On February 6, the general glorification (later, local glorifications will be held in the dioceses on the day of their memory) of 16 Romanian saints took place in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Constantine and Helena in Bucharest. The event is in connection with the current year 2026, dedicated by the Holy Synod to the pastoral care of the Christian family and the commemoration of holy women in the calendar. The event on February 6 was preceded by the decision of the Romanian Holy Synod of July 1-2, 2025, for the canonization of 16 Romanian women with a holy life. All the hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church served in the historic service – 54 hierarchs (all Romanian bishops are active members of the Holy Synod). On the eve of the glorification, the last panikhida for the deceased saints was served in the cathedral.
On behalf of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, with the blessing of the Romanian Patriarch Daniel, during the divine service in the cathedral, the representative of the Bulgarian Patriarchate to the Romanian Patriarch, Archpriest Kiril Sinev, as well as the hieromonks Joseph and Nathanael from the Bulgarian monastery “St. John the Theologian” in Warwick, Massachusetts, USA, founded by the now-ill Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel, while he was the vicar of the Bulgarian Metropolitan Joseph, were serving the church.
After the intercessory prayer, the Bishop of Ploiești, Varlaam of Ploiești, the patriarchal vicar and secretary of the Holy Synod, read the synodal tomos for the glorification. The icon of the Council of the Holy Romanian Women was presented and carried by nuns, first, and then – one by one, the remaining icons. The Patriarchal Choir for Eastern Church Singing “Tronos”, led by Archdeacon Mihail Buca, sang their troparia. Patriarch Daniel announced that the feast of the Holy Romanian Women will be celebrated annually on the third Sunday after Easter, dedicated to the myrrh-bearing women.
Who are the newly glorified Romanian saints and when will they be celebrated?
1. St. Lady/Mistress Maria Brancoveanu, mother of 11 children (August 16)
2. St. Rev. Philothea of the Pasarea Monastery, mother of St. Kalinik of the Cernica Monastery (April 12)
3. St. Rev. Martyr Evlogia of the Samurkaşeşti Monastery, missionary of the “Patriarch Miron” Association (December 19)
4. St. Rev. Elisaveta of the Pasarea Monastery (June 5)
5. St. Rev. Platonida of Argeș (formerly Despina Milița, wife of the holy voivode Năgoe Basarab, mother of 6 children) (September 26)
6. St. Magdalena of Mălaynica, widow of the Serbian Banat (October 15)
7. St. Mavra of Çahlu (May 4)
8. St. Nazaria of the Vratec Monastery (August 17)
9. St. Olympiad of the Vratec Monastery (August 17)
10. St. Olympiad of Farcași, mother of St. Petronius of the Athonite Skete Prodrom and of 7 other children (July 4)
11. St. Confessor Blandina of Iași (May 24)
12. St. Elisaveta (Safta) Brancoveanu (August 17)
13. St. Anastasia Shaguna, mother of Saint Andrei Shaguna (December 1)
14. St. Rev. Philothimia of Rumec, mother of St. Dometius the Merciful, mother of 12 children (July 6)
15. St. Antonida of Tismana (December 23)
16. St. Matrona of Hurez (May 5).
The Primate of the Romanian Church delivered a speech entitled “The Holy Romanian Women Are Models of Reverence, Sacrificial Love and Confessional Courage.” He gave a brief introduction to each of the newly glorified women, highlighting their merits in the spiritual life: “Throughout the centuries, Romanian holy women have shown that the path to holiness does not depend on belonging to a certain social category, but on the cooperation of the human person with divine grace. These new Romanian saints reveal to us that the Romanian Orthodox Church has always been blessed with believing and pious women who have fought the good fight of faith and have completed their earthly journey in holiness (2 Tim. 4:7) through many forms of ministry: mothers of saints who themselves sanctified their lives through love and sacrifice in the family, the church community and society; martyrs who defended the Orthodox faith with their blood; nuns who struggled in humility, fasting and unceasing prayer in monasteries and deserts; confessors who endured persecution for the name of Christ, and wives of voivodes or rulers who supported the Church and the Romanian people.”
In the second part of the day, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church held a meeting at which it was decided that the year 2027 would be dedicated to the cooperation of clergy and laity in the life and mission of the Church, as well as a commemorative year in honor of Patriarchs Justinian (Marina, 1948-1977) and Theoctist (Arapaşu, 1986-2007). The organization and concept of the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth, which will be held in Bucharest from August 31 to September 3 this year, was approved. During the meeting, two new collections were presented: the “Synodal Synaxar of the Romanian Orthodox Church” in 13 volumes, which contains an icon, kondak, troparion and synaxar for each saint, as well as the “Annual of the Holy Synod”, year X (2025).
