]]> http://www.protopopiatuldaciaripensis.rs/en/?feed=rss2&p=170 0 http://www.protopopiatuldaciaripensis.rs/en/?p=161 http://www.protopopiatuldaciaripensis.rs/en/?p=161#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:53:46 +0000 admin http://www.protopopiatuldaciaripensis.rs/en/?p=161 On June 8th 128 geography high school teachers from all over Romania visited the church in Malainita. “You have made us very glad with your visit today because with it you have shown that we, the Timoc Romanians –or Vlachs as the Slav peoples call us– were not abandoned by our brothers from Romania” declared the clergyman Boian Aleksandrovici, pastor of this church and protopresbyter of Dacia Ripensis. Following the welcome the teachers entered the church where they bowed to the case containing the remains of holy mother Paraskeva, which this holy church received in gift from the hands of the true spiritual Father of all Romanians / Vlachs the world over, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

After the spiritual part there was a cultural program of folklore, song and dance from the region.

The accomplishment of this desideratum represents the fulfillment of the provisions from the Statute for the organization and operation of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which mentions the fact that the Romanian Orthodox Church is the Church of the Romanian people and comprises the Orthodox Christians within the country and the Romanian Orthodox Christians outside the borders of the country (art. 5), while the pastoral and canonic organizing of the Romanian Orthodox Christians outside the borders of Romania is ensured by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church (art. 8). This principle is in full agreement with the decision of the Pan Orthodox Presynodal Conference at Chambesy – Switzerland (June 6-13 2009), which specifies that each autocephalous Church has the right to pastor its own diaspora.

The mentioned statutory provisions express the duty of the Romanian Orthodox Church and is based on the 16th canon of the First Ecumenical Synod (325 AD), which affirms the principle that an eparchy is not permitted to receive under its jurisdiction orthodox clerics and laics, without the blessing of the Church (eparchy) to which these belong.

In that sense, we mention also the fact that the process of return of Orthodox clergy and faithful of various nationalities to the Mother Church (for example to the Russian Patriarchy and the Serbian Patriarchy) has already started some time ago and it has shown that, through Orthodox ethnic mutual responsibility and solidarity, it is possible to overcome conjunctural historic divisions, motivated in the past by political criteria.

At this time, 20 years after the fall of the Communist regime in Eastern Europe, when Romania is a member of the European Union and of NATO and under the conditions in which the Romanian Orthodox Church is developing an unprecedented activity outside the borders of the country by reorganizing and founding of numerous eparchies throughout the world, we judge that justifiable reasons no longer exist for rejecting the call of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church to Romanian Orthodox unity and communion.

We believe that this attitude of Romanian Orthodox revival and reconciliation will consolidate and intensify missionary-pastoral, social-philanthropic and cultural-educational work of the Romanian Orthodox Church everywhere, strengthening at the same time Romanian Orthodox dignity, through the freeing of some of the Orthodox Romanians of the complex as “seekers of canonic shadows” among foreigners.

We regret that due to several reasons, some of our Romanian Orthodox brothers have headed towards other Orthodox jurisdictions, during the Communist era, however what used to be excusable in the past has become unjustifiable and even regrettable in the present, that is, the estrangement of Romanians one from another, up to the their religious separation.

In the belief that our call to Romanian Orthodox unity and dignity will be received with joy and responsibility, as the desire for fraternal communion and cooperation, we share with you special appreciation and fatherly blessing.

PRESIDENT OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

† D A N I E L
Archbishop of Bucharest,
Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrogea, Locum Tenens of the throne of Cappadocia Caesarea and Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church

together with all the members of the Holy Synod

2010 is the year when the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates 125 years of autocephaly and 85 years since the Patriarchy was elevated and recognized. The autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church was recognized on April 25th, 1885. On February 4th 1925, through the Decision of the Holy Synod, the Romanian Orthodox Church was elevated to the rank of Patriarchy while the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia MIRON, in his position as Primate of Romania, was elevated to the level of Patriarch of the Romanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

The newly elected Patriarch said that his election was the will of God and of the Holy Council of Bishops.

The Right Reverend was born in the village of Vidova near Cacak in 1930. After high school he graduated from the Theological Seminary in Prizren followed by the Theological College in Belgrade and Athens.

He was ordained deacon in 1959 by Patriarch German at the Rakovica monastery and on October 27 1959 he was ordained priest. He was a teacher and a principal at several theological schools. In 1974 he was elected patriarchal bishop vicar and in 1975 bishop of Nis.