Over 15,000 believers from all over the country gathered at Prislop Monastery on Friday to honor the Holy Venerable Confessor Arsenie of Prislop, known before his canonization as Father Arsenie Boca, or the Saint of Transylvania.

Despite the cold, foggy weather and late-autumn drizzle, the faithful filled the monastery courtyard and nearby hills to witness the local proclamation of Saint Arsenie's canonization, conducted by 30 bishops at the summer altar.

Deeply moved, the faithful held icons of Saint Arsenie and joined the priests in reciting The Creed and Our Father. Many had traveled long distances by bus or minibus to attend the service. 'I come from Suceava. I have visited Father Arsenie's grave several times. The first time I came here, I cried the whole time. I hope things will get better for us,' said one woman. A young man, embracing the icon of Saint Arsenie, described the moment as 'a great blessing and great joy.'

The religious events at Prislop Monastery began Friday morning with the Holy and Divine Hierarchical Liturgy, celebrated by 30 hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. At the conclusion, the local proclamation of the canonization of the Holy Venerable Confessor Arsenie of Prislop was performed.

Before the gathered faithful, the Synodal Tomos was read, the troparion sung, and the icon of the Saint presented. The hierarchs and clergy then proceeded to Saint Arsenie's tomb, where the troparion was sung again and worship was offered by priests and believers alike.

'Today there are 36 years since the passing of Father Arsenie Boca, and I have told the faithful, and I tell you, that it is the greatest gift for us to participate in the canonization of a Saint that we have known. While most saints are known only through books and the synaxary, the saints who were canonized this year (16, Ed. note) were personally known to the faithful, and this is a great gift for all of us. Why is he called the Saint of Miracles, why is he the Saint of Transylvania? Because he worked miracles and God worked miracles through him. And the miracles have been researched and are within everyone's reach,' said Archbishop Laurentiu Streza, Metropolitan of Transylvania, at the end of the service.

In his turn, Father Gabriel Miricescu, spokesman for the Diocese of Deva and Hunedoara, emphasized that the canonization of Father Arsenie Boca fulfilled a decades-long wish of the faithful who prayed at his tomb at Prislop Monastery. 'Not only for Hunedoara County, but for the entire country, today is a day of fulfillment,' he said, noting that every pilgrim who visited Prislop 'has certainly left differently.'

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approved in its meeting of July 11 - 12, 2024 the admission to sainthood of 16 pious devouts and confessor priests from the 20th century, including protosyncellus Arsenie Boca, under the title Saint Venerable Confessor Arsenie of Prislop, with the feast day set on November 28.

Revered by believers as the Saint of Transylvania, Father Arsenie Boca - a Romanian Orthodox hieromonk, theologian and plastic artist - served as abbot at Brancoveanu Monastery in Sambata de Sus, and later at Prislop Monastery.

Arsenie Boca, regarded as one of the great spiritual guides of Romanian Orthodoxy, was born on September 29, 1910 in the village of Vata de Sus, Hunedoara County, and passed away on November 28, 1989. His tomb at Prislop Monastery has become a major site of pilgrimage and prayer, drawing thousands of believers. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Sorin Blada; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)