HG Bishop Ioan Casian: participation in the feast day of

the Monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God from Valea Budului

Saturday, October 1, His Grace bishop Ioan Casian participated at the invitation of His Eminence Ioachim Archbishop of Roman and Bacău at the feast day of the Monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God from Valea Budului.

In the morning, the two hierarchs were welcomed by Rev. Fr. Eugen-Ciprian Ciuche - dean, Mother Abbess Stavrophora Magdalena, the mayor of the town, a group of priests from the area and numerous believers.

The Archbishop of Roman and Bacău preceded the beginning of the Divine Liturgy with a word of encouragement and greeting to the believers present on the "Meteora of Bacãu" showing that coming to the feast day of the monastery and the Divine Liturgy constitutes a pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Heaven.

After the reading of the Holy Gospel, the bishop of Canada spoke about the role of the Mother of God in the life of the Church and believers.

"The Mother of God is the one who protects us in everything we do. She protects the Church through her prayers and is the model of each of the Christians through the perfect obedience she showed at the conception of Christ and throughout her life. We have the Mother of God by our side as a supplicant and protector, but we have Christ by our side, who is present in every Divine Liturgy with us.

The Mother of God is greater than the heavens because she is the one who received in her womb the Uncontainable One. The image of the Mother of God is the image of perfection to which each of us must strive."

At the end of Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Ioachim elevated Rev. Fr. Daniel Mașala, chaplain of the penitentiary in Bacău, to the rank of iconom stavrofor.