Ștefana Totorcea

Covid-19 | Romanian Orthodox Church initiates dozens of support measures for hospitals and people (March 16-31)

During the state of emergency, the Romanian Orthodox Church has intensified its presence both online and in society respecting all the required sanitary precautions. Even before the state of emergency being declared in Romania, just as the authorities raised the level of alert regarding the coronavirus epidemic, the Church had started preparations to prevent a…

Apr 3, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Mt. Athos to hold vigils and processions against coronavirus

Holy Mount Athos is closed to pilgrims until the end of March, but its monasteries continue prayer and religious services even more fervently. The governing Holy Community of Mount Athos has urged all churches and sketes on its territory to hold cross processions and officiate All-Night Vigils to the Mother of God, who is the…

Mar 27, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Nine Romanian monasteries are sewing bed linen sets for hospitals amid Covid-19 outbreak

In the new medical crisis which has reached Romania, nine monasteries from the Archdiocese of Iaşi, in the northeastern part of the country, offered to help hospitals. They have started making bed linen sets to be donated to local hospitals which are treating or prepare to treat Covid-19 patients. In addition to the cotton linen…

Mar 26, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Mount Athos closes for pilgrims and visitors because of the coronavirus epidemic

Deputy civil governor of Mount Athos Aristos Kasmiroglou has suspended the entrance of outside visitors and pilgrims to the Athonite State until March 30, 2020, according to Orthodox Times, which quotes Greek website ethnos.gr. This decision excludes officials and employees of Athos. The Holy Community of Mount Athos accepted the government’s decisions as formulated in…

Mar 20, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Archim. Zacharias Zacharou: Pandemic as going out in the Desert. Christ is with us there by calling upon His Name

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou from “St John the Baptist” Monastery in Essex, Great Britain, has sent spiritual advice to the faithful who are panicked by the current coronavirus epidemic. He gives the answer to the question how to face a possible interruption of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy? We should use this time for spiritual…

Mar 20, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Antiochian Archdiocese of America publishes service texts for faithful home reading

During the coronavirus outbreak, the Archdiocese has given the blessing to its faithful to read the texts of religious services at home. The faithful participation to church services has been banned in the United States during the instated state of emergency. Therefore, the Department of Liturgics of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America…

Mar 20, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Cluj Archdiocese gives food, accommodation for quarantined people

The four social canteens in the Archdiocese of Cluj can provide, upon request, free food for the elderly and the sick in self-isolation, the Archdiocese has announced. The Archdiocese is also ready to provide isolation spaces for those in need. The quarantine facilities are at the “Ioan Bunea” social missionary center in Sângeorz Băi city,…

Mar 20, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Metropolitan Ioan of Banat donates two oxygen concentrators to the Railway company’s Clinical Hospital in Timișoara

Metropolitan Ioan of Banat has donated two oxygen concentrators to the Railway company’s Clinical Hospital in Timișoara. The devices are useful in the treatment of patients with respiratory problems. The metropolitan has made the donation at the request of the hospital, reports the Metropolis of Banat. The devices supply oxygen at a higher concentration than the…

Mar 19, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Archbishop of Athens attends swearing-in ceremony of Greece’s first female president

Katerina Sakellaropoulou, a former judge at the Council of State, the Administrative Supreme Court of Greece, was sworn in last Friday as the country’s first woman president. In January, she was elected with overwhelming majority by the Greek Parliament. She is 63 and was born in Thessaloniki. She had an almost four-decade career at the…

Mar 19, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Metropolitan Teofan: It is time to seek refuge in the privacy of our homes, until the wrath of this plague is past

While Romania instated state of emergency on Monday to contain the coronavirus epidemic, Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina sent a video encouraging message urging for prayer and calm which gathered more than 600,000 views on Facebook. The metropolitan quotes God’s words given to prophet Isaiah 26:20: “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut…

Mar 19, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

The Week in Pictures: March 9 – 15, 2020

Snapshots of Orthodox spiritual life seen through the lens of amateur and professional photographers on March 9-15, 2020. Commemorative events, anniversaries and ordinations were among last week’s events. Follow us on Twitter: @BasilicaNews Follow us on Instagram: @basilica.ro We would gladly include one of your photos depicting Orthodox life in our weekly selection. All you…

Mar 17, 2020Ștefana Totorcea