Romanian Church Added the "Burning Bush" Icon to the Church Calendar

The Romanian Orthodox Church has included the icon of the Mother of God "Burning Bush" in its liturgical calendar. The hierarchs made the corresponding decision at the Synod session on July 2, 2026. This was reported by Basilica.ro.

September 4 was chosen as the day of the annual veneration of the image. This date coincides with the church commemoration of the holy prophet Moses, whose vision of the burning bush on Mount Sinai served as the basis for the iconographic subject.

The particularly venerated icon is kept at the Monastery of Saint Anthim in Bucharest. In the early 20th century, the image was brought from Russia by monks, and in 1929 the icon passed to the future hieroschemamonk Daniel (Sandu Tudor). Archimandrite Antipa (Burghele) shared the story of Tudor's miraculous salvation in 1941: during an assassination attempt, assailants fired sixteen bullets through the window of his room, but he was unharmed, as several hours earlier he had unexpectedly moved his bed directly beneath the icon.

The iconography of the "Burning Bush" depicts the Virgin Mary at the center of an eight-pointed star surrounded by angels and Old Testament prefigurations of the Mother of God. For centuries, the faithful have venerated this image as protection against fires and natural disasters. In Romania, the icon has also become a symbol of "urban hesychasm" — a movement that calls laypeople and clergy to maintain inner prayer and Christian witness amid the everyday concerns of the modern world.

Hieroschemamonk Daniel Sandu Tudor composed an akathist in honor of the image, expressing humanity's striving toward God. According to the Synod's decision, the new feast has now been officially included in the Romanian menologion.

As the SPJ reported, the Romanian Church will include Saint Gabriel Urgebadze in its calendar.

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