Page 11 - Album Catedrala Episcopala 2020

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Preface

The anniversary of a decade since the consecration of the new episcopal cathedral in
Caransebeș under the patronage of the Holy Resurrection and St. Prophet Elijah the Tishbite,
offers us the opportunity of a retrospective on the troubled history of the Diocese of Caransebeș.
Undoubtedly, after the founding of the diocese in 1865, the most important moment is the
consecration of the new episcopal cathedral, on September 12, 2010. This noble desideratum
was fulfilled with much sacrifice, over a century, like any other longing which is accomplished with
difficulty, but lasts for many centuries. The unfulfilled desire of many generations, of hierarchs,
priests and believers, the new episcopal cathedral was perfected by the will of the Most Merciful
God during our episcopate in Caransebeș.

From the moment of election as hierarch of this historic diocese, on February 8, 2006, I felt
the pressure of responsibility for the completion of the works and the consecration of the cathedral.
In the inaugural speech on the day of the enthronement, February 26, 2006, I proclaimed as
main priority the completion of the construction works and the service in the new cathedral, in
the shortest possible time. Since then, I have felt the zeal and unfulfilled desire of the forerunners
1
such as Bishop Miron Cristea and Bishop Veniamin Nistor. This failure, together with the efforts of
Metropolitan Nicolae of Banat, Bishop Emilian Birdaș and His Eminence Laurențiu, Metropolitan
of Transylvania, former Bishop of Caransebeș, determined us not to spare any effort to break the
chain of failures regarding this great objective. Reached the height of + 8 m, in the fall of 2006, the
episcopal cathedral resumed its path of foundation, rising to the sky, from where the moral founders
had been waiting for it for almost a century.
The four years of intense work were full of trials, administrative and financial difficulties.
There were also many moments when we felt crushed by helplessness, finding ourselves unable to
continue the work. In the most difficult moments, Christ the Lord was with us, teaching us and

assuring us that this place of prayer belongs to Him. In such moments miracles were performed
and the works did not stop. Good people, institutions and their leaders, priests, believers and
providential conjunctures were constant, which in addition to our burning desire, intertwined in an
unceasing prayer for a new place for Our Lord. That is why I considered, from the beginning, that
the construction of the cathedral was done not only through human effort, but especially through
prayer and unconditional devotion. Visiting the site often to supervise the works, I also felt the joy
of the craftsmen to build a building with a symbolic value for the Mountainous Banat and for many
generations. The same sacrificial joy was in the hearts of the clergy and monks of the diocese,
who encouraged and supported our work, being fully confident of the importance of the moment.
Therefore, at the end of the works, at the foot of the Holy Table we placed the akathists of all the
clergy and monks in the diocese, as a symbol of the fact that this cathedral is the mother of all

churches and monasteries in the diocese.
From a personal perspective, I felt that the completion and consecration of the Episcopal
Cathedral in Caransebeș is the symbolic foundation of our activity as Bishop, just as the re-
founding of the monastery Izvorul Miron – Românești was the fulfilment of the work as abbot of
this Banat monastic hearth. Providentially, I believe that God has entrusted us with the mission

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1 The Diocesan Sheet, new series, 7 year, no. 1-2 (131-132), January-February 2006, ISSN 1223-9461, pp. 6-7.