The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church at the initiative of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and in the context of the 1230th anniversary of the 7th Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea (787) which approved the cult of holy icons, have declared 2017, the Solemn Year of Holy Icons, Iconographers and Church Painters and Commemorative Year of Patriarch Justinian and of the Defenders of Orthodoxy during Communism.
Romfilatelia introduces into circulation the Solemn events postage stamp issue, on Friday, October 27th, in its own shops network in Bucharest, Bacau, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Timisoara and online on https://romfilatelia.ro/store/
The philatelic issue brings to the attention of the collectors the important messages and events of the Romanian Orthodox Church, celebrating also from the philatelic point of view the 27th of October day when is celebrated the Holy Martyr Demetrius the New, the spiritual patron of Bucharest.
The three stamps of the issue illustrate icons from the patrimony of the Patriarchal Palace and the Patriarchal Cathedral – Icon of the Saint Apostle and Evangelist Luke, Saint Hierarch John Chrysostom icon and icon of Saint Demetrius the New, protector of Bucharest.
The stamp with the face value of Lei 1.80 illustrates the icon of the Patriarchal Cathedral collection depicting the Apostle and Evangelist Luke dressed in a mantle, holding the gospel in his left hand.
The Apostle and Evangelist Luke, a doctor in Thebes, after meeting Jesus, is counted among the 70 Apostles. He is the Patron of the Christian Iconography, the creator of the first icons of the Virgin Mary with Child and the first icon depicting the Apostles Peter and Paul. At the same time, the Apostle and Evangelist Luke is the author of one of the four Gospels of the New Testament and the Acts of the Apostles teachings.
The icon illustrated on the stamp with the face value of Lei 4 exhibited in the Patriarchal Palace, is made in a mosaic and depicts Saint Hierarch John Chrysostom, as it was depicted in the writings of the time: a pleasant face, but weakened by fasting and suffering, drawn cheeks, high forehead, free and prominent, bald head, flat face, bearded, with deep penetrating and agile eyes.
Born around 354, Saint John Chrysostom took up the mantle in 368. His work is one of the richest and most holy of universal literature, containing treaties, homilies, catechesis, biblical comments, speeches, epistles, and cult books, almost entirely preserved. After his famous work, the Mass of Divine Liturgy is officiated today in most of the Orthodox churches.
The stamp with the face value of Lei 16 illustrates the icon of Saint Demetrius the New, on a mosaic which depicts the image of the saint as an old, round, white-bearded man wearing a cloak and holding a cross in his hand.
Saint Demetrius the New was born in the village of Basarabi (Bulgaria). He was initially a shepherd, and later took up the monk’s coat at a monastery set in a cave not far from his hometown. By taking his life in fasting, prayer and worship, he is worthy of the gift of doing miracles. Three years after his death, people discovered his entire body which shone with the grace of the Holy Spirit, after a flood. Brought to Bucharest on July 13, 1774, by Metropolitan Grigorie II (1760-1787), the relics of Saint Demetrius the New, housed in a wonderful silver casket, have inspired many miracles protecting the city and bringing healings and blessings to the pilgrims who come here with faith.
The Patriarchal Cathedral, situated in the hearth of the monastery of the “Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen”, founded by the voivode Constantin Voda Serban (1654-1658) and his wife, Balasa, a historical monument and landmark of the Romanian Orthodoxy, houses an impressive collection of icons.
The postage stamp issue is completed by a First day cover and as page composition there were used a sheet of 20 and 32 stamps, a minisheet of 5 stamps and a label.
Romfilatelia thanks His Beatitude Daniel, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Archdiocese of Bucharest, the representatives of the Patriarchal Cathedral and the Patriarchal Palace, and the Lumina newspaper for the documentary and photographic support given to this postage stamp issue.
For further information, please contact the Public Relation Office:
Tel: 021 / 337 24 42
anamaria.anton@romfilatelia.ro
