Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian archbishop meets UK ambassador to discuss cultural and spiritual ties

On Tuesday, His Eminence Hon Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Târgoviște and Patriarchal Exarch, received at the diocesan residence the visit of His Excellency Giles Portman, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Romania. The meeting provided the opportunity for a cordial dialogue on the spiritual, cultural and historical links between…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Digital Matericon: Women Saints of February (I)

This February instalment of Digital Matericon: Women Saints of February is published in the context of the decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church to proclaim 2026 as the Commemorative Year of the Holy Women in the life and calendar of the Church. The series seeks to bring before contemporary readers the…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Benedict sets out seven pillars for young people’s spiritual formation

His Grace Bishop Benedict of Sălaj proposed seven key pillars for building a spiritually robust personality, drawing on the Gospel reading at the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The feast coincides with International Orthodox Youth Day. Reflecting on the verse “to present Him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22), the bishop underlined that “young…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Interview – Romanian Orthodox priest warns digital culture is reshaping children’s inner lives

In a fast-paced and overburdened world, the inner formation of children and adolescents has become one of the most difficult – and at the same time most essential – responsibilities of parents, educators and society as a whole. In an interview with Alexandra Nadane hosted by the Basilica News Agency, Father Liviu Vidican-Manci discussed the…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox youths are the Church’s living present, not only its future, says UK’s Romanian Archbishop

“Young people are not only the future of the Church; they are its living present,” said His Eminence Atanasie, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in his message for International Orthodox Youth Day. The Archbishop expressed his gratitude to Orthodox youth, especially those living outside their home countries. Young people in the…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian religion teacher: Young people’s real crisis is not AI, but the loss of meaning and love

A religious education teacher told Basilica.ro that the real problem facing young people today is not artificial intelligence. He stressed that “their deepest thirst is for meaning and for love – and these can only be answered in the presence of another human soul, one that is healthy and responsible.” Denis Vlad has been teaching…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Archbishop Atanasie elevates abbot of Scotland’s only Orthodox male monastery during pastoral visit

Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland elevated Father Seraphim Aldea, abbot of the Monastery of the “Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints of the Isle of Iona,” to the rank of archimandrite. The monastery is the only Orthodox monastic brotherhood in Scotland. Between January 28 and January 30, Archbishop Atanasie…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop of Gaborone and Botswana tells faithful in Iași Church calls believers to repentance born of humility

Bishop Mark of Gaborone and Botswana (Patriarchate of Alexandria) said on Sunday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași that the beginning of the Triodion period is a call to authentic repentance, stressing that “the Church calls us to repentance born of humility.” He warned that a true encounter with God does not come through displaying…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel says God prefers a humble sinner to an arrogant righteous man, at start of Orthodox Triodion season

Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel said on Sunday that, in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the decisive criterion before God is not outward correctness, but humility of heart, stressing that “God prefers a humble sinner to an arrogant righteous man.” The Patriarch explained the meaning of the Gospel reading for the 33rd…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Archbishop in UK calls Triodion season a “school of repentance and humility”

In a pastoral message issued at the beginning of the Triodion period, Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said that this liturgical season is “a true school of repentance and humility, a school of prayer, and also a school of spiritual asceticism, which reopens for us the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven.”…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

UN marks first week of February as World Interfaith Harmony Week

The first week of February (1–7 February) is observed annually by the United Nations as World Interfaith Harmony Week. The initiative was proposed at the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2010 by King Abdullah II of Jordan and was adopted unanimously on 20 October 2010. The initiative is rooted in the 2007 A Common…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu