The Basilica Press Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate is placed under the protection of the Holy Trinity. At the Divine Liturgy celebrated on Monday in the courtyard of the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, special petitions were offered for the media centre and its staff.
His Grace the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești, who presided over the Divine Liturgy, spoke about the social and spiritual utility of the Patriarchate’s media centre, which was amply proven especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bishop Varlaam stressed that the names of Basilica and Trinitas were chosen ‘to show that our Orthodoxy is the only Latin Orthodoxy.’
Also, by choosing Trinitas as the name for the radio and television stations, the entire media centre of the Romanian Patriarchate was placed under the protection of the Holy Trinity.
“That is why we have offered prayers today, to thank the Good God Who is worshipped in the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for this great gift, which has always been very useful,” Bishop Varlaam said June 8.
He mentioned the three directions in which the work of the centre is useful socially and spiritually:
- Outreach – it is “a modern means of transmitting the Word of God, the teaching of the Church”;
- Awareness and involvement of society – the transmission of “information about the work of the Church in the world, in society”;
- Spiritual support – “we broadcast the Divine Liturgy, the evening services, the morning services, the midnight prayers, so that, together with those who pray and we hear on the radio or on television, we also create in our house, at the place of work a prayerful atmosphere and, by following them, let us also inscribe our soul in this universal hymn of the Church.”
“Saint Basil the Great compares the Church to a guitar in which every Christian represents a string that makes a sound. When one plays all the guitar strings, the song is harmonious and crosses the heavens to God. Thus the radio and television stations through the liturgies and prayers broadcast also write us in this harmony,” His Grace added.
“During this period of the pandemic, we understood, even more, how useful is this modern media centre of the Church founded by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel,” he added. “They gave us a lot of hope, a lot of prayers. You see every day we include special petitions so that God deliver us from this tribulation.”
Bishop Varlaam mentioned research of the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate which shows that, during the state of emergency, among the most searched names on the Internet after that of the president and prime minister was “the name of the patriarchal counsellor who coordinates the press office, Mr Vasile Bănescu.”
“It shows that people, Christians or even non-Christians, wanted to see what the Church’s views are on what happened,” he said.
The Basilica Media Centre was established at the initiative of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel on October 27, 2007. This autumn the Basilica Media Centre will mark its 13th anniversary.
The Basilica Media Centre includes Radio Trinitas, Trinitas TV, Lumina publications, Basilica News Agency and the Press and Public Relations Office. They present in society the institutions, activities and attitudes of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
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