“Myrrh-bearing Women are models of courage, faith, and devotion in the Church,” said Patriarch Daniel of Romania on Sunday at the Chapel of St. Great Martyr George at the Patriarchal Residence.
He emphasized that the Myrrh-bearing Women are also teachers of the Church, not through formal teaching, but through the way they expressed their faith, courage, humility, and love for the crucified and risen Christ.
Referring to the Gospel of Mark, the Patriarch highlighted their courage, noting that their love for Christ was stronger than fear. “They had a special courage which, on the morning of the Resurrection, even His disciples did not have,” he said.
Patriarch Daniel explained that the stone of the tomb was rolled away not to allow Christ to rise—since He had already risen without breaking the seals—but so that the Myrrh-bearing Women could witness the empty tomb. For their courage and devotion, he noted, God sent an angel to remove the stone.
He added that the Myrrh-bearing Women were rewarded “with the joy of meeting the Risen Christ Himself.”
Describing them as “Apostles to the Apostles,” he explained that they were the first to receive and proclaim the message of the Resurrection. “The angel announced the good news to them, and they in turn announced the truth and joy of the Resurrection to the disciples,” he said.
He further underlined that they were the first human beings to testify to the Resurrection, recalling Christ’s words to them: “Rejoice, do not be afraid!”
Patriarch Daniel also described the Myrrh-bearing Women, together with the Mother of God, as the model for all faithful women in the Church—mothers, wives, and monastics—who throughout history have borne witness to Christ through faith, sacrifice, humility, and love.
Concluding, he noted that this Sunday marked the first celebration of the Synaxis of Holy Romanian Women in the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Source: basilica.ro
Photo credit: Ziarul Lumina
