His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church welcomed His Excellency Mr Reuven Azar, the State of Israel’s ambassador to Romania, at the patriarchal residence on October 12, 2022.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel complimented Ambassador Azar’s extensive diplomatic work and emphasised the positive ties between Israel and Romania.
The pilgrimages to the Holy Land that the Romanian Patriarchate arranges through the Basilica Travel Agency in the hopes that they will experience a notable revival after the challenging time of limitations brought on by the new coronavirus pandemic serve as an eloquent illustration of these relationships.
At the same time, His Beatitude expressed his wish for the quickest possible restoration of the Romanian settlement on the Jordan River so that it might be added to the circuit of pilgrimages in the Holy Land.
The Israeli Ambassador thanked the Patriarch of Romania for the warm welcome and expressed his contentment and honour at visiting the Romanian Patriarchate, mentioning that Israel’s tourists favour Romania as one of their top travel destinations, which serves as an impetus for even closer collaboration with the Pilgrimage Agency of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Additionally, His Excellency emphasised how impressed he is with Romania’s robust religious faith in comparison to other European countries.
The Patriarch of Romania believes that the Romanian people’s religiosity results from the preservation of religious traditions and historical identity that have persisted despite decades of hostile atheism, demonstrating that Christianity outlasts all ideologies.
The new sociopolitical and economic context after 1989 prompted the adoption of suitable pastoral and missionary methods, including the establishment of new Romanian Orthodox communities in Western Europe, on the American continent and in other parts of the world.
Ambassador Azar appreciated the significant role played by the Romanian Orthodox Church as a factor of social peace both in the past and in the present in preserving the ethnic and religious identity of the Jewish community in Romania by establishing good relations with the members of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania over the years.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel concluded by wishing the Ambassador a successful diplomatic mission in Bucharest.
Department for External Church Relations of the Romanian Patriarchate
Photography courtesy of Lumina Newspaper / Luigi Ivanciu
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