The Romanian Patriarchate’s Basilica News Agency is launching a new visual identity and a completely rebuilt Basilica.ro today, 1 September, to coincide with the start of the new Church Year. It is the first major interface overhaul since the website was last redesigned in 2016. The timing anticipates an important milestone: in 2027, both the…
“The Church and society need you, not for what you will become years from now, but for what you bring today,” State Secretary for Religious Affairs Ciprian Olinici told participants at the opening of the 2026 International Meeting of Orthodox Youth in Bucharest on Tuesday. The Romanian official reflected on the significance of the young…
Bucharest Mayor Ciprian Ciucu on Tuesday urged young participants at ITO 2026 to carry forward Romania “as it is today — open, free and Christian”. The Mayor addressed more than 2,400 young people gathered at the National Cathedral for the opening of the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth and said their presence gave the venue…
“Begin with God, with a prayer offered in faith, with a candle lit in silence, with an act of mercy done from the heart,” Archbishop Calinic of Suceava and Rădăuți said in a message marking the beginning of the new Church Year. His Eminence explained that liturgical time should not be regarded merely as a…
“I hope you experience this communion, learn from people wiser than yourselves and keep believing in Romania,” President Nicușor Dan told young participants at ITO 2026 on Tuesday. The Romanian president attended the opening of the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth at the National Cathedral, alongside representatives of dioceses, sister Orthodox Churches and central and…
The Day of Prayer for Creation is observed on 1 September, at the beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year, as the Church calls for environmental protection and greater responsibility for God’s creation. Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I launched the initiative in 1989, calling on the Christian world to pray for creation and its protection. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel urged young people attending the 2026 International Orthodox Youth Meeting (ITO) in Bucharest on Tuesday to have the desire to courageously bear witness to Christian values. The Patriarch of Romania emphasized that „the young Orthodox Christian who loves God and others discovers and bears witness to the truth that the Crucified…
“We shall continue, in word and deed, to promote the ecological vision of the Holy Great Church of Christ and the eco-friendly dynamism of the eucharistic, ascetic, and doxological relationship with creation,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I emphasised in his message for the Day of Prayer for the Environment. His All-Holiness explained that the state of…
Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia issued a message on Monday for Romanian Language Day, saying the occasion “calls us to honour one of the deepest expressions of our continuity”. “Language is the spiritual matrix of a people, the archive of its sensibility, the memory of its sufferings and victories, as well as the most faithful expression…
His Grace Bishop Iachint of the Pacific, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, emphasised that Christ can become either a “stumbling block” or the “firm foundation” of our lives, depending on how we receive and fulfil the word of God. Bishop Iachint celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday at the Life-Giving…
“The Dormition of the Mother of God reveals to us the victory of life in Christ and her unceasing closeness to those who call upon her in prayer,” Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia said on Friday, when the Dormition was celebrated according to the unrevised calendar. Metropolitan Antonie celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the parish’s patronal…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania sent a letter of gratitude to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on Monday, following a ceremony at the Phanar over the weekend to sign the canonisation acts for four Romanian Athonite saints. „In particular, the canonization of the four Athonite Fathers of Romanian origin – Hieromonk Niphon, Monk…
“It becomes a choice, a heritage we preserve and, above all, a gift we are called to entrust to our children,” Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said in a message, marking Romanian Language Day. His Eminence explained that distance cannot erase the bond between language, family and homeland. “A person may travel…
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I signed the canonisation acts for four Romanian Athonite saints on Saturday: Sts Niphon of Prodromos Skete, Nectarios the Protopsaltes, Dionysius of Colciu and Petronius of Prodromos Skete. The ceremony took place at the Cathedral of St George in Constantinople’s Phanar district, after the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate…
The Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, Romania, celebrated its patronal feast on Sunday, honouring St Alexander, Patriarch of Constantinople. To mark the occasion, the relic of St Basil the Great’s right hand was brought from Greece to bless the congregation. Bishop Galaction of Alexandria and Teleorman celebrated the Divine Liturgy with Bishop Nectarie of Ireland and…
Archimandrite Ioan Meiu, representative of the Romanian Patriarchate in the Holy Land and superior of the Romanian establishments in Jerusalem, Jericho and Jordan, attended the Divine Liturgy on Friday for the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God according to the unrevised calendar. His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem celebrated the service…
The Romanian city of Alexandria hosted a procession on Saturday evening with the relics of St Basil the Great, St Alexander, Patriarch of Constantinople, and St Mary Magdalene, the Myrrh-Bearer. Bishop Galaction of Alexandria and Teleorman and Bishop Nicodemus of Skopelos, Assistant Bishop of the Metropolis of Chalkida, Istiaia and the Northern Sporades of the…
Romanian Language Day is celebrated annually on 31 August and celebrates Romanian identity and cultural heritage. In Romania, the observance was established in 2013, while in the Republic of Moldova it has been marked since 1990, following the national revival movement of the late 1980s. According to Radio România Cultural, the celebration marks a decisive…
Romanian Orthodox Bishop Macarie of Northern Europe offered his condolences to the Norwegian Royal Family on Friday after the repose of King Harald V. The Romanian hierarch expressed his sorrow upon learning the news: “It was with profound sadness that I received the news of His Majesty’s passing from this life.” “At this time of…
His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia received Romanian President Nicușor Dan on Thursday at the Metropolitan Residence in Chișinău. The meeting took place during the Romanian president’s visit marking the 35th anniversary of the Republic of Moldova’s proclamation of independence. The delegation welcomed by Metropolitan Antonie included Cristian-Leon Țurcanu, Romania’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to…