Source: The Daily Mail Online
- Patriarch Daniel, the leader of Romania’s Orthodox church, was opening the church’s Trinitas Radio and Television studios in Bucharest
- Spokesman said that Daniel, 62, has used the ‘sanctification rod’ before
- Patriarch said he has a sense of humour and was not offended
It is not the usual way to go about performing a blessing and using a paint roller dipped in holy oil to sanctify a TV studio has left a Romanian priest the object of ridicule.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, the leader of Romania’s Orthodox church, used the unorthodox method to bless the newly opened Trinitas Radio and Television, which is owned by his church
The church’s website published pictures of the 62-year-old churchman carrying out what was in all respects a traditional blessing until it was spotted he was using what appeared to be a paint roller.
The pictures soon went viral in the central European country and humorists went to town altering the photo. One popular blogger posted an image showing the Patriarch apparently endorsing a brand of paint.
A church spokesman later told local media that it’s not the first time that Patriarch Daniel had used the ‘sanctification rod’, one of a number of tools of his trade, as it helps anoint rooms with higher walls and ceilings which would otherwise be difficult to reach.
The patriarch himself said: ‘While it may resemble a paint roller, it is not. It is a tool of the church to help reach those places that my arms won’t stretch to.’
He said he was a man ‘with a sense of humour’ and was not offended by the pillorying he has endured in the media.
He added: ‘It might get people talking about faith and maybe move some to come to church more regularly. Then they can see my sanctification rod up close and I can explain to them how God moves in mysterious ways.’
WHO IS PATRIARCH DANIEL?
Born on July 22, 1951 as Dan Ilie Ciobotea he was elected Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church on September 12, 2007, winning 95 out of 161 votes.
He was enthroned 18 days later as Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrogea, Locum tenens of the throne of Caesarea of Cappadocia, Patriarch of Romania.
He is seen as a moderniser within the church and has been at the forefront of developing the media business into a large-scale enterprise. He founded Trinitas Radio in 1996 and Trinitas Television eleven years later.
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