Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania marks 1859 Principalities Union as metropolitan Teofan urges faith and unity for future

His Eminence Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina said on Saturday that the 1859 Union of the Romanian Principalities was made possible with God’s help and through the vision of courageous people. However, he noted that the landmark event was also marked by sadness, because Moldavia was not whole when it united with Wallachia. “Where…

Jan 26, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop urges prayer and action to heal divisions at Christian unity service

“Our world still bears the deep scars of division which, without prayer and without God’s help, lead to an increasingly alarming rise in misunderstanding and a sense of spiritual disconnection,” Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Paisie of Sinaia said on Sunday. The hierarch represented Patriarch Daniel at the final prayer gathering of this year’s Week of Prayer…

Jan 26, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian bishop links family unity to national strength on Principalities Union Day anniversary

“Without united families there can be no strong nation, and without an awareness of national unity there can be no shared future,” Assistant Bishop Teofil of Trotuș said on Saturday. The assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Roman and Bacău led a Te Deum service at the Archdiocesan Cathedral in Roman, marking 167 years since…

Jan 26, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox confessor Aspazia Oțel Petrescu remembered eight years after death

Aspazia Oțel Petrescu died eight years ago, on January 23, 2018. She was among the women who bore witness to Orthodox Christianity during Romania’s communist era. She was born on December 9, 1923, in Cotul Ostriței, in Northern Bukovina. Between 1944 and 1948, she studied at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of Babeș-Bolyai University…

Jan 23, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Drug use rising across EU, Romanian experts and clergy step up prevention efforts

Drug consumption is rising across the European Union, while the growing diversity of substances is making it harder for health authorities to respond effectively, according to a report by the European Union Drugs Agency. In response, anti-drug specialists and clergy are stepping up prevention and awareness programmes in schools, families and local communities, seeking to…

Jan 23, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Signs a member of a faith community may be a victim of human trafficking: Guide

Human trafficking is a scourge affecting tens of thousands of people worldwide, and victims can come from any social background, regardless of age, ethnicity or economic status. In Romania, the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP) reported in its 2024 review that the number of victims rose compared with the past five years. Against…

Jan 22, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Teofan warns “no greater illness” than drifting from true faith at Iasi monastery feast

“There is no greater illness in the Church than drifting away from the true faith,” Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bucovina said on Sunday, during the patronal feast of the Copou Monastery in Iași. The monastic community honoured its patron Saints Athanasius and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandria. “The Church has set before us faces of…

Jan 22, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

London gallery stages first Brâncuși photography show in 20 years, Romanian institute says

The Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in London is hosting a photography exhibition dedicated to Constantin Brâncuși, the first of its kind in the past two decades, the Romanian Cultural Institute in London announced. The exhibition brings together photographs taken over three decades by the sculptor from Gorj County, most of them being shown in the United…

Jan 22, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian MP meets Bessarabia Metropolitan, pledges support

His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia, on Wednesday, received an official visit at his residence in Chişinău from a delegation from Bucharest led by Adrian Felician Cozma, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament. The official was accompanied by Lavinia Felicia Năstase and Claudiu-Ion Chelcea, First Secretary at the Romanian Embassy in the…

Jan 22, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox Christians to begin Great Lent on Feb. 23 as Pascha falls on April 12

In about a month, on February 23, Orthodox Christians will enter Great Lent, also known as the Great Fast. The Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord (Holy Pascha) will be celebrated on April 12 this year. On February 1, the liturgical season of the Triodion begins, including three preparatory weeks for Great Lent, followed…

Jan 22, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Relics of St Elizabeth exhumed at Pasărea Monastery, bishop praises her example

“The face of Schema-nun Elisabeta (Lazăr) shines like the example and life of the hermits of old. She urges each of us to value time and dedicate as much of it as possible to the Lord,” said Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova from the Archdiocese of Bucharest, on Friday, January 16, at Pasărea Monastery in…

Jan 21, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu