His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian participated at the feast day of
The Three Holy Hierarchs Parish in Bacău
Starting on the evening of January 29, 2025, the Three Holy Hierarchs Parish in Bacău vested festive adornments, to honor the three great teachers, shepherds, and luminaries of the Church: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom.
On the eve of the feast day, the local Bishop, His Eminence Ioachim, Archbishop of Roman and Bacău, together with His Grace Ioan Casian, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, blessed the faithful from the northern area of Bacău by officiating the Vespers service combined with the Litia. The group of priests and deacons was coordinated by Fr. Eugen-Ciprian Ciuche, Archpriest of the Bacău Deanery, and the responses at strana were given by members of the Diaconia Choir, current or former deacons serving at the St. Parascheva Archbishopric Cathedral in Roman.
The commemorative year of Romanian Orthodox Spiritual Fathers and Confessors of the 20th century was marked by the consecration of three hundred icons, procured through the St. Dionysius Exiguus colportage service of the Diocesan Center in Roman.
The icons held in the hands and raised by the faithful depict the 16 contemporary saints canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church, in the context of the anniversary of the Patriarchal Centenary, together with the icon of Centennial Year of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Synaxis of Romanian Saints, representative for this jubilar year.
This event was also attended by approximately 50 children of the parish catechesis group, students of the Mihai Drăgan Gymnasium School in Bacău, together with their teachers, who received free icons. On this occasion, the children presented the collages of images representing the great spiritual Fathers of Romania, created by them within the National Catechetical Competition 2025 - The Sacrificial Confession of the Orthodox Faith – the Legacy of a Century of Patriarchate for Children and Youth.
On the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the recognition of the autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church and 5 days away from the moment of celebrating the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859, the evening was marked by a festive moment that brought to the attention of those present the love and gratitude towards their ancestors, through a concert performed by the Diaconia Choir of the Archdiocese of Roman and Bacău.
The recital began with a bouquet of selected verses from the national anthem, Deşteaptă-te, române!, then continued with a suite of eleven patriotic songs, most of them with lyrics written by His Eminence Archbishop Ioachim.
At the end, the parish priest Aurel Cîrlan, together with the co-serving priests, Fr. Mihai-Flavius Balaban and Fr. Marian Gliga, thanked the two hierarchs for their presence and blessing, the priests and deacons for their service, the children and all the parishioners for their participation.
Next day, Thursday, January 30, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian participated in the Holy Liturgy in the same parish.
After the reading the Gospel of the day, the hierarch delivered a homily in which he first recalled the special significance of the year 2025 in the Romanian Patriarchate as the Centennial Year since the elevation of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the rank of Patriarchate (1925), which also marks 140 years since the recognition of the autocephaly (1885), as a commemorative year of the holy confessors of the 20th century and as a year in which we celebrate 1700 years since the 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325).
The Romanian hierarch of Canada recalled some of the most important biographical elements from the lives of the three saints through which they remained in the memory of the Church and marked the Christian tradition – theology, holy life, church organization, charity, mission, etc.
Commenting on the Gospel of the day, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian said:
“Christ speaks to us about the city on the top of the mountain that shines and cannot be hidden and about the torch that cannot be hidden under a bushel. What does this shining city mean? They are the apostles, prophets, and other teachers of the Church, says an anonymous commentator on this passage. It is the city of faith, of those who believed in the divinity of the Savior Christ and received the responsibility of proclaiming this word further to future generations.
But how can this city shine? Because it is located on the top of the mountain, a mountain that represents Christ. Due to the lifting of all on the shoulders of Christ, they can illuminate with the knowledge of God. Christ is the One who is the source of their teaching.
Who are the those who lit up the torch? They are the Father and the Son. The Father through the Son creates the light and the world and then fulfills through the Holy Spirit the saving work of the Incarnation of the Son for the salvation of man. The torch that illuminates is the divine Word that shares the knowledge of God with all of us. It is placed in the lampstand, that is, in the Church to illuminate our home which is the created world. The light of the divine Word is destined to shine in the Church and outside it, to everyone, to the entire world. It is the light through which the world exists and lives. We are urged to be bearers of the saving message of our Savior Jesus Christ, of the work of the Holy Trinity.”
The hierarch further invited the faithful to follow the words and the deeds of the Three Holy Hierarchs and of the Romanian holy confessors of the 20th century.
“The Gospel urges us to become examples for those around us. A holy life, full of good deeds, will be an example for those around us. They will recognize in it the work of God in us, will draw closer them to faith and the Church and in this way they will give glory to God. Thus, they will begin the path of growing in God that He arranged for man from the beginning.
Let us rejoice on this feast day of your parish, as we honor the three great teachers and shepherds of the Church, who, through their teaching, enlightened the world. They became landmarks for the entire Church, not only for the Church of Cappadocia at that time, such as Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, or for the Church of Antioch, Saint John Chrysostom, but they became universal saints, showing us the way by which we can serve in the Church, whether as hierarchs, priests, deacons or simple people.
They not only defended the true faith, but also fulfilled it through deeds, showing that true theology is not only in words, but in love and service. Let us follow their example, uniting in faith and good deeds, so that the light of Christ may shine in our hearts.
We also have the more recent examples of the Romanian Saints confessors from the 20th century, closer in time to us. Some of us present here have known them. The Church shows us that it is alive, that the saints live among us, that they are contemporaries with us. It is a sign of great encouragement and an exhortation to a holy life.
I urge you to follow the example of these Holy Hierarchs, confessor priests and other saints whom you love to become friends of Christ, a holy and sanctifying community, and a family of God.”
At the end of the Holy Liturgy, a service of thanksgiving was also celebrated, as an expression of gratitude to God for the blessings bestowed upon the community.
Next, Fr. Eugen-Ciprian Ciuche – archpriest, briefly presented the biography of the Romanian hierarch of Canada and thanked him for his presence. The hierarch was also offered an icon of the Three Hierarchs.
The event was an opportunity for communion and strengthening in faith for all those present, highlighting the solemnity of the patron feast day of this Church representative of the Bacău community.
(Roman and Bacau Archdiocese)
