PASTORAL LETTER

OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
ON THE SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY

IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025

TO THE MOST REVEREND MONASTIC COMMUNITY, 

TO THE HONORABLE CLERGY, 

AND TO THE BELOVED FAITHFUL OF THE ROMANIAN PATRIARCHATE

Grace, joy, and peace from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
and archpastoral blessings from us!

Most Reverend Fathers,
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

The first Sunday of Great Lent, known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, reminds us every year of the trials and joys the Church has experienced throughout history in preserving the true faith and its dogmatic, canonical, and liturgical unity. Particularly, this Sunday reminds us of March 11, 843, when, in Constantinople, the veneration of holy icons was fully and definitively restored, and the victory against the iconoclastic heresy was understood as a victory of the true faith against all heresies.

The theological disputes regarding the veneration of holy icons erupted in the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717-741). Through two imperial decrees issued in 726 and 730, he imposed the fight against icons as the state religion. The disputes continued under the emperors Constantine V (741-775) and Leo IV (775-780), when the fight against icons intensified, and the iconoclastic heresies were formulated.

The Christological disputes regarding the veneration of icons led to extreme measures from the iconoclastic emperors, who not only destroyed the holy icons but also tortured, imprisoned, exiled, and even executed those who venerated them. Many clergy, monks, and faithful who honored the holy icons gave their lives for the true faith.

Among the defenders of Orthodoxy during this time, Saint John of Damascus (676-749) stood out. He emphasized that the veneration is directed to the person depicted in the icon, not to the material from which the icon is made: "I do not venerate the matter, but I venerate the Creator of the matter, the Creator who became matter for me, and who accepted to dwell in matter and accomplished my salvation through matter."[1]

The first period of persecutions against the veneration of icons lasted until the reign of Emperor Constantine VI (780-797) and his mother, Empress Irene (752-802), who, with the support of Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople (784-806), convened the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, where the orthodoxy of the veneration of holy icons was restored.

At this Council, based on the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition, the Holy Fathers condemned the iconoclastic heresy and formulated the truth of faith regarding the veneration of icons and holy relics, stating that the honor given to the icon passes to the prototype, and the one who venerates the icon venerates the hypostasis depicted in it. They demonstrated with scriptural arguments that the one who looks at the icon is placed, through it, in a personal relationship with the one depicted: through the icon, the archetype is known, for it is a means of raising the mind to Christ and of communion with Him; when we look at the icon, we call in prayer the one depicted on it.[2]

The Fathers participating in the Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, inspired by the Holy Spirit and in accordance with the dogmas of faith established at the previous ecumenical councils, restored the teaching of faith regarding the veneration of holy icons and relics, establishing in the dogmatic decree of the Council the following: "We preserve unchanged all the Church traditions, written or unwritten, entrusted to us, among which is the iconic representation through painting, which is in agreement with the history of the evangelical preaching, to confirm the fact that the incarnation of the Word of God was true, not imagined (...). Following the God-inspired teaching of our Holy Fathers, as well as the Tradition of the Holy Church, because we recognize that it is of the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in it, we decide with all exactness and care that, just as the holy and life-giving Cross is exalted, so should the venerable and holy icons be raised, whether of colors or mosaics or any other suitable material, in the holy Churches of God, on sacred vessels and garments, on walls and wood, in homes and by the wayside; the icon of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, of the Most Pure Lady, the Holy Mother of God, of the honored angels, and of all the saints and holy men. For the more often these are seen through iconic representation, the more those who look at them will be raised to remember and desire the prototypes and to give them a kiss and honorable veneration. However, not the true adoration, which, according to our faith, is due only to the divine nature, but as that given to the image of the honorable and life-giving Cross, the Holy Gospels, and other sacred cult objects; for their veneration, incense will be offered and lights will be lit, according to the well-established custom of the ancients. For the veneration given to the icon passes to the prototype, and the one who bows to the icon bows to the hypostasis depicted in it."[3]

Although this decree of the Seventh Ecumenical Council was received by the Church, with the ascent of Emperor Leo V the Armenian (813-820) to the throne, a new period of iconoclasm began, with persecutions against those who venerated the holy icons. This period ended in 843, when Empress Theodora of Byzantium (842-846) and Patriarch Methodius convened a Synod in Constantinople, which, based on the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers, restored the orthodox teaching about the veneration of icons and declared the decrees of the seven Ecumenical Councils valid. Since then, every year, we, Orthodox Christians, on the first Sunday of Great Lent, celebrate the victory of the true faith over all heresies, which is why we call this day the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

Dear faithful Christians,

The Church has understood the pedagogical role of icons, which are guides to Christ, the Source of holiness. Therefore, it has depicted the image of the Savior, the Mother of God, the angels, the apostles, and the saints. Through this, it highlights that the art of the Orthodox Church is sacred art. As Leonid Uspensky said, this art "must, on the one hand, transmit the dogmatic truths, and on the other hand, communicate the lived experience of these truths, the spiritual experience of the saints – that living Christianity where dogma and life are inseparable."[4] For this reason, "the Church sees in the icon not one of the aspects of Orthodox teaching, but the expression of Orthodoxy as a whole, of Orthodoxy itself."[5]  Holy icons "are not added to the Orthodox faith as an appendix, but they express the Orthodox faith in a complete form, as a confession of faith, through word and image, through prayer before the icon of Christ and the saints depicted on the icons."[6]

The foundation of the iconographic depiction of the Lord Christ is His incarnation, as St. John the Theologian says: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

The Orthodox teaching affirms that, out of love for humanity, the Son and Word of God became Man (John 3:16), taking on a human body and form, so that we, humans, might become children of God by grace, partake of eternal life, and see the image of divine glory, as He showed to the disciples on the Mount Tabor. The light from the icon of Christ and the icons of the saints directs us toward the unwaning light of eternal glory in the Kingdom of Heaven, and the holiness of the icon calls us to sanctify our lives.

Beloved spiritual children,

In the context of the anniversary events in the year 2025, for us, the Romanians, the Sunday of Orthodoxy is a time of joy and thanksgiving to God for the blessings poured out over our country, as well as a moment of gratitude for the multitude of holy confessors and martyrs who preserved the rule of faith as they received it from their ancestors.

The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the feast of the true faith, by word and deed, of those who keep and confess the teaching of faith, which is the foundation of true Christian living and the work of Christ in the world through the Church. It calls us to unity and communion with God and with one another through acts of Christian charity.

These are the concrete expressions of love for our neighbor, as fruits of the true faith that continually flow from them, with the purpose of helping those in distress and suffering, as taught by the Apostle Paul: "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" (Hebrews 13:16).

No matter how great the challenges and crises of the world in which we live, we have the duty to remain steadfast in the true faith and in good deeds, putting our hope in God "Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). Let us be united in doing good, bringing comfort to those in need, solace to the sick, compassion to those in pain, and helping our neighbors with generosity and kind hearts, as Christ, the Savior of the world, teaches us.

This year, we address the priests and faithful of our Holy Church with a fatherly exhortation to organize, both on this Sunday and on the following Sundays, the collection for the Central Missionary Fund, contributing each with their gift, as prompted by their heart, knowing that "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). This Fund is intended to support Romanian parishes or monastic communities with limited financial resources, social institutions in the country and abroad, and to continue and complete various missionary works.

We know that every good gift comes from the Father of lights, therefore, within the Holy Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, we call upon God's mercy for those who bring forth fruits and do good works in the holy Churches and remember the poor, asking the Lord to "reward them with His rich and heavenly gifts, ... to remember His entire people and pour out His rich mercy upon them, fulfilling all their requests for salvation."[7]

Trusting that you will show Christian generosity again this year and respond to our call in this holy work of charity, we pray to the Merciful God "that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8), and "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all!" (2 Corinthians 13:13).

The text is signed by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel with all the members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

________________

[1] Saint John Damascene, Against the Iconoclasts, 1, 16, in “The Three Treatises Against the Iconoclasts”, translation, introduction and notes by Father Dumitru Fecioru, Edition of the Orthodox Biblical and Mission Institute, Bucharest, 2016, p. 65.

[2] Cf. Dogmatic Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Fr. Sorin Șelaru (coordinator), Viorel Coman, George Gherga, Édition Basilica, Bucharest, 2018, pp. 152-158, p. 535.

[3] Dogmatic decrees of the Ecumenical Councils..., pp. 553-555.

[4] Leonid Uspensky, Theology of the Icon, Edition Renașterea, Cluj-Napoca, 2012, p. 33.

[5] Leonid Uspensky, The Theology of the Icon..., p. 13.

[6] Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, The Gospel of the Glory of Christ, Basilica Edition, Bucharest, 2023, p. 47.

[7] The Divine Liturgy of our Father among the Saints Basil the Great, in the Liturgikon, Edition of the Orthodox Biblical and Mission Institute, Bucharest, 2012, pp. 257-259.