Romanian Orthodox Hierarchs Propose Five Women for Canonization

Mama Blondina Gobjilă. Photo: ortodoxinfo.ro

IAȘI — Hierarchs from two Romanian Orthodox metropolises have proposed five women for canonization, spotlighting the Church’s ongoing recognition of female holiness ahead of the 2026 Commemorative Year of Holy Women.

Meeting in Iași on Thursday, the Synods of the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina and the Metropolis of Bessarabia endorsed four ascetic nuns and one modern confessor: Schemanuns Maura of Mount Ceahlau, Nazaria, Olimpiada, and Elisabeta (Safta) Brâncoveanu – renowned figures of Romanian Orthodox monasticism – and Blondina Gobjilă, also known as Mama Blondina, a teacher and spiritual guide who endured 15 years of Siberian exile during the communist regime.

According to OrthoChristian.com, Schemanun Maura was a hesychast hermit in the 17th-18th centuries; Schemanun Nazaria was the first abbess of Varatee Monastery and disciple of St. Basil of Poiana Marului, St. Paisus Velichovsky of Neamt, and St. Joseph of Varatee; Schemanun Olimpiada was the founder and benefactor of Varatec Monastery and disciple of St. Paisus Velichovsky of Neamt, St. Joseph of Varatec, and the aforementioned Venerable Nazaria; and Schemanun Elisabeta was also a resident of the Varatec Monastery.

The canonization proposals will be submitted to the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church for final approval.

Previously, UOJ reported on the canonization of several saints in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

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