Patriarch of Romania: A person is saved not by regret but by repentance

Patriarch Daniel. Photo: basilica.ro

On March 3, 2025, Patriarch Daniel of Romania reminded the faithful of the significance of Great Lent, emphasizing that this period is a time of spiritual renewal and purification.

“Easter Lent is considered a spiritual spring, the spring of the soul, a spiritual renewal, and therefore it coincides with the calendar spring,” noted the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church on Monday evening during the reading of the first part of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.

His Beatitude stressed that the beginning of Great Lent is associated with liberation from a sinful past through repentance. However, mere regret does not save a person – what matters is a transformation of thoughts, words, and life. True repentance is a constant call for correction and a plea for the forgiveness of sins.

The Patriarch reminded that fasting was established by God as early as in Eden and was the first test for Adam and Eve: “God forbade them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they were not ready. Knowledge came in stages, just as their spiritual growth did.”

He explained that the first test for humanity’s ancestors was choosing between the Creator and His gifts. If they had realized that obedience to God was more important than His gifts, they would have grown spiritually. However, the serpent’s temptation proved stronger, and Adam and Eve fell.

“The desire to be like God is not a sin,” the Patriarch noted, referring to St. Maximus the Confessor. “What is sinful is the aspiration to become like God without Him and against Him, as Lucifer did.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church called for an end to the war in Ukraine and prayers for peace.

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