Dioceses

Metropolitan Antonie honours Orthodox women for Church service in northern Bessarabia

His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia honoured members of the Orthodox Women’s Society of the Diocese of Bălți for their involvement in the life of the Church. A ceremony took place on Monday during a meeting held at the Anastasis Educational Centre in Bălți. The event highlighted the organisation’s work over almost eight years in…

Aug 20, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania funds 11 church and monastery projects in southern Bessarabia

The Romanian Government, through the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova, is funding 11 projects to equip and develop churches and monasteries within the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia. The projects will be implemented between July and November 2026 and will include church painting, the production and acquisition of liturgical furnishings, the development of monastic…

Aug 20, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Athanasios of Latakia consecrates Putna Monastery metochion: ‘We are brothers in Christ. Nothing separates us’

His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios of Latakia (Patriarchate of Antioch) consecrated on Sunday evening the church of Putna Monastery’s metochion at Poiana Mănăstirii, Suceava County. “We are brothers in Christ. Nothing separates us,” the visiting hierarch said. “We are one Body – the Body of Christ. And this Body is the Church. Even though we speak…

Aug 19, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Local proclamation of Saint Maria Brâncoveanu: Churches she supported receive reliquary icons

The local proclamation of Saint Maria Brâncoveanu’s canonisation took place on Sunday at the New St George Church in Bucharest. Churches founded or supported by the saint received icons containing a fragment of her holy relics. These included the St Nicholas “Dintr-o Zi” Church in Bucharest, the monasteries of Hurezi, Surpatele and Dintr-un Lemn in…

Aug 19, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan of Bessarabia on Dormition Fast: ‘Through fasting, we learn to say no to the passions’

The Dormition Fast began on Friday, 14 August, for Orthodox Christians following the unrevised Julian calendar. On this occasion, His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia issued a message urging the faithful to use the fasting period to strengthen themselves spiritually. “God gives us these days to prepare ourselves to understand the great mystery of the…

Aug 18, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian bishop joins pilgrims on 20-km walk to Nicula Monastery for Dormition

His Grace Bishop Benedict of Sălaj on Tuesday joined a group of Orthodox faithful on a 20-km pilgrimage on foot from Valcău de Jos, Sălaj County, to Nicula Monastery, Cluj County, where they will take part in celebrations for the Dormition of the Mother of God. Before their departure, the bishop highlighted the spiritual meaning…

Aug 14, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bessarabian deportees carried their faith into Soviet exile, Romanian priest says

Fr Viorel Cojocaru, cultural adviser to the Archdiocese of Chișinău, explained in an interview with Doxa how Bessarabians deported from the province during the Soviet period preserved their faith and hope in God amid suffering. The priest said that although they were forced to abandon their homes and possessions, many of those deported “travelled with…

Aug 14, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Târgoviște Archbishop marks name day, says Church journeys through history in footsteps of saints

“The Church journeys through history in the footsteps of the saints, and their fascinating experience and profound embrace of Christian values constitute that wonderful treasure of spirituality which inspires the lives of us all, young and old,” His Eminence Archbishop Nifon of Târgoviște, Honorary Metropolitan and Patriarchal Exarch, said on Tuesday. On the feast of…

Aug 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox bishop likens climbing the mountain to the Christian spiritual journey

“The mountain is also an image of the spiritual ascent. No one reaches the mountain’s summit without effort,” Assistant Bishop Nectarie of Bogdania said last Thursday at the patronal feast of Ceahlău Monastery, situated at an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900 feet). Pilgrims from across Romania attended the celebration, some walking hundreds of kilometres to…

Aug 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian ambassador visits Diocese of Bălți, reaffirms support for Romanian communities in Republic of Moldova

Romania’s Ambassador to Chișinău, Cristian-Leon Țurcanu, met on Wednesday with Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia during an official visit to the Diocese of Bălți. During their meeting, the two reaffirmed their partnership in support of Romanian communities in the Republic of Moldova. The ambassador’s visit continued the institutional dialogue initiated in July at the Metropolitan Residence…

Aug 7, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

African metropolitan urges faithful to follow St. John Jacob’s example at Romanian seminary feast

“The saints gather us together today. We have come to celebrate a saint—St. John Jacob—who was also a man, yet his eyes were always fixed on God,” Metropolitan Chariton of Kananga of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa said on Wednesday during the patronal feast of the Theological Seminary at Neamț Monastery. His Eminence…

Aug 7, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu