We woke up to this beautiful music from the Patriarchal church bells...
it was the Patron Saint of Bucharest -- St Demetrios the New's -- day.
We went to liturgy and it was so very beautiful.
We were late actually, being told the wrong time for liturgy to begin.
When we arrived, the Gospel was being read.
What was impressive about this is that the crowds, by which we means thousands,
were all standing still. Deeply attentive and respectful.
The minute the Gospel reading was over, everything started moving again...
we were, for a while, in the back of the front
but there were so many people moving to try to get
closer, that we moved away... it was a cold morning...
I don't get as cold as others or as quickly, so I end up giving my Husband
my coats and scarf...it was funny but at least he was warm! :)
And I was fine... a bit cold but not cold inside my marrow, as it were....
This is the Patriarch giving the sermon...of course being in Romania the sermon
was in Romanian...I still remember how clearly and slowly he spoke...
looking up this even afterwards, I can tell you now a little of what he said:
"Offering his reflections on the gospel reading from Luke 8:41-56, Patriarch Daniel said that the woman with a blood issue and Jairus ‘become for us teachers of humility, faith and merciful love.’
The patriarch pointed to St Demetrios the New, ‘a humble man with a strong faith and merciful love,’ to Saint Philothea of Arges, ‘who was 12, the same age Jairus’ daughter had, and was devout, compassionate, patient and humble,’ and to Saint Dionysius of Cetatea Alba, ‘a humble, merciful hierarch with a strong faith in troubled times.’
‘Faith and humility bring healing of sickness and resurrection from the dead,’ the patriarch said as a conclusion for the two miracles related in the bible reading.
Patriarch Daniel stressed that ‘our Saviour Jesus Christ is very sensitive, He feels human suffering and suffers together with people.’
His Beatitude explained that Jesus Christ responded to the calling of Jairus the synagogue leader because He saw three great virtues: humility, when he fell at the feet of Jesus and asked Him to come to heal his daughter; faith, he believed that only Jesus can save his daughter from death; the love of a compassionate father, since Jairus identified himself with the suffering of his daughter.
The Patriarch also highlighted the strong faith and the humility of the woman with an issue of blood who was healed by Jesus on His way to Jairus’ house.
‘This humble and suffering woman receives healing, but she receives two additional gifts from God,’ the patriarch said Oct. 27.
‘Seeing that she was shaking with embarrassment and emotion, Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” So He gave her healing, the honour to be called a daughter and a peaceful life.’
At the end of his sermon, Patriarch Daniel offered his prayers to the three Saints whose relics were displayed for veneration, to intercede with Christ for ‘deep humility, strong faith and merciful love.’ " (from
here)
I wish I had a CD of the choirs singing that day!
The men's and women's choirs sang together so very beautifully!
Later in the liturgy we stood in front of the church...
there was a long line the entire time to go in the church to pray
and venerate the icons, etc...
The choir here is so beautiful...I wish I had more of it!
This is of everyone reciting the Creed...part of every liturgy in the Orthodox
church, worldwide for many centuries of worship...
Another picture of one of the many containers of Holy Water!
We brought some home ourselves, a special blessing of this Pilgrimage weekend!
Because we came during the Gospel, we did not have Holy Communion...
(usually you are to be there for more of the service than this to prepare yourself!)
but I had such joy in just being there, it was a real time of sweetness and beauty...
and I began thinking that Wednesday (when our friend AR was off work) would be a
wonderful day to go to a liturgy in the morning at a local monastery and
have Holy Communion then... so I was very much at peace...
the liturgy was long, the air was on the cool side and we were standing on
pavement (mainly cobble stone) so by the time Communion began
(we think given the crowds it was probably given for 2 hours or more!)
my friend A and I texted and met. They took us to a beautiful restaurant that I think
by far was my Husband's favourite...I really liked it too... I liked every
one though as each was tied up with memories of our time there....
***
As our friends were having us over that night for dinner at their place,
and friends of theirs were coming as well... they did not stay to eat with us....
We went to Manuc's Inn, called Hanul lui Manuc in Romanian.
Manuc is pronounced Man-Uk.
These pictures above just look like a street until you look closer:
See the huge line of people? the day before it was all the way to the corner...
it's people standing in line for hours (easily up to 10 hours) to see the
relics of St Demetrios the New ... which are usually in the Patriarchal church but
are put in a portable outdoor shrine for the St Demetrios the New pilgrimage weekend...
My Husband commented that we are seeing as close to the more
medieval Europe in this weekend of Pilgrimage, as these were very common
centuries ago also in the West of Europe...
Isn't it beautiful? we ate outside and it was just perfect.
My Husband just LOVED the menu and keeps telling people about it :)
and the food was very good!
Nice to have traditional Romanian food :)
I had wonderful hot tea and this lamb soup - I loved it very much!
Everywhere had glass bottles of water to enjoy (for a small price of course) and
it was such a fun meal...
Mr Husband had fish, I enjoyed his polenta and
he enjoyed the potatoes and bacon (to the right of
the picture above) :)
I also had lamb meatballs. I liked them but I loved the soup.
And as you can see a little begging cat visited us and Mr Husband,
as he said, amused me by giving the cat some fish...
This was so fun...to see the cats...I still miss my Cleo cat but it is a comfort
also to see other cats... (we still don't plan on having one in our home
anytime soon FYI)...
My Husband got such a kick out of the joke above about
water having only tadpoles and frogs :) He's still telling people about that one too...
one of the neat things about the menu was that it had the story of the person,
Hanul lui Manuc...his name was Manuc Mirzaian and he had
a very full adventurous and daring life...
if you go
here and then halfway through, you can see the
full menu in
English... it is really fun reading...
More cat pictures because I loved them so!
Such a beautiful setting!
So many things to see! We did not do too much of this, as we wanted to
see churches and monasteries more and we had only a week!
We would not have been able to see all of the Churches and Monasteries
in and around Bucharest unless we were there a month!
This is another very old church, St Anthony's I believe, very near
the the Manuc's Inn... I went in first... now remember, we had just had a
delightful lunch and before that were at much of the liturgy for St Demetrios
before that... and saw the Patriarch (the head of the Orthodox church in Romania)
speak...so when, at about 2 PM or so in the afternoon I step in this
church and see people standing and see a priest speaking joyfully, so very
joyfully, with cameras going off like paparazzi I was confused!
What can be so important that the priest is saying when the Patriarch was
at liturgy nearby with thousands listening?!?
Then suddenly I saw it!!!
A wedding!!! See the Bride and Groom in the picture above on the right?
the priest was speaking, most likely a homily, full of joy and light,
to the newly married couple and of course the wedding photographers were
taking many pictures! I will never forget the joy on this priest's face
as he spoke...
what a wonderful day for a wedding, in the middles of one of the biggest
church festivals and pilgrimages of all of Bucharest, with
people coming from all over Romania and the world!
We saw lots of candles in water and people there cleaning the water with
a sieve... I liked how these candles were all put together...
This is the outside of the church where the wedding was taking place...
This picture is an add for a store/restaurant downtown Bucharest and
my friend A explained that it is a picture of "typical peasants" of Romania
which we understand are a dwindling population with the many villages
being decimated by Romanian's either moving to the cities or leaving
the country entirely for work elsewhere... regardless, I found this
black and white picture to be beautiful...
***
My Husband and I got a bit turned around (we had been walking around
Bucharest downtown only really Friday night and that day,
as Saturday we were in Sinaia) and we had a bit of a disagreement about how to
get back to our apartment when we asked a young girl
(there were so so many people everywhere for the Pilgrimage! there was a really
festive holiday atmosphere!) and then a young man noticed us,
introduced himself and took us home (to be exact until I knew where we were nearby)
and we exchanged phone numbers/whats App and he told us he was staying at the
Radu Vodă Monastery at the seminary, as he was studying theology.
We texted that day and later and with AR made plans to go to
Radu Vodă Monastery on Wednesday morning for liturgy...
and then we rested, being understandably tired from the standing and walking
plus jet lag ... both of us had some level of insomnia that first while,
trying to adjust to a new time zone 6 hours ahead of ours!
How exciting it was to be in Europe, in Romania!
***
Our friend AR (A's husband remember) picked us up, I think about 6 PM or so,
and we went first to a cake shop and then to their delightful apartment for
dinner with dear friends of theirs who are the godparents to their marriage
(in Orthodox church you have a man and women sponsor of your marriage,
in Romania it is a married couple; different countries do this in different ways).
First bread, cheese, vegetables...
Then a wonderful fish soup!
Then a wonderful chicken Paprika and rice dish
and the most delicious cakes!
As you can see, I had the one above...
the other couple (A and R) had their son with them who was a delight...
he drew us a Captain America drawing and an American flag...
showing the innate Romanian hospitality of being aware of others
and where they are from...
his Dad did the same, asking about Elder Ephraim in America who began the
Greek Monasteries in the States, including the one in Quebec that my Husband
and I were very close to in terms of big events in our courtship...
(our wedding crowns, candles, icons all being from them)...
and we discussed this and the raising of children and the hope we have
because of the Church...
it was a really delightful time... and this couple gave us a beautiful gift...
Romanian Plum Brandy in such a neat box and bottle!
Here's two pictures of it that I took today to show you...
the bottle and box being already safely put away in our cupboard...
we hope to have it blessed at Pascha and then save it for next year's
Slava (our feast day of our Patron Saint and wedding anniversary celebration)...
It's really neat and the wooden piece inside we have never seen
before, a very special present... I believe R. said it was from the area
where he was from in Romania...
After A and R left with their son (they had a baby waiting at home to be
put to bed also...) we stayed and my Husband and AR talked while
A and I talked separately, in part making plans for Tuesday night
which was the night that AR and my Husband would hang out together
and A and I would spend time together... we decided that we would
go to the mall that A shopped at and then come back to her house and eat together...
and AR and my Husband would meet near our Airbnb apartment...
about 11 PM or after we left via uber for our apartment which was not far away by cab
that late at night, though in rush hour
it gets very congested and would have taken a lot of time...
and that was our very full, very beautiful Sunday of St Demetrios the New!
***
One thing I remember feeling many times was wishing we could return
to the places we had just eaten at; or seen; as if I wished to hold on to the special time
and somehow keep the memories of walking on the cobblestone roads,
hearing church bells and being at a festival weekend and just stay there...
but, as St Peter wished to have tents when Christ was Transfigured,
he could not... but of course he never forgot this revelatory day of
Christ's transfiguration and so I pray we will not forget the many
beautiful things we saw and the experiences of God's love and life within the church...
***
I hope you enjoyed hearing about it as much as I enjoyed remembering it
by these pictures and my writing here!
