Society

2020 Romfilatelia Christmas stamps show National Cathedral mosaic of Virgin Mary

Two special stamps have been issued by Romfilatelia for Christmas this year, with the designs telling the story of the Annunciation of the Theotokos and the Nativity of the Lord through mosaic icons. The stamps see Virgin Mary receiving the good news of Christ’s incarnation from the Archangel Gabriel and Mary cradling the new-born Jesus…

Nov 16, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Dăeni Parish Priest was a rebel child: “My ‘religion’ was football.” Read how St Parascheva chose him as her servant

The life and work of Father Alexandru Octavian Balaban from St Parascheva Parish in Dăeni, county of Tulcea, unfolds under St Parascheva’s protection. The priest, whose story has been recently featured in Libertatea daily, told Basilica.ro how he transitioned from the “religion of football” to the ministry of priesthood. He grew up in the village…

Nov 3, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

Church and Colectiv club: Hearsay versus Facts

The tragedy at Colectiv nightclub directly affected several hundred families but caused injuries – many still open – at the level of the entire Romanian society. The Church was not left untouched by the accusations either, some partially real and assumed, others totally unfounded that hover in the public space even 5 years after the…

Nov 2, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Kazakh Ambassador pays first visit to Bukovina: Putna Monastery is a welcoming, restful place

The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Romania visited Putna Monastery on Friday and was impressed by the monastic settlement, the history of Bukovina, Saints Stephen the Great and Jacob of Putna. On his first visit to Bukovina, Ambassador Nurbakh Rustemov was accompanied by his wife and one of their daughters. The Ambassador especially appreciated the unique…

Nov 2, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

Fifth anniversary of Colectiv club fire marked with prayers for the victims

Fr Aurel Mihai, vicar at the Archdiocese of Bucharest, led a memorial service on Friday morning for the 65 victims of the deadly fire that broke out during a concert at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest in 2015. The service that was performed at Bucur Square next to the building that once housed the Colectiv…

Nov 1, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu

America’s Orthodox Christians to march for life next year in Washington, DC

Orthodox clerics and faithful from America shall unite again to participate in the Washington, DC 2021 March for Life, as they did in previous years. The pro-life organization Orthodox Christians for Life and Orthodox Christian Network, the agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America (ACOB-US), have already created…

Oct 19, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

EU Anti-Trafficking Day | Children exploitation intensifies during the pandemic. What hinders anti-trafficking fight

The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) issued on Friday a statement which warns that online children exploitation has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and that fewer victims are identified and helped. Certain attitudes and realities facilitate the phenomenon. Information and awareness can save lives. On the…

Oct 18, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

What movies can be watched online at the 2020 Byzanfest Orthodox film festival

The 2020 edition of Byzanfest, the first film festival in history organized exclusively online, will be held between October 23 and November 8. The festival features exclusively films made by Orthodox directors and has two main sections: short and feature-length films. This year’s themes are isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, monastic life, mental health, culture,…

Oct 12, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

By grace and by the power of the Cross | Message of hope from the US Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America sent on Wednesday a “message of hope and spiritual encouragement” to the clergy, the faithful and all the people of goodwill, during the sanitary crisis which has continued this fall. “The Coronavirus pandemic has affected every human being in the world with some…

Oct 10, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

“Second youth, new choices”: Fashion designer Florin Dobre admitted to Bucharest’s Theology Faculty

Florin Dobre, the only Romanian fashion designer with collections featured in Vogue and GQ magazines, announced he was admitted to “Patriarch Justinian” Faculty of Theology in Bucharest. It was a sudden thought to become a Theology student. He disclosed it to his spiritual father, who gave him the blessing to go to the admission exam even though he…

Oct 9, 2020Ștefana Totorcea

This is how a rugby competition was named after an Orthodox Saint

Each of us knows, in our daily interactions, different locations or institutions that bear the names of Saints. In Bucharest there are St Catherine Street, St Andrew Park, St Panteleimon Hospital (etc.), and across Romania there are various places named after great people who were included in the synaxaria because of their righteous life or…

Sep 30, 2020Aurelian Iftimiu