To celebrate the Nativity of Christ, Romfilatelia has prepared, like every year, the postage stamps issue with the theme “Christmas”, consisting of two stamps, a perforated souvenir sheet, a First Day Cover and a collection philatelic album.
The issue “Christmas 2022” will be introduced into circulation on Tuesday, November 22nd, this year.
The celebration of the Nativity of the Lord, popularly called Christmas, brings us the news of the coming into the world of the Son of God made man, for our salvation. Christmas marks the Birth in Bethlehem of Judea of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Eternal God. About this biblical event we learn details from the Holy Gospels according to Matthew and Luke, to which is added information that we find in the Tradition of the Church. To these two is added the historical certainty of the reality of the facts, found in the chronicle of the reigns of the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus and the King of the Jews Herod the Great.
The postage stamp issue valorises images of icons belonging to the heritage of the Metropolis of Cluj, Maramureş and Sălaj.
The “Nativity of the Lord” icon in Osoi (anonymous painter, 17th century) is illustrated the two postage stamps, which, placed in a vertical plane, fully reproduce the image of an icon with the sizes of 36.5 × 72 cm, with multiple focal planes and a special depth made with skilful talent by the icon artist. The lower focal plane reproduces the scene of the Nativity, the Mother of God being seated on the left side, watching over the manger in which Baby Jesus is lying. Above the Saviour are rendered two animals, the ox and the donkey, symbols of the Israelites and the pagans, respectively. Joseph receives a gift (a lamb) brought by another man, apparently a shepherd, but which is explicitly nominated by the painter (by means of the inscription above) as being the Christmas character. He does not belong to the biblical register, but to that of tradition, added by the icon artist deliberately.
Romfilatelia thanks His Eminence Father Andrei, the Archbishop of Vad, Feleac and Cluj and the Metropolitan of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj, for his episcopal blessing, as well as the designated representatives, for the documentary and photographic support given to the development of this postage stamps issue.
The postage stamp of the souvenir sheet stamp block reproduces the image of the icon of the Mother of God with Child, also known as the “Mother of Mercy” currently exhibited in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Cluj-Napoca.
The Metropolitan Cathedral in Cluj-Napoca, built between 1923 and 1933, is one of the most representative Orthodox cathedrals in Romania, being the first large Romanian building erected in Transylvania after the Great Union of 1918.
The philatelic issue will be available starting Tuesday, 21st of November, in Romfilatelia’s shops network in Bucharest, Bacau, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Timisoara and online on https://romfilatelia.ro/store/.
For further information, please contact the Public Relation Office:
Tel: 021 / 336 93 92
