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By God’s grace and with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, our monastery celebrated its fall feast day on Saturday, October 24. As on every feast day, Metropolitan Nicolae honored us with his presence in our midst, being accompanied by a large synaxis of priest and deacons from several Orthodox jurisdictions. Likewise, the Mother of God blessed us richly with her miraculous Kursk Root Icon, which was brought, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nikolai of ROCOR, by Archpriest George Temidis.

The joy-filled celebrations began on Friday evening, with the service of Great Vespers, and continued on Saturday morning with the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the presence of the Kursk Root Icon.

In his homily, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae presented several of the many miracles worked by our venerable father, Saint Dimitrie the New: “Saint Dimitrie the New has protected the city of Bucharest on numerous occasions from dangers and calamities. For example, in 1814, during the reign of Prince Ioan Voda Caragea, the city was struck by a severe plague epidemic. At the request of the ruler, the holy relics of Saint Dimitrie were carried in procession around the city, while prayers and intersession were offered to the saint for deliverance from the plague. From that very day, the plague ceased to claim new victims. In 1827, during the reign of Grigore Ghica IV, following a prolonged drought, famine threatened the city and the surrounding areas. Deprived of any other help, the people once again placed their hope in the prayers of Saint Dimitrie the New and in the mercy of God. Thus, after the reliquary containing the relics was carried in procession on the shoulders of priests throughout the city, God bestowed abundant rain for the benefit of both people and animals. Even up until our times, the saint continues to protect those who honor him. Witnessing the work of the saints in the lives of people, we too must proclaim with the psalmist: ‘God is wonderful in his saints!’”.

Afterwards, Father George Temidis shared several anecdotes from the history of the miraculous Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God: “In the 13th century, during the Tartar Mongol invasion of Russia, the Kursk region was devastated and was abandoned by all the people that remained after the war. There was a nearby city called Rylsk, which was preserved, and the residents from there would hunt in the abandoned areas near Kursk. One of the hunters noticed an icon face-down on the ground, near the root of a tree. When he picked it up, the icon’s first miracle occurred. A spring of very pure water gushed right from the ground at that spot, and it continues to flow uninterrupted till today. This took place on the feast of the Nativity of Mother of God, September 8, 1295. That’s 731 years ago. When the icon was found, it wasn’t new. So, nobody knows how old the actual icon is. That same hunter built a small wooden chapel for the icon. Many people visited the icon and news of its wonderworking properties spread.

In 1383, another invasion by the Tartar Mongols occurred. They tried to set fire to the chapel. The chapel didn’t burn. They put more fuel around the chapel, lit it up again, but it didn’t burn. Until the holy icon was removed from the chapel, they weren’t able to burn down the chapel. The warriors got very angry and they cut the icon in half and threw one half in one direction and one half in the other direction. After things calmed down and this invasion ended, people went back looking for the icon. It was found and the two halves instantly grew back together. There is a scar on the icon where this happened, but the icon is whole.”

Father Abbot Archimandrite Ieremia expressed his gratitude to all the participants and volunteers who helped organize the feast day activities. Additionally, he offered a symbolic gift to His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae: a hand-embroidered epitrachelion and omophorion set, on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary since His Eminence was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan. The gift was accompanied by a beautiful greeting: “Thus saith the Lord: And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

As in every year, a memorial service was held for the eternal memory of Mr. Dumitru Minciu and the other founders of the monastery. The feast day concluded with a rich agape meal.

The feast day was entirely unique. All those present rejoiced in the pacifying and healing presence of the Mother of God, through the mediation of her Kursk Root Icon. Likewise, Saint Dimitrie, in his hidden and efficient way, poured out all his paternal love over those who wholeheartedly labored and served in order to honor the saint as is meet. Therefore, by the prayers of the Mother of God and of Saint Dimitrie, all the feast day pilgrims were comforted with the incorruptible consolation of the Most-Holy Spirit. Glory to God for all His blessings!