Spirituality

Patron Saint of Infectious Diseases, Saint Nikephoros the Leper included in Romanian Orthodox Church’s calendar

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church resolved to introduce the name of Saint Nikephoros the Leper in its calendar. Orthodox believers have called for the intercession of a great number of wonderworking Saints during the coronavirus pandemic, but St Nikephoros the Leper was probably at the top of the list.  The Patriarch of…

Jul 26, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Untold Festival founder’s unspeakable quest stopped at Orthodoxy: It taught me to be myself

Sorin Gadola, the former financier of the major Untold Festival in Cluj, revealed in an event organized by the Archdiocese of Tomis the searches he went through in his troubled youth until he realized that Orthodoxy is the way. At the age of 21, he became ill and found no answer in classical medicine. “At…

Jul 21, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

6 interesting little-known things about the Romanian Saints

The Romanian Orthodox Church, by the decision of the Holy Synod in 1992, set aside the second Sunday after Pentecost as a special day for the commemoration of all Romanian Saints. “The known and the unknown, those who have been canonized and included in the church calendar and those who are not listed and who…

Jul 8, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Putna Monastery’s Abbot: Our holy ancestors speak to us this year and urge for a national resurrection

On Easter night, the V. Rev. Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic spoke about the ancestors’ call for a national resurrection. But “a resurrection of the people cannot be achieved without God’s people,” said Mihai Eminescu. It will be possible only if we put Christ and His name in everything. This will enlighten each of us, and the…

May 5, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Ieronim of Sinaia: The construction of the National Cathedral is a call and a still breeze of resurrection for our nation

The patriarchal auxiliary bishop Ieronim of Sinaia said on Bright Monday that “the wonderful work” carried out at the National Cathedral “is a call and a still breeze of resurrection for our nation.” During his homily at the Chapel of the National Cathedral, Bishop Ieronim referred to God’s “still breeze of resurrection” in the hearts…

May 5, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

#FearNot, put on the armour of St Stephen: the Cross and the fast

The Church has set a feast of the Holy Cross in the middle of Lent so that, looking to the sign of our Lord Jesus Christ’s victory over death, Christians may have courage in the face of any challenge. #FearNot is also the message that Basilica.ro insists on during this Lent. Looking at the Romanian…

Apr 7, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: Great Lent is also a quarantine

‘Some of you may wonder why the Church, in the midst of the current pandemic, would add to the already existing health restrictions yet another “quarantine,” namely Great Lent.’ “Indeed, Great Lent is also a quarantine, a period that lasts forty days,” wrote Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his catechetical message at the beginning of Great…

Mar 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

We begin the Great Lent with hope and courage: #FearNot

#FearNot is the meditation-exhortation we propose to you for the Lenten season. Why? Because these are the first words that resounded after the Resurrection: the angel said these words to the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb, and the Saviour addressed them directly to His disciples. The encouragement Christ gave centuries ago is timelier than ever,…

Mar 15, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Warsaw Metropolitan at beginning of Lent: Union with Christ through repentance is the path of the modern Orthodox in the fight against evil

“For Orthodox Christians in our complex, difficult times, full of spiritual disappointments, temptations and limitations of all kinds, Lent is of great spiritual importance,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Poland begins his Lenten epistle. Lent is a time for increased prayer and the struggle for purification, which give us renewed strength to struggle with the temptations…

Mar 11, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Watch: Trailer for Man of God film on St. Nektarios released (video)

The official trailer for the long-awaited film Man of God, about St. Nektarios of Aegina, was released March 9. Watch the trailer below: Production company Simeon Entertainment describes the film: “Exiled unjustly, convicted without a trial, slandered without cause, yet his love for God and his fellow men conquered all. Man of God depicts the…

Mar 11, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

“Let us strive to be like God by sharing in the humility of Christ,” Putna’s Abbot urges

Humility is the first lesson presented to us in the period of the Triodion, leading up to Great Lent and Holy Pascha. Humility must be the foundation of our spiritual life, for virtues can be acquired only if we “strive to be like God by sharing in the humility of Christ,” Archimandrite Melchisedec, the abbot…

Feb 25, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu