On April 28, at the Sihastria Monastery, the rite of uncovering the holy relics of Venerable Cleopa (Ilie) and Paisie (Olaru) was performed—an important step in the process of their official glorification as saints.
Bishop Veniamin (Goryanu) of South Bessarabia and Bishop Nichifor (Horia) of Botoșani, Vicar of the Archdiocese of Iași, together with a gathering of clergy, performed a special liturgical rite on this occasion. During the service, the relics of Venerable Paisie and Cleopa were reverently exhumed from their resting places, carefully cleansed of soil, and placed in wooden coffins. Items preserved in their graves were collected and stored in specially prepared containers.
At the end of the service, their honorable relics were transferred into the monastery church of Sihastria, where the rite concluded with the chanting of troparia composed in honor of each saint.
The uncovering was carried out according to ecclesiastical regulations, as part of the proper preparation of the holy relics, which will later be enshrined in new reliquaries currently under construction. A formal local canonization of the two saints is expected to follow in the near future.
“This day will remain historic for all of us, forever engraved in our hearts, because we all witnessed God’s work on earth in a time of human weakness. It was a day of consolation, for as you all saw, the earth was wet, and water covered the remains and coffins of both fathers. But when we brought them out of the ground, the entire cemetery was filled with fragrance,” said Bishop Nichifor of Botoșani.
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Text: ziarullumina.ro
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Photos: doxologia.ro
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Video: atitudini.com
