Iași, May 18, 2026
The Romanian Orthodox Church held the local glorification of St. Blandina the Confessor on Sunday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași.
The solemn ceremony took place at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by seven hierarchs led by His Eminence Metropolitan Teofan of Moldova and Bukovina. His Grace Vicar Nichifor of Botoșani of the Archdiocese of Iași presented the Synodal Tomos proclaiming the canonization, reports the Basilica News Agency.
The official act stated that “St. Blandina the Confessor of Iași shall be numbered among the saints of the Church and shall be commemorated with songs of praise on her feast day, May 24 each year, and shall be inscribed in the Synaxarion, in the liturgical books, and in the calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church.”
St. Blandina was canonized last July together with 15 other holy women, and their general glorification service was celebrated in February. St. Blandina’s relics were uncovered in April.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania sent a message for the event highlighting the saint’s profound humility and obedience. “St. Blandina showed deep humility, performing in prison, together with her cousin, the most humiliating works, constantly keeping in mind the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: Whoever wants to be first among you must be slave of all (Mk. 10:44),” the Patriarch stated.
“Thus, what the world considered humiliation, the confessor of Christ clothed in the garment of humility pleasing to God, transforming the lowest work into a mystical work of love for God and neighbor,” he added.
Met. Teofan emphasized that St. Blandina was defined by her strong faith in God and in God’s love for the world. He noted her confessional courage shown “in Bessarabia or in Siberia, in Bucharest and in Iași.”
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St. Blandina the Confessor of Iași was born on February 24, 1906, in the village of Grușeuți, Hotin County, Bessarabia, to Fr. Zaharia and Matushka Serafima Popovici. She became a teacher and married engineer Gheorghe Gobjilă in 1926, with whom she had a son, Vladislav.
After the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, the family was deported to Siberia for 15 years of suffering. In 1957 she reached Romania, where her son and daughter-in-law, hostile to the faith, forced her to choose between God and family. She chose her faith without hesitation, becoming homeless and eventually finding support with a Christian family in Iași.
She became a quiet but steadfast presence at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iași, dedicating her time to prayer, translating or transcribing akathists, and helping those in need. St. Blandina the Confessor reposed on May 24, 1971.
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