At the initiative of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, during its working session from 28 to 29 October 2014, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church declared the year 2016 as a Solemn Year of the Religious Education of the Orthodox Christian Youth and a Commemorative Year of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite and of the Church Typographers in the Romanian Patriarchate. In this respect, the Holy Synod Office has developed the framework of a national program:
In the first semester of the year 2016, under the title Solemn Year of the Religious Education of the Orthodox Christian Youth, the following activities will be emphasized: the spiritual formation of young people and their guidance in order to acquire perennial values through Family, Church and School; Christian Education of young people in order to involve in the mission of the Church; the importance of the presence and the participation of young people in the life of a Christian community; the cultivation of love, friendship and respect for the neighbour; helping those in need.
In the second semester of the year 2016, under the title Commemorative Year of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite and of the Church Typographers, the spiritual and cultural heritage of the saint will be evaluated, on the 300th anniversary of his martyrical death (1716-2016); the importance of print in the development of the mission of the Church will also be analysed.
In the autumn of 2016, the Romanian Patriarchate, together with the Archdiocese of Bucharest, will organize a National Conference dedicated to the Commemorative Year of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite and of the Church Typographers; while in collaboration with the Romanian Academy, the Romanian Patriarchate will set up a national exhibition dedicated to the works of the Holy Hieromartyr.
On the Feast day of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite, on 27 September 2016, at the St Anthimos Monastery in Bucharest, the foundation of the saint, the Divine Liturgy will be officiated, concelebrated by the members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Georgia, but also of other Orthodox sister Churches.
Throughout the year, the Dioceses and the theological educational institutions of the Romanian Orthodox Church will hold conferences, symposia, colloquia, seminars etc. related to the year 2016 as a Solemn Year of the Religious Education of the Orthodox Christian Youth and a Commemorative Year of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite and of the Church Typographers in the Romanian Patriarchate. The subjects will also be presented and discussed at the spring and autumn sessions of the pastoral and missionary conferences organized in the dioceses of the Romanian Patriarchate.
The Basilica Travel Agency and the Pilgrimage Centres of the Romanian Patriarchate will organize home and abroad pilgrimages dedicated to Orthodox young people to churches and monasteries where the great spiritual fathers of the Orthodox Church had lived, and also to the places related to the life, the martyrdom and the cultural heritage of the Holy Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite, including in the Patriarchate of Georgia.
In October 2016, the solemn session of the Holy Synod will take place at the Romanian Patriarchate, during which a summary of the events that will have been organized in the dioceses from home and abroad on the Religious Education of the Orthodox Christian Youth and the life and works of Saint Hieromartyr Anthimos the Ivirite will be presented.
The events organized during the year 2016 will be promoted by the Basilica Press Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate, by the diocesan media institutions and by the lay press, which is receptive to the values of the Christian faith.
Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate
