 It's been a month, but I've finally succumbed to the temptation to post pictures of myself with the man who is now His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. They were taken in 2001 when I was travelling through Romania, together with my sister Sarah, as guests of Archimandrite Justin Marchis and the wonderful monastic church of Stavropoleos in Bucharest. During the visit we attended a pilgrimage at Secu Monastery in northern Moldavia on its patronal feast ("hram"), the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner on August 29. We were among thousands of pilgrims, many of whom came hundreds of miles and some of which walked or rode on carts drawn by horses.
I can only claim a very brief exchange of pleasantries with the then Metropolitan of Moldavia who led the pilgrimage and served the main Divine Liturgy. I was delighted to attend the luncheon following the Liturgy at which the then Metropolitan led the conversation. He remember him as a delightful and charismatic prelate with plenty of good things to say about the need for ecumenical understanding between Catholics and Orthodox.
Anyway, enjoy the pictures. I have plenty of other photos from this trip, which I am happy to post if people seem interested!
