The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on Monday, October 28, 2019, at the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence under the chairmanship of Patriarch Daniel.
During the meeting, the Holy Synod resolved to declare the year 2021 as Solemn Year of the pastoral care of Romanians abroad and Commemorative Year of the reposed in the Lord; the liturgical and cultural value of cemeteries in the Romanian Patriarchate. In this regard, the framework program including theological-educational, cultural and media activities was approved.
Several liturgical texts were approved including additional texts to the service of Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr (July 7), the akathist to Saints Nicander and Marcian at Dorostolum (June 8), the service and akathist to the Holy Martyrs Gordian, Macrobius, Elias, Zotikos, Lucian and Valerian at Dobrudja (September 13), the service and akathist to Sts Cyril, Kindeas and Tasius of Axiopolis (April 26). The Holy Synod resolved to include these texts in the service books of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The Holy Synod took note of the proposal of the Metropolitan Synod of the Metropolis of Transylvania for the canonization of Father Arsenie Boca and the documentation submitted in this regard.
It was approved to forward this proposal to the Synodal Subcommittee for the canonization of the Romanian Saints. This committee will invite specialists from different fields of competence to write reports on the canonization of Fr. Arsenie Boca based on their expertise in theology, church painting and monastic discipline.
Furthermore, the reports of the permanent historians appointed by the metropolises to research the documents of the National Council for Studying the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) regarding the activity of Father Arsenie Boca during the period 1945-1989 will also be evaluated.
Until a final decision will be made, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church recommends to clerics and believers – whether they support or oppose the canonization – to wait in prayer and patience for the final result of the synodal subcommittee, avoiding both the excessive idealization of the person of Father Arsenie Boca and his denigration.
The canonization of Saints, being an arduous process, is not done in haste or under momentary emotions, especially when it refers to persons who have recently passed to the Lord, and the present testimonies about them are contradictory.
In the perspective of the 2019 presidential elections and of the local and parliamentary elections in 2020, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church reaffirmed its principles regarding the responsibility of clerics to maintain political neutrality during the election period.
SOURCE: basilica.ro
