Bucharest, Jan 11 /Agerpres/ - A liturgy for the canonization of 16 new contemporary Romanian saints will take place on February 4 at the Patriarchal Cathedral, coinciding with the centennial anniversary of the adoption of the Holy Synod's resolution to elevate the Romanian Orthodox Church to the rank of Patriarchate.

According to the Basilica Agency of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approved last year the admission to sainthood of 16 pious devouts and confessor priests from the 20th century, who are all pictured in the icon of The Assembly of Romanian Saints, which is the Icon of the Centennial-Commemorative Year 2025.

The new saints have already been included in the 2025 Orthodox Calendar, and approximately one month after the general proclamation, the first remembrance day for one of the group will be celebrated, as the Holy Priest-Martyr Liviu Galaction from Cluj will be honored in all churches on March 8.

The general proclamation of the sainthood of the 16 confessors, held in Bucharest, will be followed by local proclamation ceremonies in the dioceses that submitted the arguments for their canonization.

As several of the new saints died at the beginning of the third millennium after Christ, they might be among the first official saints who lived into the 21st century.

The canonization process in the Romanian Orthodox Church begins at the initiative of the dioceses where the earthly life of the person proposed for sainthood has ended: documents and testimonies are collected, which are then sent for review to the Metropolitan Synod. If the canonization initiative is approved at metropolitan level, the file is submitted to the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. After approval by the Holy Synod, consisting of all the top-ranking clergymen of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the canonization is publicly proclaimed in a ceremony during which the faithful learn about the decision of the Holy Synod, the title and date of the saint's celebration, as well as with their troparion and icon.

This year, the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates 140 years of autocephaly and 100 years since its elevation to the rank of Patriarchate. For this reason, 2025 was declared Centennial Year of the Romanian Patriarchate and Commemorative Year of the Romanian Orthodox Spiritual Fathers and Confessors of the 20th Century. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Popescu, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)