Aurelian Iftimiu

The Week in Pictures: March 14 – 20, 2022

The second week of Lent brings to the fore the hopeful portraits of Orthodox children. We invite you to view our weekly selection of pictures of March 14-20, 2022. Last week’s most liked Instagram post:   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Basilica.ro (@basilica.ro) Follow us on Twitter: @BasilicaPhotos

Mar 23, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

In pictures: Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas marked in Thessaloniki

The Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas was celebrated with great pomp in Thessaloniki, where he pastored as archbishop for twelve years (1347-1359). Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the city’s Metropolitan Cathedral, followed by a procession on the streets of Thessaloniki with the honourable relics of St. Gregory. The reliquary was carried…

Mar 22, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

ACT Alliance, WCC delegation meets with Bishop of Maramureș with a focus on refugee crisis

His Grace Bishop Justin of Maramureș and Sătmar welcomed a delegation from ACT Alliance and the World Council of Churches at the diocesan centre in Baia Mare last week. The delegation visited Hungary, Ukraine and Romania on 14-18 March, focusing on humanitarian needs and church response. The Diocese of Maramureș and Sătmar is one of…

Mar 22, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Preaching beauty and the longing after God: More Romanian monasteries open Instagram accounts

Monastic settlements, secluded places where discretion and tranquillity prevail, also have substantial photographic potential. As a result, more and more Romanian monasteries and hermitages have chosen to be present on Instagram, a social network dedicated to multimedia content. Although monks do not need a virtual identity, by managing these accounts of the monasteries they belong…

Mar 22, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Macedo-Romanian martyrs in the Balkans to be commemorated in Bucharest and Albania

The Day of the Macedo-Romanian Martyrs in the Balkans will be marked with memorial services in Bucharest and Korçë, Albania, on March 23. In Bucharest, a memorial service will be held at Mavrogheni Church at 10.00 a.m. The Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society organised the commemoration. At the Church of Saint Saviour in Korçë, the service will…

Mar 18, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Prayers for peace recommended by Patriarch Daniel: full text

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has recommended special petitions and prayers for peace that can be included in church services and private prayer. The texts have been proposed by the Liturgical Books Department of the Publishing House of the Romanian Patriarchate. They will be submitted to the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church for approval.…

Mar 18, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

The Week in Pictures: March 7 – 13, 2022

We invite you to view a selection of photos from around the world taken during the first week of Lent. Last week’s most-liked Instagram post:   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Basilica News Agency (@basilica.ro) Do you want to be featured in our weekly selection of photos? We would gladly…

Mar 16, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Cluj Metropolitan remembers anti-communist political prisoners at Gherla Memorial

On the feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, the day the former anti-communist political prisoners in Romania are commemorated, Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj prayed for their souls at the monastic settlement at Gherla Memorial. The memorial service for the anti-communist political prisoners was held on Cărămidăriei Hill, near the anonymous cemetery with common…

Mar 15, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste honoured at Bucharest Monastery: “Martyrdom means love and its perpetuation”

The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste were honoured at Bucharest’s St Anthimos Monastery, where particles of their relics, donated by Patriarch Nicodemus of Jerusalem 139 years ago, are displayed for veneration. The festal Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was celebrated by the monastery’s abbot Protosyncellus Vicențiu Oboroceanu. During his sermon, the abbot referred to the…

Mar 15, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Day of anti-communist political prisoners; military, religious ceremony at ‘Wings’ monument in Bucharest

A military and religious ceremony was organized, last week on the Day of anti-communist political prisoners in the 1944-1989 period, at the monument called “Wings” (Aripi) in Bucharest’s Free Press Square.  The event, organized by the State Secretariat for recognizing the merits of fighters against the communist regime installed in Romania between 1945-1989, started with…

Mar 15, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Humanitarian aid for Ukraine war victims provided by the Romanian Orthodox Church

Against the dramatic background of the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the humanitarian catastrophe it has caused, the Romanian Orthodox Church has been mobilized since the early days of this conflict unleashed by Russia against an independent and sovereign country, providing considerable aid to Ukrainian refugees who arrived on the territory of Romania, in…

Mar 14, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu