Anniversaries and commemorations

Four year anniversary of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

Four years ago, on June 16, began the writing of ‘a new chapter in the history of the Church’ as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew called the meeting of the Local Orthodox Churches that took place on the island of Crete. The Council took place from June 16 to June 26, 2016, at the Orthodox Academy of…

Jun 19, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

For 12 years, Basilica.ro

June 16 marks the 12th anniversary of Basilica.ro, the only news agency belonging to an Orthodox Autocephalous Church. This unique project began as a news aggregator selecting articles from the Dioceses of the Romanian Patriarchate. Information was taken en masse directly from the source, with little intervention on form or content. After joining social media,…

Jun 16, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

World Blood Donor Day

Every year, on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure the quality, safety, and availability of blood and blood products for patients in…

Jun 14, 2020Iulian Dumitraşcu

World Oceans Day: 8 June 2020

World Oceans Day takes place every 8 June. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution officially recognizing 8…

Jun 8, 2020Iulian Dumitraşcu

The Feast of Holy Trinity, a celebration of the Basilica Media Centre

The five institutions belonging to the Basilica Media Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate were placed under the protection of the Holy Trinity, having as model and help the Divine Persons ‘who offer themselves to each other and work together in a perfect harmony, while their glory shows the holiness and the beauty of their eternal…

Jun 8, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

5 June – World Environment Day

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5 June every year and is the United Nations principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging from environmental issues to marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming,…

Jun 5, 2020Iulian Dumitraşcu

4 June: International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is a United Nations (UN) observance each 4 June. It was established on 19 August 1982. It is a sad reality that in situations where armed conflict breaks out, it is the most vulnerable members of societies – namely children, who are most affected by the…

Jun 4, 2020Iulian Dumitraşcu

June 1 – Children’s Day

Children’s Day is a national holiday celebrated in Romania and it is held on June 1 every year. Children’s Day is not just an event in Romania, it is also celebrated in many different countries and is an official UN global observance. Children’s Day is an international celebration intended to bring nations together to promote child welfare,…

Jun 1, 2020Iulian Dumitraşcu

On this day May 29, 1453: The Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople occurred on May 29, 1453, after a siege which began on April 6. The battle was part of the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars (1265-1453) and is referred to as one of the darkest days in Greek history. Ascending to the Ottoman throne in 1451, Mehmed II began making preparations to reduce the Byzantine…

May 29, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

International Day of Families – 15 May

Although families all over the world have transformed greatly over the past decades in terms of their structure and as a result of global trends and demographic changes, the United Nations still recognizes the family as the basic unit of society, reports UN. The International Day of Families provides an opportunity to promote awareness of…

May 15, 2020Gheorghe Anghel

Europe Day, celebration of peace and unity

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, 2020Gheorghe Anghel