ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CANONIZATIONS DURING PATRIARCH TEOCTIST ARĂPAȘU
ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CANONIZATIONS DURING PATRIARCH TEOCTIST ARĂPAȘU

Summary/Abstract: The first time when the Romanian Orthodox Church has worked to canonize Romanian saints was during the Patriarch Justinian Marina, between October 10 and 23, 1955. Due to the strict rigors imposed by the communist regime for the Church, new canonizations could only be performed after December 1989. At the initiative of Patriarch Teoctist, a special commission was set up to analyze and study possible cases of canonization. This commission functioned during 1990 and 1991, and based on their reports, in 1992, the Holy Synod decided: - The canonization of 19 Romanian saints and their inscription in the church calendar; - The generalization of the seven Romanian saints canonized in 1950 – 1955; - The inscription in the Romanian Orthodox Church Calendar of a number of 38 Romanian saints honored by other Churches; - The establishment of the Sunday of all Romanian saints and its inscription in our calendar. Because of the requests received from other dioceses, the canonizations continued during the pastorate of Patriarch Teoctist in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Using historical research, this article aims to highlight the contribution that Patriarch Teoctist Arăpașu had in organizing the Church life in democracy and, in particular, to the enrichment of the Orthodox calendar with Romanian saints.

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