Digital Matericon: Women Saints of January (I)
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has declared the year 2026 the Commemorative Year of the Holy Women in the Church calendar. Accordingly, we invite you to discover each month the faces of…
All news
The Week in Pictures: December 29, 2025 – January 4, 2026
The beginning of the new year was marked throughout the Orthodox world by moments of prayer, communion, and hope. Our selection of images captures the events and liturgical services that brought light and blessing during…
Patriarch Daniel proclaims Solemn and Commemorative Year 2026, highlights Church’s role in strengthening the Christian family
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel offered a New Year’s message on January 1, following the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, during a solemn ceremony marking the proclamation of 2026 as the Solemn Year…
Metropolitan Iosif offers condolences, prays for Swiss fire victims in hospitals
Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe on Friday conveyed condolences to the families of victims of the deadly fire at the Crans-Montana mountain resort in Switzerland, which broke out on New Year’s…
76 years since discovery of relics of Saint Ephraim the New in Greece
Seventy-six years have passed since the discovery of the holy relics of Saint Ephraim the New at the monastery where he was martyred, near the town of Nea Makri, Greece. In 1945, the nun Makaria…
Time is a life between ‘Passing’ and ‘Coming’: Banat Metropolitan reflects on youth in God’s Kingdom
Metropolitan Ioan of Banat told worshippers gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Timisoara on New Year’s Eve that time is like a life lived between two verbs: “to pass” — which denotes biological ageing and…
Bishop Ioan Casian hails man–woman complementarity as God-given path to human fulfilment
In his New Year message, Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada wrote about the idea of renewal and about the family as a place of spiritual and communal renewal. His message opens with a quotation from…
Bishop Siluan urges Romanians in Italy to cherish families as small churches at start of 2026
At the start of the new year 2026, Bishop Siluan of Italy delivered a pastoral message to Romanians living in Italy, urging them to value the family as “a small church” and to honour its…
Patriarch Daniel reflects on time and eternity in thought of St Dumitru Stăniloae at Year’s Turn
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel delivered a meditation at the Patriarchal Cathedral on New Year’s Eve, focusing on the relationship between time and eternity in the theological thought of Saint Dumitru Stăniloae. The first major teaching,…
UK’s Romanian Orthodox Archbishop Atanasie calls for spiritual vigilance at start of New Year
“This passage between years is also a time of watchfulness. We are not called to judge our lives with harsh severity—which leads to discouragement—but to place them before God with sincerity,” noted Archbishop Atanasie of…
Patriarch Daniel offers condolences after deadly Swiss ski resort fire
Following the devastating fire at the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland on January 1, which claimed dozens of lives and left many more injured, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued a message of…
Romanian Orthodox Bishop in Canada urges joy and renewed witness at Christmas
In his Christmas pastoral letter, Bishop Ioan Casian of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada has called on the faithful to live the season of the Nativity with joy, hope and renewed commitment. “Let us…
Patriarch Daniel says Christ came to sanctify the world from within in Christmas homily
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord that Christ came into the world to sanctify creation and to teach humanity, from within it, to give thanks to God…
Anti-Christian hate crimes remain high across Europe, rights groups say
European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) and the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) have published a new annual report showing that hate crimes and violence targeting Christians remain at…
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew calls euthanasia a complex moral challenge
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said euthanasia is “one of the most delicate and complex contemporary issues our societies are called to confront,” speaking last week at an international conference held at the Phanar. The conference,…
Romanian Orthodox Bishop in Ireland and Iceland urges inner renewal in first Christmas pastoral letter
Bishop Nectarie of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland underscored the need for inner change and the rediscovery of spiritual purity in the face of contemporary challenges in his first Christmas pastoral letter…
Metropolitan Serafim urges humility over comfort in Christmas message, highlights women’s role in Church and family
In this year’s Christmas pastoral letter, Metropolitan Serafim of Germany invites the faithful to move beyond the material comfort associated with the Nativity feast and to rediscover what he calls “the only new thing under…
Saint Andrew relic brought to Bessarabia as Metropolis dedicates 2026 to Metropolitan Antonie Plămădeală
The Metropolis of Bessarabia has dedicated the year 2026 to Metropolitan Antonie Plămădeală (1926-2005). The announcement was made on Saturday, December 13, at Durlești Monastery, which marked the patronal feast of the Apostle Andrew, according…