Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox priest wearing protective gear goes to COVID-19 patient at Timișoara infectious diseases hospital

At the request of a coronavirus patient, the Orthodox priest, who serves as chaplain at Timisoara’s infectious diseases hospital, put on the protective medical equipment and visited without any hesitation the person right in the hospital ward. Father Dorian Oprisor received the approval of the hospital’s management. ‘At Victor Babes Hospital, we treat not only…

May 18, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

In pictures: Believers meeting for first Sunday Divine Liturgy after national state of emergency

His Grace Bishop Timotei of Prahova presided over the Divine Liturgy at the baldachin next to the Patriarchal Cathedral on Sunday, May 17, 2020. This was the first Sunday Divine Liturgy people were allowed to attend after the end of the national state of emergency instated due to the coronavirus crisis. Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro…

May 18, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox Church’s guidelines for priests and faithful during state of alert

Considering that, from May 15, 2020, the state of emergency and the applicability of the Military Ordinances that limited essential aspects of the public religious life of the faithful cease, following consultation with the Romanian Government, the Romanian Patriarchate sends the following instructions to the cult units of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding the access…

May 15, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel tells nurses they are ‘hands of God’s merciful love’

Patriarch Daniel issued a message for International Nurses Day referring to nurses as ‘the hands of God’s merciful love.’ His Beatitude praised the courage and dedication of all female and male nurses from Romania and abroad, ‘who combine the faith in God with love for their neighbour’ in their activity. ‘International Nurses Day, celebrated this…

May 14, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

We hope that we will meet again shortly at Church services, Patriarch Daniel says

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel Sunday expressed his hope that the faithful will be able to attend the divine services shortly. Especially during this period, ‘when many people suffer spiritually from anxiety and fear,’ church services are ‘a healing from solitude and restlessness.’ ‘In this period, we also suffer because our beloved faithful cannot physically, directly…

May 11, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Prince Charles congratulates Ambulance for Monuments volunteers for winning Europa Nostra Award

Prince Charles congratulated in a video message the Romanian volunteers of the ‘Ambulance for Monuments’ project, who were announced on Thursday as winners of the Europa Nostra/European Heritage Award in the Education, Training and Awareness-raising category, Agerpres reports. The Prince of Wales told the awardees that he is “full of admiration” for what they have…

May 9, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania’s first Metropolitan-Primate remembered as ‘a man who did a lot of good’ on 145th anniversary of repose

Romania’s first Metropolitan-Primate Nifon Rusaila was remembered as ‘a man who did a lot of good,’ during a memorial service held Tuesday at Radu Voda Monastery in Bucharest marking the 145th anniversary of the Metropolitan’s repose. ‘Metropolitan Nifon Rusaila was a man who did a lot of good. He fulfilled this commandment of helping others,’…

May 8, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Spokesperson explains what is behind National Cathedral’s name change on Google Maps

On Saturday, a lot of messages appeared online from the believers saddened to find that, when searching for the name “Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation” on Android mobile devices, the Google Maps application returned the correct location of the site, but with an offensive title: ‘Cathedral of National Stupidity’. The name of “Romanian…

May 6, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Normalization of social life also means to attend church services, considering protective measures – Patriarchate’s Spokesperson

The Romanian Patriarchate’s Spokesperson Vasile Banescu said that the return to a normal social life also implies to allow people ‘to exercise their fundamental right to public religious life, that is, inside the places of worship.’ ‘The Romanian Orthodox Church, like the other religious denominations in Romania, will take natural and rigorously argued steps to…

May 6, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Patriarchate to open Annunciation kindergarten this year

The Annunciation Kindergarten of the Romanian Patriarchate will open its gates this year as part of the programs organized by the Church to reflect the pastoral care to parents and children. Through this initiative, the Romanian Church wanted to highlight the importance of Christian education for contemporary society. The Annunciation Kindergarten will offer before- and…

May 6, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

The Week in Pictures: April 27 – May 3, 2020

Beyond restrictions, life goes on with the hope that things will soon come back to normal and we will be able to glorify God for giving us the strength to overcome this difficult period. Here is our selection of pictures from the Orthodox world during the previous week.  Follow us on Twitter: @BasilicaNews and on…

May 4, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu