In a message for the Sunday of Parents and Children (June 7), Patriarch Daniel emphasizes the fundamental role that the family played during the coronavirus pandemic. His Beatitude called the family “a natural environment for raising and educating children for life.”
“During this period, the time spent by parents with their children
was greatly appreciated, as well as the effort to help them in carrying
out various online school tasks,” notes His Beatitude.
The Patriarch of Romania also draws attention to the fact that the
personality and character of children “are formed not only by words and
advice but also by the life and example of parents,” for which “parents
are called to live the true faith through prayer and good works,” and to
cultivate “love and generosity in the family, in the image of the
merciful love of the Most Holy Trinity, so that the family may always be
a source of love and joy for children.”
Please find below the full text of the message.
Christian Family – Icon of God’s Love in the World: full text
The Sunday of Parents and Children, the first Sunday after the
International Children’s Day (June 1), established by the Holy Synod of
our Church by resolution no. 629/12 March 2009, coincides this year with
the feast of Pentecost.
Pentecost is the founding day of Christ’s Church as a congregation of
people in the love of the Most Holy Trinity through the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. As the Holy Spirit overshadowed the
Virgin Mary and united in the Person of our Saviour Jesus Christ His
divine and human natures (Luke 1:35), the same way He now unites through
grace different people and nations, who profess the same right and holy
faith.
The growth or extension of Christ’s Church is achieved with every
newly baptized person in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, beginning
with Pentecost day when ‘about three thousand souls’ (Acts 2:41) were
baptized in Jerusalem and until the end of ages.
Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we get to know the love of the
Most Holy Trinity as present and active in the life of the Church.
Father Dumitru Staniloae called the Holy Trinity the structure of supreme love, that is, perfect love that exists eternally between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This perfect and eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity is a source
and model of love and harmony for Church life, family and society.
Notably, the Christian family is called to be an icon of God’s love in
the world. That is why, Saint John Chrysostom called the Christian
family a domestic church, where conjugal, paternal, filial and brotherly love is cultivated.
With the help of parents, the child begins to feel God’s love and to
cultivate the love for others around. In the context of current
pandemic, the primordial importance of the family as a natural
environment for raising and educating children for life was highlighted
more intensely. During this period, the time spent by parents with their
children was much appreciated, as well as the effort to help them in
fulfilling various online school tasks.
The character of children is formed not only by words and advice but
also by the lifestyle and example of parents. In this sense, parents are
called to live the true faith, through prayer and good works, and to
cultivate love and generosity in the family, in the image of the
merciful love of the Most Holy Trinity, so that the family may always be
a source of love and joy for children.
At the same time, parents are urged to protect life from birth and to
teach children to value health as a gift from God to grow in communion
with family and other children.
The year 2020 was declared by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox
Church as a Solemn Year of the pastoral care of parents and children.
Through this initiative, we wanted to point out the importance of
Christian education in contemporary society.
In a world deeply marked by individualism and secularization, the
Family, the Church and the School are called today to provide children
with the help necessary for their personal and communal development, to
cultivate the freedom, responsibility and dignity of children, because
they are God’s gift for family and humankind.
We pray to the Most Holy Trinity, the Source of life and eternal
love, to enlighten and fill the souls of parents and children with peace
and joy, to become a blessing for the Church and the Romanian people.
† DANIELPatriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church