Orthodox Christians from Serbia and Romania gathered at Malanica Monastery in eastern Serbia on September 13 to celebrate the local proclamation of the canonization of Saint Magdalena of Malanica, a revered figure among Romanian (Vlach) and Serbian communities in the Timok Valley.

The celebrations were attended by Orthodox faithful from both countries as well as six bishops of the Romanian Orthodox Church, according to the Romanian Church's Basilica news service.

The Divine Liturgy was led by Metropolitan Ioan of Banat of the Romanian Orthodox Church. During the service, Bishop Hieronymus read the synodal decree establishing October 15 as Saint Magdalena's annual feast day.

Magdalena was formally canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2025, as one of 16 women recognized as saints that year.

Born in 1895 in Serbia's Timok Valley to a mixed Serbian-Romanian family, Magdalena devoted herself to church life after her husband was killed during the First World War. During the war, when many local parishes were left without priests, she read prayers and sang in the church choir.

She continued supporting Orthodox believers in the years that followed, including during the communist era in Yugoslavia. She became known locally as a wise adviser and a source of spiritual support for the faithful.

Magdalena died on October 15, 1962. The Romanian Orthodox Church regards her life as an example of steadfast faith and says she helped preserve Orthodox traditions through periods of war, political upheaval and communist atheism.

Her veneration holds particular significance for the Romanian (Vlach) and Serbian communities of the Timok Valley. In a message read during the celebrations, Romanian Patriarch Daniel described Magdalena as a “bridge” between the two peoples, saying that she helped maintain mutual understanding between Romanians and Serbs.

“Saint Magdalena preserved the light of the Orthodox faith precisely when opposing forces sought to extinguish it forever,” the patriarch said in his message.

The saint's relics are now venerated by members of both communities. Within the Romanian Orthodox tradition, Magdalena is also regarded as a patron of the Romanians (Vlachs) and Serbs of the Timok Valley.

The celebrations at Malanica Monastery highlighted the saint's role as a shared spiritual figure and underscored the common Orthodox heritage of the two neighboring communities in eastern Serbia.