On the first Sunday of Great Lent, dedicated to the triumph of Orthodoxy, His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, celebrated the Holy and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord in Chișinău.
Concelebrating with the Metropolitan were protopresbyter Vadim Cheibaș, Metropolitan Secretary and Ecclesiarch of the Cathedral, together with the assembled clergy and deacons.
On Orthodoxy Sunday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the restoration of the veneration of holy icons following the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
Today, with devotion, we remember the triumph over heresies and reflect upon the celebrations that took place in Constantinople in the 9th century, when, through the active participation of the pious Empress Theodora and with the full support of the Church hierarchy and the faithful, the era of iconoclasm came to an end.
Each year on Orthodoxy Sunday, the Church honors the martyrs and confessors who defended the true faith.
The Metropolitan offered special prayers for the bishops, priests, and laity who lived in times of persecution and who feared neither suffering nor death, leaving for future generations the “priceless treasure of Orthodoxy.”
During the Holy Liturgy, His Eminence also performed the ordination of Hierodeacon Paisie (Moleșteanu) to the rank of Hieromonk, assigned to the Monastery of St. Prince Vladimir in Horăști.
At the conclusion of the first week of Great Lent, in their desire to partake of Christ, a multitude of faithful of all ages approached the Chalice of the Lord to receive Holy Communion.
Next Sunday, the Orthodox Church will observe the second Sunday of Great Lent, dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas.
Synodal Sector for Institutional Communication and Media Relations
