Dioceses

Only parental love makes a child fully human, says Romanian priest building Family Centres

Fr Ioan Ardelean, parish priest in Desești, a town in the northern Romanian county of Maramureș, stated in an interview that a child’s foremost need is parental love and that this conviction led him to launch projects to support families facing hardship. The priest affirmed that when we alleviate someone’s suffering, we can behold God in that person.…

Feb 17, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Irish Ambassador visits Giurgiu Diocese, highlights role of Romanian Orthodox Church in Ireland

Ireland’s Ambassador to Romania, Brendan Ward, visited the Social and Pastoral Centre of the Diocese of Giurgiu on Friday. His Excellency was received by Bishop Ambrozie of Giurgiu. The guest expressed appreciation for the diocese’s activities and emphasised the importance of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s presence in Ireland. “Thank you for the invitation, and I…

Feb 16, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania’s ambassador to Republic of Moldova visits Bishop Veniamin in Cahul, discusses church projects for 2026

His Grace Bishop Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia, on Tuesday, received a visit from His Excellency Leon Țurcanu, Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Moldova, at the diocesan centre in Cahul. During the meeting, the hierarch presented the diocese’s main projects and priorities for 2026, emphasising the importance of communication and dialogue for both the…

Feb 11, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Monk Nicolae Steinhardt, author of The Journal of Joy, could be canonised

Monk Nicolae Steinhardt of Rohia Monastery, the author of the well-known spiritual memoir The Journal of Joy, could be proposed for canonisation, after a meeting of the metropolitan synod held on Tuesday in Cluj-Napoca. The working session was chaired by Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj and attended by bishops from the dioceses of Cluj, Maramureș, Sătmar,…

Feb 11, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Teoctist remembered at Putna as a defender of monasticism as a vital force of Orthodoxy

Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, abbot of Putna Monastery, said last Saturday that Patriarch Teoctist viewed monastic life “not as a relic of the past, but as a vital, regenerating force of Romanian Orthodoxy”, as the monastery’s brotherhood officiated a memorial service marking 111 years since the former patriarch’s birth. “He loved monasticism, because he himself remained,…

Feb 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop of Bălți prays for hierarchs who shepherded Bessarabia at Bucharest cemetery

Bishop Antonie of Bălți prayed on Thursday for the hierarchs who once shepherded Bessarabia and who are buried at the cemetery of Cernica Monastery, near Bucharest. Bishop Antonie lit a vigil lamp at the graves of Metropolitan Gurie Grosu of Bessarabia (1928–1936), Metropolitan Tit Simedrea of Bukovina—who served in Bălți between 1935 and 1940—and Bishop…

Feb 7, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Basarabia Metropolitan Petru chairs Chișinău Archdiocese assembly, presents 2025 activity report

His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia chaired on Monday the Diocesan Assembly, the deliberative body of the Archdiocese of Chișinău, during which the report on the archdiocese’s activities for the past year was presented. The meeting was preceded by prayer, with a Te Deum service celebrated in the chapel of Saint John the Theologian of…

Feb 4, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian archbishop meets UK ambassador to discuss cultural and spiritual ties

On Tuesday, His Eminence Hon Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Târgoviște and Patriarchal Exarch, received at the diocesan residence the visit of His Excellency Giles Portman, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Romania. The meeting provided the opportunity for a cordial dialogue on the spiritual, cultural and historical links between…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop of Gaborone and Botswana tells faithful in Iași Church calls believers to repentance born of humility

Bishop Mark of Gaborone and Botswana (Patriarchate of Alexandria) said on Sunday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași that the beginning of the Triodion period is a call to authentic repentance, stressing that “the Church calls us to repentance born of humility.” He warned that a true encounter with God does not come through displaying…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Banat Metropolis sends Greek-speaking priest to support victims of Timiș road crash

The Metropolis of Banat announced that it will provide spiritual and material support to the victims of the road accident that occurred on Tuesday in Timiș County, with a Greek-speaking priest set to offer spiritual assistance to those hospitalised. Metropolitan Ioan of Banat expressed his profound sorrow over the tragic road accident that took place…

Jan 29, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Southern Bessarabia diocese donates mobile hospital to Ukraine’s Odesa region

The Diocese of Southern Bessarabia donated a mobile hospital to Ukraine’s Odesa region, with the official handover ceremony taking place on Saturday, when Bishop Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia presented the vehicle to the regional administration. During the visit, the bishop was accompanied by Claudiu Tătaru, Romania’s Consul General in Odesa; Alexandrin Moiseev, a member of…

Jan 27, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu