The community from Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Chicago had the great joy of hosting the relics of the Saint Hierarch Nicholas and of the Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs on September 26-27, 2022. The holy relics are being taken on a pilgrimage throughout the U.S. by Father Emil Nedelea Cărămizaru, the rector of the New St. George Church in Bucharest, the church where the holy relics usually reside.
Monday evening, September 26, the holy relics were welcomed by H.E. Metropolitan Nicolae and the Cathedral clergy just a short time after they arrived on American soil. The Akathist to St. Nicholas was read, after which H.E. Nicolae offered a word of welcome to Father Emil and asked him to speak about the history of how the relics (the hand of St. Nicholas) were brought to the New St. George Church. Father Emil spoke about the reverence that Prince Michael the Brave had for Saint Nicholas, who in extraordinarily difficult circumstances for the future prince, when he was an important official in Craiova, after the saint saved his life through a great miracle. So, when he became Prince, he entrusted a priest with a very important spiritual mission: to intercede before the civil leadership in Bari in hopes of bringing the relics of Saint Nicholas to Bucharest, which was indeed fulfilled. The prince entrusted the invaluable treasure to Metropolitan Euthymius of Wallachia (1594-1602) and requested that for the saint’s hand he make a gold cover adorned with precious stones. Therefore, according to the wishes of the prince, the holy relics were placed in a beautiful reliquary, decorated with filigree, as the inscription on the reliquary says. Father Emil continued the story by describing how the holy treasure was not taken to the Mihai Vodă church in Bucharest, which was founded by Prince Michael, but instead to the New St. George church. The faithful who were present were then able to venerate the two reliquaries.
On Tuesday, September 27, the commemoration of the Holy Hieromartyr Antim the Iberian, H.E. Metropolitan Nicolae together with the Cathedral clergy and Father Emil Cărămizaru served the Divine Liturgy in the Metropolitan Cathedral. H.E. Nicolae preached on the publishing activity of the Holy Metropolitan Antim, who was foundational in defining the Romanian language in the literary and liturgical spheres. Father Emil spoke about the connection between St. Antim and the holy voivode Constantin Brâncoveanu, especially highlighting the latter’s martyrdom together with his four sons and his counsellor Ianache. With the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, Father Emil offered H.E. Metropolitan Nicolae pieces of the relics of the Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs for the parish dedicated to these saints in Fairfield, CT, together with the official donation paper and the attestation document of the holy relics. H.E. Nicolae thanked Patriarch Daniel and Father Emil for the precious gift on behalf of the parish.
The liturgical schedule made possible by the presence of the holy relics of St. Nicholas and the Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs was brought to a close on Tuesday evening with the reading of the Akathist to the Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs and the veneration of their relics. The pilgrimage will continue on the West Coast of the U.S., in accordance with the schedule published on the website of the Metropolia: www.mitropolia.us.