunedoara Diocese
† Siluan, The Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Italy
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† Timotei, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Spain and Portugal
† Mihail, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Australia and New Zealand
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† Macarie, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Northern Europe
† Ioan Casian, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada
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† Varlaam Ploieșteanul, Patriarchal Auxiliary - Bishop
† Timotei Prahoveanul, Auxiliary - Bishop of Bucharest Archdiocese
† Ilarion Făgărășanul, Auxiliary - Bishop of the Archdiocese of Sibiu
† Paisie Lugojeanul, Auxiliary – Bishop of Archdiocese of Timisoara |
† Ieronim Sinaitul, Patriarchal Auxiliary – Bishop
† NICHIFOR BOTOȘĂNEANUL Auxiliary-bishop of Iași Archdiocese
† Benedict Bistriteanul, Auxiliary - Bishop of the Archdiocese of Vad, Fealea and Cluj Archdiocese of Iaşi
† Marc Nemțeanul, Auxiliary – Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western Europe |
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† Sofian Brașoveanul, Auxiliary – Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg
† Emilian Crișanul, Auxiliary - Bishop of the Archdiocese of Arad
† Daniil Densușeanul, Auxiliary - bishop
† Teofil de Iberia, Auxiliary – Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Spain and Portugal |
† Damaschin Dorneanul, Auxiliary - bishop of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuţi
† Timotei Sătmăreanul, Auxiliary – Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Maramureș and Sătmar
† Atanasie de Bogdania, Auxiliary – Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy
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[1] 1 Fr. Sorin Șelaru (coord.). The dogmatic decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils. Basilica Publishing House: Bucharest, 2018, p. 553.
[2] St. Theodore the Studite. Refutatio peom. Iconom. in PG 99, col. 456, apud. Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae. Christology and iconology in the dispute from the VIII-IX centuries, in vol. The teaching about the Holy Icons, reflected in the Romanian Orthodox theology. Studies and articles (I), Basilica Publishing House: Bucharest, 2017, p. 244.
[3] St. Theodore the Studite. In Defense of the Holy Icons. The file of a theological resistance, Antireticul III (14) (translation by Deacon. Ioan I. Ică jr) Ed. Deisis: Sibiu, 2017, p. 291.
