African metropolitan urges faithful to follow St. John Jacob’s example at Romanian seminary feast

“The saints gather us together today. We have come to celebrate a saint—St. John Jacob—who was also a man, yet his eyes were always fixed on God,” Metropolitan Chariton of Kananga of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa said on Wednesday during the patronal feast of the Theological Seminary at Neamț Monastery.

His Eminence celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with Bishop Macarie of Northern Europe.

Seminary students, faculty members, and faithful from across Romania and abroad participated in the service.

“Let us not be afraid” The Metropolitan of Kananga emphasised that the saints gather believers around Christ and call them to live close to God by overcoming fear.

“St. John Jacob cast away fear, and God drew near to him. That is why we celebrate him today: to encourage us to become saints ourselves.”

Metropolitan Chariton urged the faithful to take the saints as their model.

“If we celebrate them without allowing their example to move us, then we lose everything. Let us read the saint’s life, find ourselves in it, do what he did, and tell ourselves that we, too, must become like him.”

At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Macarie spoke about…