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Our monastery held its annual celebration of its patron, Saint Dimitrie the New, on Saturday, October 26. His Eminence, our Father and Metropolitan Nicolae brought joy to everyone by being present in our midst beginning on Friday evening, for the service of Great Vespers.

The feast continued on Saturday morning, when His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae blessed two wooden sculptures that beautified our monastery this summer: a large wooden cross, sculpted at Putna Monastery, and a Romanian Welcome Gate, sculpted by a team of skilled carpenters in Bârsana, Maramureș.

Afterwards, His Eminence celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the monastery pavilion. The grace of the Divine Liturgy was multiplied by the presence of a sobor of priests and deacons, as well as by the prayers of the many faithful who participated in the feast day.

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae encouraged the hearts of those present with his homily, in which he recalled several miracles worked by Saint Dimitrie the New over the centuries: “I would like to recall several of Saint Dimitrie the New’s miracles, who has protected Bucharest since 1774. There were plagues, earthquakes, fires; his relics were stolen by some Bulgarian soldiers in 1918; yet, Saint Dimitrie remained the trustworthy protector of Bucharest. In 1802, one of the strongest earthquakes to hit Bucharest took place, when the tower of Colțea Monastery, which was the tallest tower in the capital, collapsed. At that time, the Saint’s relics were carried in procession in order to calm the citizens of Bucharest. In 1813-1814, there was a plague dubbed ‘the plague of Caragea’, an epidemic which over the course of a year, led to the death of 90,000 Romanians, of which 40,000 in the capital alone. Then, in 1831, another catastrophe struck the capital: a cholera epidemic which almost caused the city to become deserted. During these epidemics, the Saint’s relics were again carried in procession. In March 1847, the “Great Fire” raged in the city, starting on the very Sunday of Holy Pascha. A quarter of the city of Bucharest was engulfed in flames: almost 2,000 buildings and 12 churches were consumed by the flames. And again, the Saint’s relics restored peace. As I mentioned, in February 1918, Bulgarian soldiers raided the Metropolitan Cathedral and stole the Saint’s relics, but they were caught two days later and the relics returned to the cathedral. The tragic year of 1940 was extremely difficult because the Second World War had begun and the monarchy was in crisis. Additionally, a devastating earthquake hit the capital in 1940, and the Saint’s relics were again carried in procession. In April 1944, near the end of the war, several bombs fell near the Cathedral but they didn’t explode. Yet again, the Saint protected the citizens of Bucharest and the Patriarchal Cathedral.”

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae conferred upon one of the inhabitants of the monastery, Hieromonk Jacob, the blessing to hear confessions.

When they received the final blessing, the faithful received an icon with the 2024 theme: The Savior – healer of souls and bodies, together with a photograph of Father Iachint Unciuleac, the former father abbot of Putna Monastery, who would have been 100 years old in September.

As in every year, the souls of the departed were not forgotten, being commemorated during a memorial service. The feast day concluded with a festal agape meal which continued late into the afternoon, as if the pilgrims did not want to leave behind the joy of fellowship, nor the grace of the feast.

We extend our gratitude to all those who volunteered in the preparations for Saint Dimitrie’s feast day, whether through their labors, donations, or good hearts. God and Saint Dimitrie worked so that their sacrifice and love bore fruit, yielding a Christian celebration that brought comfort and peace to the hearts of all the pilgrims.