Anniversaries and commemorations

Celebrating the Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs, Romania raises awareness of Christian persecution

On August 16, Romania marks the National Day of Remembrance of the Brâncoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians. The President of Romania ratified the law declaring August 16 as “National Day of Remembrance of the Brâncoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians” on July 16, 2020. The 16th of August was…

Aug 16, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

International Youth Day: Green Skills for Youth is this year’s theme

This year’s International Youth Day, marked on Saturday, August 12, has the theme “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”. It outlines the role of young people in the green transition to an environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly world. Green skills are defined as “knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and…

Aug 12, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Basilica.ro: The life of the Church featured daily on your devices for 15 years

The Basilica News Agency came into being along with the Basilica Media Centre on October 27, 2007. The official launch of the website and the publication of the first news items took place on June 16, 2008. The news website of the Romanian Patriarchate was conceived with the mission of “reflecting reality as seen by…

Jun 16, 2023Sorin Ioniţe

World Oceans Day, an opportunity to appreciate the gifts received from the Creator

World Oceans Day, observed on June 8, is a suited time to raise awareness and appreciate these great gifts received from God.  Oceans are the lungs of our Planet and a major source of food and medicine and a critical part of the biosphere. The concept of World Oceans Day was originally proposed in 1992…

Jun 8, 2023Sorin Ioniţe

International Children’s Day

International Children’s Day is celebrated by more than 50 countries on June 1 and another 100 countries have similar celebrations on the same day. International Children’s Day was declared a holiday by the Romanian Parliament in 2016. International Children’s Day, which is not the same as Universal Children’s Day, is celebrated annually on June 1. Although…

Jun 1, 2023Alexandru Boboc

World Bee Day: Our food and survival depend on these little workers

The UN General Assembly established World Bee Day in 2017 to highlight the importance of these small workers on which the survival of humanity and ecosystems depend: they are responsible for pollinating three-quarters of the world’s agricultural crops and 90% of wild flowering plant species. On 20 May, World Bee Day, farmers are invited to…

May 20, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

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