Bucharest, October 28, 2025
Photo: basilica.ro
More than 100,000 people participated in the pilgrimage dedicated to St. Demetrius the New, the patron saint of Bucharest.
“Approximately 110,000 pilgrims in total venerated the holy relics during the pilgrimage held on the occasion of the feast of St. Demetrius the New,” said Romanian Patriarchate spokesperson Fr. Adrian Agachi, reports the Basilica News Agency.
Those present at the pilgrimage received food and water from the social-philanthropic sectors of the Patriarchal Administration while waiting in line.
The 2025 pilgrimage took place between October 19 and 29 at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. During the first days, from October 19 to 22, the reliquary containing the relics of St. Demetrius the New was placed in the cathedral’s narthex, and the faithful were able to venerate them daily from morning until nearly midnight.
Venerating the relics of St. Demetrius the New. Photo: basilica.ro
The program included daily morning and evening services: Divine Liturgy, Vespers, and the Paraklesis of St. Demetrius.
A central moment was the Path of the Saints procession, held on Thursday, October 23. Two columns of clergy and faithful departed from the Patriarchal Cathedral and from the Church of St. Spyridon the New, meeting at the base of Patriarchal Hill, then ascending together to the Patriarchal Cathedral, where prayers were offered and a blessing service for the pilgrims was celebrated.
On Sunday, October 26, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and a host of Romanian hierarchs consecrated the mosaics of the People’s Salvation Cathedral in the Romanian capital, which is the largest Orthodox church in the world.
The next day was the feast of St. Demetrius the New itself. The hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the two Patriarchs and numerous Romanian hierarchs. During the service, Pat. Bartholomew commemorated the unrecognized schismatic Epiphany Dumenko, which prompted a shout of “Anathema!” from somewhere in the crowd.
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