CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
The enthronement of the new Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, took place in the patriarchal cathedral of Bucharest on Sunday, 30 September. During the ceremony, the insignia of the patriarchal dignity – sacred vestments, crosses and pectorals – were solemnly handed over to the new Patriarch, who had been elected by the ecclesiastical college on 12 September. The ceremony was officiated by the Metropolitan members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Representatives of the sister Orthodox Churches and other Christian Churches were present. They included a large delegation of the Catholic Churches led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, who delivered to His Beatitude Daniel a message of Benedict XVI. The Pope in his letter recalls the historic meeting in Bucharest between John Paul II and Patriarch Teoctist and the words of unity pronounced on that occasion by Karol Wojtyla. “The spirit that inspired those words and the commitment they proclaimed – added Benedict XVI – retain all their actuality for me and for the Catholic Church”. In his homily, Patriarch Daniel said he wanted to “preserve and transmit the luminous spiritual heritage of Patriarch Teoctist”.
