Today, Romania experienced a moment of deep spiritual, identity and, of course, historical charge: the consecration of the National Cathedral, in a year that also marks the centenary of the elevation of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the rank of Patriarchate.
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It is a dream born with modern Romania, cemented in the hearts of millions of believers and which becomes reality on October 26, 2025.
It is also another proof that we have the capacity, as a people, to carry out a project, sometimes hidden in communist dungeons, or lost in transition, for several generations. Please think of this when you feel like you are losing hope in WE as a nation or in our historical dimension. And please don't forget that hope, faith, patience and action, overcome many things. Sometimes even death!
This historic consecration was officiated by His Holiness Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch, and the Blessed Father Daniel, together with an impressive cathedral, in the presence of important personalities such as the president of Romania, the president of the Republic of Moldova, the prime minister, the presidents of the Chambers of Parliament, former heads of state and representatives of the Royal House. All of us, and I want to emphasize this, helped by hundreds of volunteers from all over the country, including Transylvania. Their work must be known and appreciated. Just as we must be grateful to all those who, for a decade and a half, more or less, have supported the construction work.
The place of worship is, in itself, an impressive construction, but it is also much more than that. He stands as a timeless testimony to our sacrifices, faith and continuity as a nation. It also represents a sign of gratitude, a symbol, for all those who suffered, hoped and fought under the sign of the Cross and the Tricolor. It is the testimony of sacrifice but also of victory. It represents us.
I had the honor of being invited to take part in this consecration. Unfortunately, a rather severe cold kept me away from the Cathedral, Bucharest, my friends and all those present today at this historic event. Yet, in my heart, I am there. As I found out, with emotion and silence, in 2018, at the great Centenary service, 100 years since the Great Union, when, for the first time, this Cathedral together with the people present there, received the blessing through prayer.
For me, as an Orthodox, as a Romanian and as a former member of the National Church Assembly for two terms, this moment has a special meaning. Because we are not just talking about walls today, we are talking about a spiritual work of a nation that has preserved its identity through faith. Many other nations have lost that. I pray it will never be our case! Because we would lose a lot more than that.
As the mayor of Arad, at that time, I contributed, together with the clergy and the local community, to the realization of another important cathedral: the Orthodox Cathedral of Arad, the soul dream of the Romanians in the west of the country. I know how much work, dedication and patience such work requires. I know what it means to build a Cathedral, not just in stone, but also in the consciousness of a community.
Today, 100 years after the Patriarchate, we understand better that the spiritual autonomy of the Romanian Orthodox Church has always been a pillar of our maturity as a nation and of our UNITY. The autocephaly acquired through effort and struggle, with the support of the Romanian state since then, was the confirmation that Romania defined itself not so much, or not only, geographically or politically, but above all through its own spiritual voice, Romanian, historical and, I am convinced of this, perennial! The Orthodox faith and the Romanian language. They are two concepts that, WITHOUT excluding anyone, have kept us together, although geographically separated, for centuries!
The National Cathedral is, from this point of view, both a place of prayer and an architectural, artistic, creative testament of a faith that went through communism, through uprooting, through transitions, and which nevertheless did not yield. On the contrary, it grew. She returned to the people and the people returned to her.
In an increasingly secularized Europe, but also increasingly provoked by moral and spiritual crises (why…), we Romanians maintain a rare balance: we are modern Europeans, but also believers with deep, authentic, living roots! The Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation, the National Cathedral, reminds us exactly of this double call: to build the future without forgetting our soul.
I thank all those who made this project possible and I pray that the Romanian Orthodox Church will remain, for the next hundred years, the same light that gathers us and strengthens us and defines us as a people. Forever.
