Society

Speaker of Georgian Parliament visits St Anthimos Monastery in Bucharest

As part of his official visit to Romania, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, visited St Anthimos Monastery in Bucharest on Wednesday, when the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of St Anthimos the Iberian. Patriarchal auxiliary Bishop Varlaam Ploieșteanul and Abbot Vicentiu Oboroceanu welcomed the delegation, including the Ambassador of Georgia…

Sep 27, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

ITO 2023 Conferences: Dr Radu Tincu combats 5 false claims about drug use

Dr. Radu Tincu, a primary physician in Intensive Care and Toxicology, spoke at the 2023 International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO) Conferences held in Timișoara, Romania, about the growing scourge of drug use among young people. On this occasion, he challenged five false claims about drug use. “I’ve wondered if drug addiction is just a…

Sep 6, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Metropolitan Ioan asks Orthodox youth to form a human chain around those who risk being trafficked or using drugs

“Dear young people, please form a human chain around the ones you see at risk of being trafficked or at risk of drug use. Please, surround them like birds protect their young when kidnappers come to their nest!” said Metropolitan Ioan of Banat on Saturday, at the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO) 2023 Conferences,…

Sep 4, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Romania: 75,000 pilgrims honour the Mother of God at Nicula Monastery

75,000 pilgrims participated in the Nicula Monastery patronal feast last week, according to the police forces. Many of the faithful came a few days before the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, to honour the Nicula Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God and to participate in the services officiated at the…

Aug 22, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Report: 63% of the world’s population lives in countries where they cannot freely witness their Christian faith

According to a report of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), almost 5 billion people (63% of the world’s population) live in countries where free Christian witness is restrained or even forbidden. During the last three years, the number of countries where Christians are killed or kidnapped has reached 40. Also, according to ACN…

Aug 21, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

I was born under the curse of survival, and Jesus freed me from it, Chinese convert Kenan Dionisie Wang confesses

Journalist Cristian Curte published in the weekly Formula As an interview with Kenan Dionisie Wang, a PhD student in History at the University of Bucharest and a first-year student in Orthodox Theology. Kenan was born in China and converted to Orthodoxy in Romania. He dreams of becoming an Orthodox priest. “Priesthood is the lifestyle of…

Aug 17, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Chernivtsi street could be renamed to honour Metropolitan Saint Jacob of Putna

A street in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi could be renamed to honour the Holy Hierarch Jacob of Putna, Metropolitan of Moldavia, BucPress news agency reported, citing Molody Bukowinec newspaper. According to the cited source, local authorities intend to rename approximately 40 streets whose names are still related to the history of Soviet space. “We…

Aug 9, 2023Aurelian Iftimiu

Escaping war but longingly looking back: Diaconia Mission offers Ukrainian refugee mothers a holiday with their children

Throughout July 2023, refugee mothers from Ukraine spend a free holiday with their children in the Republic of Moldova, in a programme entitled “Bridges of Solidarity” and implemented by the Diaconia Social Mission with the financial support of Caritas Ambrosiana. Women who fled the war are torn between homesickness and fear for their future. The…

Jul 17, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Tallinn: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I presents the challenges of ecumenical dialogue in today’s Europe

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I addressed the General Assembly of the Council of European Churches in Tallinn, Estonia on Sunday. His Holiness listed some of the challenges facing the ecumenical movement in today’s Europe. “The ecumenical movement thrived in a very different Europe than that which we know and live in today. In spite of the rhetoric…

Jun 18, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Basilica News Agency Director urges Internet users to share “The Good to Know’

In an interview for Turnul Sfatului (Council Tour), the director of the Basilica News Agency, patriarchal adviser Aurelian Iftimiu urged everyone to share “The Good to Know” online. The interview was occasioned by the 15th anniversary since the launch of Basilica News Agency’s website. “Initially thought of as a point of convergence for the other…

Jun 17, 2023basilica.ro

Representatives of more than one hundred Christian churches in Europe meet in Estonia

The General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), an organisation made up of 114 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic churches on the continent, opened in Tallinn, Estonia, on Wednesday. The theme of this year’s edition – the 16th one – is “Under God’s blessing – shaping the future”. The hosts are the…

Jun 15, 2023Ștefana Totorcea