Ștefana Totorcea

The Week in Pictures: October 12 – 18, 2020

Restricted religious feasts, painful and hopeful prayer, the stillness of talking to God, the little joys of Orthodox living – all captured in coloured or cloudy photos received from all over the world by the Basilica.ro newsroom. Last week’s most-liked Instagram post: View this post on Instagram *RO: Catedrala Patriarhală din Bucureşti păstrează un dar…

Oct 21, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Metropolitan Teofan on St Parascheva’s Feast: The pandemic challenges us to ask ourselves inevitable questions

In his homily on the feast of St Parascheva of Iaşi, Metropolitan Teofan offered some answers to the challenges of the present times. To stop the community spread of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus, Romanian authorities imposed harsh restrictions for this year’s celebrations: pilgrims from outside the city of Iași were denied access to the cathedral where…

Oct 21, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

America’s Orthodox Christians to march for life next year in Washington, DC

Orthodox clerics and faithful from America shall unite again to participate in the Washington, DC 2021 March for Life, as they did in previous years. The pro-life organization Orthodox Christians for Life and Orthodox Christian Network, the agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America (ACOB-US), have already created…

Oct 19, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

EU Anti-Trafficking Day | Children exploitation intensifies during the pandemic. What hinders anti-trafficking fight

The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) issued on Friday a statement which warns that online children exploitation has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and that fewer victims are identified and helped. Certain attitudes and realities facilitate the phenomenon. Information and awareness can save lives. On the…

Oct 18, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Romanian actor Florin Piersic recounts being miraculously healed by St Paraskeva in his childhood

Romanian actor Florin Piersic told Doxologia.ro last Saturday how Saint Paraskeva of Iași miraculously healed him when he was a child, for his mother’s fervent prayers. The actor disclosed how attached he felt to the Church, his mother Vera being a priest’s sister.  The actor confessed he spent his childhood in an environment where the…

Oct 14, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

The Week in Pictures: October 5 – 11, 2020

Please see below prayer moments and snapshots of Orthodox liturgical life: The Week in Pictures from October 5 to October 11, 2020. Last week’s most-liked Instagram post: View this post on Instagram *RO: “Laudă Glasului Care S-a făcut trup și Cuvântului Celui Preaînalt Care S-a făcut carne. L-au auzit urechile, L-au văzut ochii, L-au pipăit…

Oct 13, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

The virtual tour of the Diveyevo Monastery is available online

The virtual tour of the Diveyevo Monastery is available online on the monastery’s website. It includes 120 panoramas made in the daytime and at night. The tour presents an aerial panorama, views of the holy spring of St. Seraphim, of the Holy Canal along which walk and pray pilgrims and the Mother of God herself,…

Oct 12, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

What movies can be watched online at the 2020 Byzanfest Orthodox film festival

The 2020 edition of Byzanfest, the first film festival in history organized exclusively online, will be held between October 23 and November 8. The festival features exclusively films made by Orthodox directors and has two main sections: short and feature-length films. This year’s themes are isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, monastic life, mental health, culture,…

Oct 12, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

By grace and by the power of the Cross | Message of hope from the US Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America sent on Wednesday a “message of hope and spiritual encouragement” to the clergy, the faithful and all the people of goodwill, during the sanitary crisis which has continued this fall. “The Coronavirus pandemic has affected every human being in the world with some…

Oct 10, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

“Second youth, new choices”: Fashion designer Florin Dobre admitted to Bucharest’s Theology Faculty

Florin Dobre, the only Romanian fashion designer with collections featured in Vogue and GQ magazines, announced he was admitted to “Patriarch Justinian” Faculty of Theology in Bucharest. It was a sudden thought to become a Theology student. He disclosed it to his spiritual father, who gave him the blessing to go to the admission exam even though he…

Oct 9, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

2021 set aside as Year of Youth in US Orthodox Diaspora

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America (ACOB-US) declared the year 2021 as the Year of the Youth. The decision was made at the annual meeting of the assembly, which took place online on October 6-7. The goal is to recognize the youth as the future of the Church. “Our…

Oct 8, 2020Ștefana Totorcea