Anniversaries and commemorations

Nine years since the Holy and Great Council: Romanian Orthodox Church’s consistent contribution

Monday marks nine years since the opening of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which brought together hierarchs from ten autocephalous Orthodox Churches in Crete. The Romanian delegation included 25 hierarchs. The Council took place between June 16–26, 2016, preceded by a preparatory working committee from June 9–16. Key topics addressed included:…

Jun 16, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Basilica News Agency celebrates 17 years since first article: The Good to Know about the Church and society

Today marks 17 years since the Basilica News Agency, the media arm of the Romanian Patriarchate, published its first article. Established as a department on October 27, 2007, within the Basilica Media Center, the Romanian Patriarchate’s news agency began operating effectively the following year, with its first news story released online on June 16, 2008.…

Jun 16, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian hesychast and anti-Communist Confessor Fr. Benedict Ghiuș remembered 35 years after his passing

Archimandrite Benedict Ghiuș, one of the founders of the “Burning Bush” Hesychast Movement, humbly reposed in the Lord on June 12, 1990. Born Vasile Ghiuș in 1904 in Domnești, Vrancea County, he studied at the Faculty of Theology in Cernăuți and later earned his doctorate in Strasbourg, France. In 1934, he embraced monastic life at…

Jun 12, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia marks 50th birthday

His Grace Bishop Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia celebrates his 50th birthday on Wednesday. He was born on June 11, 1975, in Puhoi, Anenii Noi District, in the Republic of Moldova. He entered monastic life at Neamț Monastery in 2007 and was ordained a hierodeacon and later a hieromonk at St Anthimos Monastery in Bucharest in…

Jun 11, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Basilica Media Center celebrates its mission in service of the Trinity, the Light, and the Church

All branches of the Basilica Media Center operate under the protection of the Most Holy Trinity, honoring the Trinitarian name carried by the Romanian Patriarchate’s radio and television channels. In the same spirit, the daily newspaper of the Patriarchate is placed under the sign of light, while the news agency—like the center as a whole—bears…

Jun 9, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

1,700 years since First Ecumenical Council: A foundational moment in shaping Christian doctrine

Exactly 1,700 years ago, on May 20, the First Ecumenical Council (of the entire Church) was convened in Nicaea — a foundational moment in shaping Christian doctrine. The Arian doctrine, which claimed that God the Son does not share the exact nature as God the Father, was the main reason that made a universal meeting…

May 21, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Blessed are the persecuted: May 14 – Remembrance Day for Communist Prisons Victims

On Wednesday, Romania commemorates the Day of Remembrance for the Martyrs of Communist Prisons, established by the Romanian Parliament in 2017, in honour of those who lost their lives due to inhumane treatment and torture in communist-era prisons. Those arrested by the communist regime were not only former politicians but also wealthy peasants, intellectuals, students,…

May 14, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Sibiu marks 119 years since Cathedral inspired by Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia was inaugurated

Tuesday marks 119 years since the inauguration of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Sibiu, according to Turnul Sfatului. The initiative to build the cathedral belonged to Saint Andrew Șaguna, who also made the most substantial financial contribution—2,000 florins. The winning design, titled “Constantine and Helen – Hagia Sophia,” was submitted by architect József Kommer of Budapest and…

May 13, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Assistant Bishop Marc of Neamț marks 20 years of episcopal ministry in Western Europe

Assistant Bishop Marc of Neamț of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western Europe celebrates on Wednesday 20 years since his episcopal ordination. His Grace Bishop Marc of Neamț was born in Paris in 1958 into a Catholic family, where he received a distinguished education, graduating from the Institute of Urbanism and the Faculty of Architecture…

May 7, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian confessor of faith and U.S. missionary Fr. Roman Braga remembered 10 years after passing

April 29 marks ten years since the passing of Archimandrite Roman Braga, a confessor of faith during communist Romania and later a spiritual father and missionary in Brazil and the United States. Father Roman Braga was born on April 2, 1922, in Condrița, Bessarabia, as the seventh child of Cosma and Maria Braga. He completed…

Apr 29, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

March 27, 1918: Bessarabia becomes first province to join Greater Romania

On March 27/April 9, 1918, Bessarabia united with Romania, becoming the first province to contribute to the creation of Greater Romania. Historical Context In the lead-up to the union, on February 25/March 5, 1918, the Protocol of Buftea was signed, extending the armistice with the Central Powers and accepting their imposed conditions. Around the same…

Mar 27, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu