Message of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel06-06-2021
Parents and Children's Sunday - Opportunity to Homage and Support the Christian Family
Christ is risen!
Approved by decision no. 629/12 March 2009 of the Holy Synod of our Church, Parents and Children’s Sunday, the first Sunday after June 1st - International Children's Day, is an opportunity to reaffirm the main role of the family in raising and educating children for life.
The family is the crown of God's creation and the environment blessed by Him in which the child begins to understand the mystery of God's paternal love for all people. The Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate, blessed the family at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, making "the beginning of His miracles" (cf. John 2: 2-11), helping suffering parents (cf. Mark 5: 22-43; Luke 7: 11-17), blessed the children (cf. Luke 18:16) and revealed to men the love of the Father in heaven for the whole world (cf. John 3:16).
The family is the "home church", as it was called by Saint John Chrysostom, in which conjugal, paternal, filial and fraternal love is cultivated. With the help of the parents, the child begins to feel God's love for him and to cultivate love for those around him. Children's love for their parents is especially evident in their communication with them. The Lord Jesus Christ was a child, growing in obedience to God the Father in heaven, to His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to the Right Joseph, His protector. The Holy Gospel says that "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52).
The character of the children is formed mainly by the love of the parents towards them and by the way of life of the parents. That is why parents are called to live the true faith, to cultivate love in the family, freedom and dignity of the human person, created in the image of God. In this sense, Saint John Chrysostom said: “Teach your child not to value money, nor worldly glory, nor only life here. If he has such thoughts, he will be wise.”
Children born in the family and baptized by the Church in the name of the Holy Trinity can become citizens of the eternal heavenly Kingdom, if in their earthly life they have cultivated the spiritual gifts received at Holy Baptism, as the families who gave the Church several saints.
In recent decades, in the context of many challenges to the Christian family, the Church has intensified its activities to strengthen it. In the Romanian Patriarchate, several years were dedicated to family and education. For example: 2011 - The Homage Year of the Sacraments of Baptism and Wedding; 2016 - The Homage Year of the religious education of the Orthodox Christian youth; 2020 - The Homage Year of pastoral care for parents and children. The year 2021 is especially dedicated to the pastoral care of Romanians abroad, parents and children often among foreigners. In this context, between December 21, 2020 - August 22, 2021, in the Romanian Patriarchate takes place the National Catechetical Contest - Church – the family for Romanian across the world, which addresses children from parish catechetical groups in Romania and in the diaspora, enrolled in the National Catechetical Program - Christ shared to children. The purpose of the contest is to create spiritual connections between the catechetical groups in Romania and those abroad. The participating catechesis groups realized and implemented mini-projects with a cultural and philanthropic character, addressed mainly to the family.
The current pandemic has directly affected families in the country and the diaspora, as well as the education of children. Recent studies highlight the usefulness and limitations of online education: stress, mental fatigue, depression, loss of motivation, difficulty in thinking, concentrating and making decisions. A thorough education for life includes direct experiences, lived within a concrete community, starting from the family and continuing in school, in the life of the Church and society.
In the context of the increasing secularization of today's society, it is necessary to reaffirm the main role of the family in raising and educating children for life, as well as the spiritual and material support of disadvantaged families and families with many children. At the same time, in order to respond to the deep spiritual needs of the generations of children and young people in today's society, it is very necessary the cooperation between the Church, Family and School, in order to cultivate the specific vocations of children and young people.
We address to Romanian parents and children everywhere a precious paternal message, as well as the urge to preserve and cultivate the Orthodox Christian faith, together with the values of Romanian spirituality in the family, church and society, for the joy of all children and parents!
With special appreciation and blessing,
† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church