Ilfov County, Romania, June 18, 2020
basilica.ro
Căldărușani and Sitaru Monasteries, together with the Deanery of Ilfov Nord outside of Bucharest, are organizing a pilgrimage on Saturday with the relics of St. Gregory Dascălul (“the Teacher”), the Metropolitan of Wallachia, and St. Artemie, and the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God from Căldărușani Monastery, reports the Basilica News Agency.
Photo: obiectivortodox.files.wordpress.com The “Traveling with the Saints to Christ” pilgrimage will cover 100 miles and 17 localities. At each stop, prayers for the cessation of the coronavirus pandemic and of thanksgiving for the blessings received from God will be read.
The pilgrimage will begin at 10:30 AM from Căldăruşani Monastery, with the relics and icon being carried in procession with the help of an automobile.
The procession will be led by the abbots of Căldăruşani and Sitaru Monasteries.
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St. Gregory “the Teacher,” venerated already for a long time in Bucharest and the surrounding areas, was officially canonized in October 2005, with his feast day set as June 22, the day of his repose.
His relics are currently in Căldăruşani Monastery, where he himself spent five years between 1818 and 1823, until he was elected Metropolitan of Wallachia.
In 1940, when Bessarabia was invaded by soviet occupiers, monks from Dobrusa Monastery took refuge in Căldăruşani Monastery, bringing the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God with them, and it has remained there ever since.
