Patriarch Daniel Celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral

Today, 23 October 2011, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, assisted by a group of priests and deacons, in the presence of hundreds of faithful.

Today, the Orthodox Church is on the 23rd Sunday after the Pentecost, when the evangelical pericope of Luke, chapter 8 is read, which reads about the healing of the Gerasene Demoniac.

His Beatitude emphasised in the sermon delivered the merciful healing love of Jesus Christ, our Lord, because He shows His mercy for the demoniac giving back his good health and freedom.

“First of all we see in today’s Gospel the merciful healing love of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, whom nobody called to go to Gerasene to heal a demoniac. Secondly, we see that the demons confess the truth that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God and that the feared His judgement. Thirdly, we see that the inhabitants of Gerasene area, instead of being glad and thank Jesus because He healed a demonised man who was suffering a lot, they were grieved and asked Him to leave their places, because He caused them damage by drowning the swine in the sea. Fourthly, we see that the healed man, the former demonised, was clothed and in his right mind, reads the Gospel, but Jesus told him: “Return home and declare how much good has done to you”, said His Beatitude.

The Patriarch of Romania has also explained why Jesus Christ, our Saviour, allowed the demons to get into the herd of swine.

The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church has also emphasised the fact that Christ, our Saviour, entrusts the healed man the mission to declare the love of God to those who knew him when he was tortured by demons, becoming a teacher of gratitude.

“After healing, this demonised man sits close to Jesus, at His feet, although he was staying far from the people before (...); he wanted to be with His Benefactor Healer and Saviour all the time. We see in his attitude gratitude, friendship, lowliness and respect for Jesus, because he was sitting at His feet, a teacher of gratitude.

This is how today’s Gospel shows us that a man who was estranged from people before and tortured by demons, has become a steady missionary and teacher of gratitude”, also said the Patriarch of Romania.

Today too, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel ordained hierodeacon Antim Secareanu as hieromonk for Antim Monastery and young theologian Bogdan Dumitru Badita as deacon for the church of “St Dumitru Posta” – university chapel.

To end with the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel spoke to the faithful present about the time when the relics of Saint Andrew will be brought to Romania as well as about the procession of the Way of the Saints which will take place tomorrow, 24 October 2011.

Source: www.patriarhia.ro