A bust of the first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Miron Cristea, was unveiled on an Alley dedicated to the Founders of the 1918 Great Union in Ploiești’s Bucov Park during a ceremony on Saturday, October 24, Q Magazine reports.
The bronze bust was made by the sculptor George Dumitru, with the support of the Cultural-Historical Society “Michael the Brave” in Ploiești.
The monument was blessed by an assembly of priests from the Archdiocese of Bucharest.
The event was attended by local authorities and representatives of the “Michael the Brave” Society.
Patriarch Miron Cristea had an important role in achieving Romania’s Great Union.
“I answer those who wonder why Miron Cristea is on the Alley of the Union Founders in Ploiești. First of all, because he is a hero of the Romanian nation. Secondly, because he is the one who urged the people not to give up their faith, not to be afraid of the Austrian emperor, not to be afraid of the Hungarian despots from 1918,″ said Mircea Cosma, president of Michael the Brave society.
Patriarch Miron Cristea
Patriarch Miron Cristea was born on July 18, 1868, in Topliţa, in Harghita County. He linked his name primarily to the Diocese of Caransebes which he pastored for 9 years.
From 1920 he was primate metropolitan until 1925. Between 1925 and 1939 he was the first Patriarch of Romania. He was, for a while, a member of the regency, between 1927 and 1930, and in the last two years of his life, he was prime minister of the Romanian Government.
During his patriarchal ministry, many of the buildings of the Diocesan Centre in Bucharest were built. He is also the one who laid the foundations of the “Biblical Institute.”
Under his guidance, the Patriarchal Palace and the Patriarchal Residence were built and the Patriarchal Cathedral was completely restored. He linked his name to the Romanian representation in Jerusalem and visited the Holy Places in 1927.
On June 7, 1919, he became an honorary member of the Romanian Academy.
Among the cultural achievements of Patriarch Miron is his doctoral thesis on Eminescu, a work printed first in Hungarian and then translated by Metropolitan Antonie Plămădeală who discovered and published it in the early ’80s.
The first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church reposed on March 6, 1939. His tomb is inside the Patriarchal Cathedral.
Source: basilica.ro
