Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanians make up the largest group of foreign residents in Spain

Slightly over 5.8 million foreigners resided in Spain at the end of 2020, and most of them were Romanians – over 1.07 million, according to official data released by the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, quoted by G4media.ro. These official figures refer to Romanian citizens with a declared residence in Spain, but, according…

Apr 24, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Priest killed for serving in Romanian to be honoured with bust in Albania

A bust of Father Haralambie Balamace will be unveiled next month in Korçë, Albania, where the priest was martyred. The father was killed on Easter night in 1914 because he officiated the service in Romanian. A similar end had about 1,000 Romanians from the Balkans, teachers, professors, priests, and ordinary students because they defended the…

Apr 21, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

New book explores continuity of dialogue between theology, philosophy and science in Romania

Basilica Publishing House of the Romanian Patriarchate included a valuable collection of studies written by Romanian scholars in English on the relationship between theology, philosophy and science. The new book entitled “The Relationship between Theology, Philosophy, and Science: an Eastern Christian Perspective” includes articles signed by prof. Adrian Lemeni, Archdeacon Sorin Mihalache, Costea Munteanu, Dan…

Apr 21, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: Christ overturns the logic of worldly thinking / Honour derives not from personal ambition

Patriarch Daniel recalled on Sunday the lesson that Christ taught His disciples when He received the request of the apostles James and John to hold worldly positions and pointed out that the Saviour had overturned the selfish logic of worldly thinking; a type of logic encountered even today in contemporary society. Christ showed them that…

Apr 20, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

The fasting season involves a spiritual struggle, Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam says

In his sermon delivered last Friday at the Patriarchal Cathedral, the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploieşti stressed that “the fasting season involves a spiritual struggle with ourselves, against the temptations that come from around us and, especially, against the spirits of evil.” His Grace said that the Mother of God comes to the aid…

Apr 20, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești visits Rahova, Jilava prisons

On April 15-16, the patriarchal auxiliary bishop Varlaam of Ploiești visited Rahova and Jilava Prisons where he officiated the akathist hymn to the Theotokos and urged the inmates to intensify prayer and spiritual readings. “The employees present at the activities and the persons deprived of liberty received from His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, prayer cards and…

Apr 19, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

The Week in Pictures: April 4 -11, 2021

The fourth week of Lent has passed and we are easily approaching the great feast of Christendom. We present to you our selection of pictures from April 4 to 11, 2021. 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…

Apr 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox Priest rescues two people from fire in Constanța

An Orthodox priest rescued two people from a building engulfed in flames in Constanţa. Assisted by two off-duty firefighters, father Gică Silitră took a 60-year-old woman in his arms and evacuated a 65-year-old man. The two people are parishioners of the church pastored by Fr Silitră, which is in the vicinity of the buildings on…

Apr 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

The pandemic is a significant examination for us all, Transylvania Metropolitan says

“This pandemic is a significant examination for all of us, in which the fear of death and the legal rigours of isolation must be overcome by trusting in God’s help,” His Eminence Metropolitan Laurenţiu of Transylvania said in an interview for a local publication. “Through this examination,” the Metropolitan explained, “we realized once again how…

Apr 15, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

15 churches in Bacau included in new Ecumenical Cultural Route

The Ecumenical Tourist Cultural Route in Bacău County includes the most beautiful places of worship, mostly Orthodox, but also Catholic. The Route was set up at the initiative of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, a member of a European agreement on cultural routes certified by the Council of Europe. The route is 387…

Apr 13, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel bestows awards to Voroneţ Monastery’s nuns for missionary activities

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel welcomed the abbess of Voroneţ Monastery at his patriarchal residence on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Abbess Gabriela Platon came to Bucharest, accompanied by other sisters, to visit the exhibition dedicated to Voroneţ Monastery at the Romanian Academy’s Library. On this occasion, the Patriarch of Romania bestowed the diploma and medal of…

Apr 13, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu