Manifestări religioase dedicate Centenarului reînființării Episcopiei Oradiei
Religious events dedicated to the Centennial celebrations of the re-establishment of Oradia diocese

Summary/Abstract: As part of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of Oradia diocese after the Great Union, 340 years after its first documentary attestation and 325 years since the mentioning of the diocese and its hierarch in the Diploma of Austrian Emperor Leopold I, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel paid a canonical visit to the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Oradia, and consecrated the new church of Izbuc Monastery, Bihor county, as well as the new Episcopal Cathedral in Oradea. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel offered his blessing for the two events, and congratulated His Grace Sofronie, bishop of Oradia, the abbot of Izbuc Monastery - archimandrite Mihail Tărău, as well as the clergy and the faithful members of the eparchy, and all those who contributed to the construction and decoration of these two beautiful places of worship. Also, as a token of his appreciation and as a blessing, he also awarded a number of a orders and distinctions. The Head of our Church presented each of the two churches with a set of holy vessels, blessing crosses, candle holders, censers, holy water containers and other items of liturgical use, crafted by the workshops of the Romanian Patriarchate, with several religious books issued by the publishing houses of the Romanian Patriarchate, and with natural incense from Oman. The faithful in attendance were offered little icons, as blessing from His Beatitude. During the consecration of the Episcopal Cathedral in Oradea, His Grace Sofronie, Bishop of Oradia, remembered in his address two great historic figures who achieved Romanians’ much desired union: Michael the Brave and king Ferdinand the Unifier. He spoke of the links of Voivode Michael the Brave, the first unifier of Romanians, to Oradea: „We think that it is by God’s providence that the new Episcopal Cathedral stands exactly on the spot where our great voivode once set camp.” In 1598 Michael the Brave sent soldiers to take part in the defense of the fortress of Oradia, besieged by the Turks, and in 1600, exactly 420 years ago, he passed through Oradea as he was heading towards Vienna. This is why, as the bishop said, the equestrian statue of the voivode will naturally be placed in front of the Orthodox cathedral, once the works in the area are completed. As the Episcopal Cathedral of Oradea was consecrated a century after being reactivated after the Great Union, the hierarch also remembered king Ferdinand the Unifier, who in 1919 promised the future bishop Roman Ciorogariu: „Your dream will come true sooner than you expect”. The eparchy was re-established by royal decree in 1920, the year when the Treaty of Trianon was signed, acknowledging Greater Romania. His Grace Bishop Sofronie stated that the consecration of Izbuc Monastery, officiated on Saturday, and that of the Cathedral in Oradea celebrated on Sunday, on the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of the eparchy, „are offerings to God as thanksgiving for His help in harsh times as well as happy times”. He thanked His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and the 20 bishops who attended the consecration service, the authorities who endorsed this project, and „all priests, monastics and devout Christians in the eparchy who dreamed, worked, hoped and succeeded”.

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