Aurelian Iftimiu

“It’s our duty to bring them home”: Draft law on repatriation of relics of Transylvanian Confessors

On February 9, 2021, eleven deputies submitted a draft law on the repatriation of the Holy Transylvanian Confessors’ relics. The Saints died in the Kufstein prison in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the 18th century, when the Austrian authorities imposed the union between the Orthodox believers in Transylvania with the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Bessarion…

Feb 17, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Basilica Photos: Bucharest churches during winter – Radu Vodă Monastery

Although snow has become rarer this winter, we’ve managed to catch a glimpse of Radu Voda Monastery in Bucharest coated in the purest snowy garment. Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Raluca Ene Follow us on Twitter: @BasilicaPhotos

Feb 17, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Dialogue between a deafblind girl and a priest: Ask Christ to help me for at least five minutes

Deafblindness is a severe multisensory deficiency that often generates significant communication difficulties, impairs access to information, orientation and mobility. A dialogue between Father Mirel Ilie, the coordinator of the hearing-impaired community in Bucharest, and a little girl suffering from this condition highlights how complex and sensitive the mission of the priest is: “We were at…

Feb 17, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Physicist and Priest Iosif Bena: Conspiracies make us lazy and proud. Christians take responsibility

A Romanian priest from Paris, who is also an elite physicist, spoke in an interview with Press One about conspiracy, because, “when I see someone say something stupid, I can’t resist showing them that they’re wrong” but also for the fact that this hurts his congregation. “Conspiracy self-justifies laziness and lack of initiative. This way…

Feb 17, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel meets with President Klaus Iohannis

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church met with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. The meeting took place around 13:00 p.m. at the Patriarchal Residence. No public details were provided about the talks. “It was a normal visit at the beginning of the year, an official meeting…

Feb 17, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

A priest’s mission among deaf people: “I can be their voice in the face of daily problems”

People with hearing and speech impairments in Bucharest celebrated last Friday their spiritual protector, Saint Meletios, the archbishop of Antioch, who explained by signs the Holy Trinity’s mystery when his mouth was covered so that he would not speak. The festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the priest of the deaf community in Bucharest, Fr.…

Feb 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Archbishop of Roman and Bacau hopes his predecessor Bishop Melchisedec Ştefănescu will soon be canonized

Archbishop Ioachim of Roman and Bacau expressed his hope that the canonization proposal of Bishop Melchisedec Ştefănescu, a former bishop of Roman, will be soon approved by the Holy Synod. His Eminence Archbishop Ioachim officiated a memorial service at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of Saint Parascheva in Roman on Bishop Melchisedec’s 198th birthday anniversary on Monday,…

Feb 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

View the map: Where to find Romanian Orthodox parishes in Italy

The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy provides an interactive map with contact details for each parish in its jurisdiction. The map is useful for Romanians, but not only, who need information about the Romanian communities or need support to navigate a region. Parishes operate in places rented or shared with Catholic parishes on the Peninsula.…

Feb 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Fr. Ioan Pădurariu: As a hospital chaplain you are like a firefighter on duty

Celebrating his first anniversary as chaplain at St Spyridon’s Hospital in Iasi, Father Ioan Pădurariu spoke about his mission during the time of a pandemic, stressing that a hospital chaplain is “a kind of a firefighter on duty.” “In the sense that he must be present at any time in the hospital, in the morning,…

Feb 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Man sanctifies the place: How Romanians transformed a warehouse into a church in Italy

An Orthodox service was served for the first time in the Romanian Church in Montichiari, Italy, on Tuesday evening, February 9. Dean Rev. Gelu Porumb, the parish priest Gabriel Pandrea and several other clerics officiated the Lesser Sanctification of Waters and the Mystery of Unction, the Romanian Diocese of Italy reports. The story of the…

Feb 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania marks International Greek Language Day with Vasilopita cutting, online event

The celebration of the International Greek Language Day began in Romania three years ago. The legislative initiative belonged to Dragos Gabriel Zisopol, chairman of the Hellenic Union in Romania. February 9 has been selected as the day to celebrate the Greek language because it coincides with the Commemoration Day of Greece’s “national poet” Dionysios Solomos.…

Feb 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu