Anniversaries and commemorations

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973 as Resolution 46. In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the…

May 17, 2023Iulian Dumitraşcu

Bucharest Patriarchal Cathedral marks 365th consecration anniversary

On May 7, 2023, Bucharest’s historical patriarchal cathedral dedicated to the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen marked the 365th anniversary of its consecration. In 1658, Patriarch Makarios of Antioch and All East led the consecration ceremony of the church founded by Wallachia’s ruler Constantin Serban Basarab, which initially served as catholicon for a monastery. Concelebrants…

May 9, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Europe Day

Europe Day held on May 9 every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman declaration. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war…

May 9, 2023Iulian Dumitraşcu

Romanian Orthodox Church marks 138th anniversary of autocephaly

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, the Romanian Orthodox Church marks its 138th anniversary of autocephaly. After Romania gained its state independence in 1877 and was declared a Kingdom in 1881, the prestige of the Romanian Orthodox Church increased, making necessary the formal recognition of its autocephaly, long denied by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. On November 23,…

Apr 25, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

April 23 is English Language Day

English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Public Information, establishing language days for each of the Organization’s six official languages, United Nations reports. English, along with French,…

Apr 23, 2023Sorin Ioniţe

International Children’s Book Day

Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, 2 April, International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books. Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. It decides upon a theme and…

Apr 2, 2023Iulian Dumitraşcu

March 8: International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world on March 8. The history of celebrating this day began in the early 20th century in North America and Europe. The first national women’s day was celebrated in the United States on February 28, 1909 in memory of the 1908 textile workers’ strike, when women protested…

Mar 8, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Romanian Patriarchate’s 98th establishment anniversary observed

On Saturday, February 4, 2023, the Romanian Orthodox Church marks the 98th anniversary of its elevation to the rank of patriarchate. On February 4, 1925, the Holy Synod gathered in Bucharest and resolved the establishment of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate, following Romania’s Great Union achieved in 1918. The first person who advocated for the elevation…

Feb 4, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

International Orthodox Youth Day: The Church is more dynamic through its young people

On International Orthodox Youth Day, marked annually on February, 2, we recall a recent message from Patriarch Daniel, who said the presence of young people in the Church must be active and dynamic. We also recall some examples of actions in the service of the neighbour carried out by youth organisations in the Romanian Orthodox…

Feb 2, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

“Women move mountains”: International Mountain Day 2022

“Women move mountains” is this year’s International Mountain Day theme. The theme was chosen because men from the mountains often migrate elsewhere in search of alternative livelihoods, while women have taken on many tasks formerly done by men. “Yet, mountain women are often invisible due to a lack of decision-making power and unequal access to…

Dec 11, 2022Ștefana Totorcea

Plea for the rights of the unborn children on World Children’s Day

This year, 20 November, marks three decades since UNICEF established World Children’s Day to celebrate the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is much talk about children’s rights and about involving children in decision-making processes, but less about the right to life for the unborn children. Children have fundamental rights,…

Nov 20, 2022Ștefana Totorcea