Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has received a group of Romanian pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Buzau and Vrancea led by Archbishop Ciprian.
Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his joy over the meeting and referred to his love for Romanian Orthodox believers as well as to his personal connection with the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian people.
As a token of appreciation, Archbishop Ciprian presented the Ecumenical Patriarch with a painted icon of Saint Sava the Goth of Buzau, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Buzau and Vrancea.
During their stay in Constantinople, the Romanian pilgrims visited the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, the Monastery of the Lifegiving Spring at Baloukli, and the Church of St Mary of Blachernae.
On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Archbishop Ciprian presided over the Divine Liturgy at the church of St Paraskevi, where the Romanian community in Constantinople worships.
The pilgrimage to Turkey took place from Sept. 12 to Sept. 21 and included other important areas such as Cappadocia, Konya and Ephesus.
SOURCE: basilica.ro
