Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to visit Bulgaria for feast of St John of Rila

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will visit Bulgaria on 19 October for the feast of St John of Rila. The announcement was made on Friday during the Service of Supplication to the Mother of God held at the Church of St John of Rila of the Bulgarian community in Constantinople. The visit will take…

Aug 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox Diocese urges faithful to declare Romanian identity in Australia’s 2026 Census

The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand is encouraging Romanians living in Australia to declare both their Romanian ethnicity and their Orthodox Christian faith in the 2026 Australian Census. According to a press release issued by the Diocese, the census data helps provide an accurate picture of the Romanian and Orthodox communities in…

Aug 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian priest’s wife in Germany says diaspora ministry requires balancing parish mission and family life

Mihaela-Iuliana Păun is the wife of Fr. Ionuț Păun, the parish priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church dedicated to St. Parascheva and the Holy Martyrs Kilian, Coloman, and Totnan in Bamberg, Germany. She has lived there for almost seventeen years together with her husband and their four children. She teaches German in adult education, and…

Aug 11, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Only after you believe God can help you can you begin the journey of renewal, Bishop Iachint says

“Only after you believe that God can help you can you take the first step on the path of renewal and salvation,” His Grace Iachint of the Pacific, Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, said on Sunday at St Mary Romanian Orthodox Parish in Wellington, New Zealand. Reflecting on…

Aug 11, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Assistant Bishop Timotei: Seek the light through constant spiritual struggle against darkness

“Let us seek the light through a constant struggle against darkness,” His Grace Timotei of Prahova, Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, urged the faithful on Sunday at the Patriarchal Cathedral. Reflecting on the Gospel reading for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, the bishop explained that the power of evil is limited and that…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox mobile soup kitchen serves more than 680 vulnerable people

The Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina’s “Five Loaves and Two Fish – Food for All” project provides hot meals and support to vulnerable people. Launched in May in Iași, the mobile social kitchen has so far reached more than 680 beneficiaries. According to the organisers, the project has grown steadily with each edition. While about…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox bishop likens climbing the mountain to the Christian spiritual journey

“The mountain is also an image of the spiritual ascent. No one reaches the mountain’s summit without effort,” Assistant Bishop Nectarie of Bogdania said last Thursday at the patronal feast of Ceahlău Monastery, situated at an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900 feet). Pilgrims from across Romania attended the celebration, some walking hundreds of kilometres to…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Patriarch Daniel: Strong faith, prayer and fasting drive out demons

“Strong faith, persistent prayer, and complete fasting drive out demons,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church said on Sunday at the historic St George Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest. The Romanian Patriarch explained that the disciples’ inability to heal the demon-possessed boy described in the Gospel was due to the…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

425 years after his death, Michael the Brave remains symbol of Romanian unity

Sunday marked 425 years since the death of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), the first ruler to unite Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia under a single leadership. At the end of the 16th century, Michael the Brave became Prince of Wallachia, beginning his reign in 1593. Amid the conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bucharest Declaration calls for greater international cooperation to protect Christian heritage

Participants in the World Congress of Syriac Studies and the International Conference on Arab Christian Studies adopted the “Bucharest Declaration” on Friday, recognising Romania’s contribution to the development of cultural diplomacy. According to a press release issued by the Levant Institute for Advanced Studies in the Culture of Peace, the declaration was adopted in the…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian ambassador visits Diocese of Bălți, reaffirms support for Romanian communities in Republic of Moldova

Romania’s Ambassador to Chișinău, Cristian-Leon Țurcanu, met on Wednesday with Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia during an official visit to the Diocese of Bălți. During their meeting, the two reaffirmed their partnership in support of Romanian communities in the Republic of Moldova. The ambassador’s visit continued the institutional dialogue initiated in July at the Metropolitan Residence…

Aug 7, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu