On Tuesday, 3 October 2017, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, welcomed at his patriarchal residence Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of the Republic of Croatia, who is currently paying an official visit to Romania.
Patriarch Daniel joyfully received the visit of Her Excellency and expressed his hope that it will contribute to strengthening the good ties between Romania and Croatia, two EU member states that have experienced a similar history under the communist regime in the second half of the 20th century.
Furthermore, the Patriarch of Romania thanked the President for her support in the offering of the St John the Baptist Chapel in Zagreb by the Roman-Catholic Church. His Beatitude recalled that on this year’s Feast of the Resurrection, Romanian Orthodox faithful living in the Croatian capital had the joy to attend the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Romanian language.
Her Excellency Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović thanked for the reception and appreciated the good, traditional ties between Romania and Croatia, also pointing to the importance of the mission the Churches in the two countries have in preserving and promoting Christian values in the present European society. In this context, the President conveyed to the Romanian Patriarch cordial greetings on behalf of His Eminence Cardinal Josip Bozanić, Roman-Catholic Archbishop of Zagreb.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel referred to various aspects of the current mission of the Romanian Orthodox Church and stressed that one of its current priorities is to intensify the social work and to identify appropriate pastoral, missionary solutions in the new European Context, especially in the face of the challenges posed by the phenomenon of migration.
His Beatitude noted that spiritual and cultural exchanges between the Romanian and Croatian peoples can be intensified and developed by joint actions so that they know each other better.
In this regard, Romanian Orthodox faithful can visit various historical and holy places in Croatia through the Basilica Travel Agency of the Romanian Patriarchate, and at the same time, Croatian pilgrims are able to visit the monasteries and churches in Romania.
During the meeting, Patriarch Daniel pointed to the fruitful dialogue within the Consultative Council of Religious Denominations in Romania, resulting in adopting common points of view and a practical cooperation in the face of the current challenges in the Romanian society, especially regarding the effects of secularization.
Department for External Church Relations
Photos by Robert Nicolae / Basilica.ro
