The Archdiocesan Assembly of the Archdiocese of Bucharest convened at the Palace of the Romanian Patriarchate to review last year’s activity and set new priorities for 2021.
The activity slowed down compared to previous years, as a consequence of the pandemic restrictions. Nevertheless, most of the administrative-pastoral, economic-patrimonial, cultural-missionary and educational activities were continued.
The activity was especially focused on the social-philanthropic level, as a response to an acute need.
The archdiocese set a new record of investment in charity: over 2 million Euros, compared to 1.8 million Euros in 2019 and 1.3 million in the previous years.
The main social-philanthropic activities of the diocese in 2020:
- Partnership with the authorities to offer aid to people in difficulty during lockdown: 3,000 warm food portions and basic non-perishable food packages were distributed with the involvement of the Bucharest deaneries.
- Covid-19 hospitals were offered medical equipment and general practitioners from remote rural areas were offered protection masks and pulse-oximeters.
- Support for children from vulnerable communities: school stationery and electronic tablets and devices for remote teaching and learning. The Education and Youth Sector of the Archdiocese was involved. The archdiocese’s parishes offered last year stationery, school books, clothing and school uniforms in value of over 170,000 Euros – 290 vulnerable pupils benefited.
- The archdiocese strengthened existing partnerships and identified new social partners for its social initiatives.
Other social programs and projects were continued in 2020. Among them, the building of a new Day Centre for hearing impaired children in Bucharest, the extending of the Children Day Centre in the city of Urlați, the building of two family-type houses at Turnu Monastery in Prahova county, and the Food Bank project initiated in Bucharest’s 6th Sector Deanery.
The total value of humanitarian and financial aid offered by the Archdiocese of Bucharest in 2020 was approximately 2 million Euros (9,945,926.49 RON).
See the full report in Romanian.
Archdiocesan Assembly
After presenting the general report, Patriarch Daniel thanked all those who made possible the archdiocese’s charity work:
“At the end, we would like to thank all private persons, communities, local and central institutions who helped the Archdiocese of Bucharest in its many activities last year: in pastoral ministry, in property development and in charity. We entreat the Most Holy Trinity to give them good health, happiness, peace and joy, as well as help in all the good deeds.”
The meeting was preceded by a Te Deum service officiated at the Patriarchal Cathedral by His Grace Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova. After the reading out of the general report, the works were held on commissions, at the Patriarchal Palace.
A meeting of the deans unfolded simultaneously.
Finally, all the reports were submitted to vote, along with the draft budget and the program proposals for 2021.
The metropolitan publishing house was awarded
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel awarded the Diploma and Medal of the Solemn and Commemorative Year 2020 to the Cuvântul Vieții publishing house and the Glasul Bisericii magazine.
The Cuvântul Vieții (Word of Life) publishing house and the Glasul Bisericii (Voice of Church) magazine are owned by the Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobrudja.
The award was a token of appreciation for the results of the competition between publishing houses and magazines held at the end of the year 2020.
The Cuvântul Vieții (“Word of Life”) publishing house obtained a double accreditation, with a B-rating for Theology and for History and Cultural Studies. The Glasul Bisericii (The Voice of the Church”) magazine also obtained a B rating for the domain of Humanities.
Photo courtesy of Lumina Newspaper
