The Holy Week – time for a meaningful trip to the monasteries in Neamţ

We have entered the Great Week when we celebrate the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time when Christians are more inclined towards faith, praying, fasting and participating in the services of the Orthodox Church. It is also a time when people turn to those who are in need and suffering and try to give them a helping hand. Last but not least, people look retrospectively of their lives and spend these holy days aspiring to the great and glorious.

It is perhaps the most suitable time of year to spend a few days at the monasteries in Neamţ County, where the picturesque landscapes blend harmoniously with spirituality, thus providing the visitors with the perfect mood for embarking on a spiritual journey through profound prayer and meditation on the mystery of the Lord’s Redemptive Mission.

In the early days of the Holy Week, the following liturgical text is read by priests in the Holy Church: “Thy pantry is full, and I have no garment to enter in. Illuminate the coat of my soul, dear Lord, Thou who art the bringer of Light and Love and make me worthy of Thy goodness!”

On Holy Monday, the Church commemorates the blessed Patriarch Joseph, who’s beauty was shining both inside and out and whose brothers sold in Egypt as a slave. By the example of his suffering, Patriarch Joseph is a forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Monday also reminds us of the allegory of the unfruitful fig tree – an encouragement for all Christians to do the will of the Lord as long as they shall live.

The Holy Tuesday speaks about the parable of the Ten Virgins, which reminds us to be mindful of ourselves and our debts and to be prepared, every day of our life, to welcome the heavenly Kingdom of Christ, with a loving heart and with good deeds.

On Great Wednesday, the believers commemorate several anointings of Jesus Christ, which hold great significance. The Holy Church specifically mentions the anointing with myrh done by a sinful woman, in honor to Lord Jesus, who asked the Savior for forgiveness of her sins. Saint John Chrysostom made a connection between Judas who sold the Savior and the woman who’s sins were loosed by Christ.

The Great Thursday reminds of four important moments before the Passions of Christ: the washing of Chris’s Feet, The Last Supper, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the selling of the Savior by Judas the Iscariot.

On Holy Friday, the fearsome sufferings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are celebrated. It is also the day in which the believers remember the saving confession made on the cross by the robber who was crucified with Him.

On Holy Saturday, the Church celebrates the divine and fleshly burial of our Savior Jesus Christ and also His descent into hell. It is the day in which the Savior showed his Holy Presence everywhere: His body in the grave, Him delivering the souls from the chains of hell, Him in Heaven welcoming the redeemed soul of the robber.

At the end of this symbolic journey to salvation, we naturally ask ourselves this question: do we truly worship the Holy Resurrection? If so, then we must find the strength, in ourselves, to call those who hate us brothers, to forgive those who wronged us and to be gracious and kind to all men. Then we can live the real happiness because we understand the true meaning of the Resurrection, we retrieve the lost Light and we become more aware of the everlasting Love of our Lord, who is truly Risen.

During this period, and especially the night before His Holy Resurrection, hundreds of believers from all over the country come to pilgrimage to the most beautiful monasteries in Neamţ County such as: Văratec, Agapia, Sihla, Sihastria, Secu, Neamţ, Bistriţa, Pângraţi, Horaiţa, Durău , Petru Vodă, but also to the renowned hermitages in Neamţ: Agapia Veche, Icona Nouă, Daniil Sihastru, Paisius of Neamţ, Horăicioara, Pocrov, as well as to other holy places, because nowhere in our country are there so many oases of spirituality like in Neamţ County.