The media representatives of the Orthodox Dioceses within the borders of Romania have participated Thursday and Friday (03-04 March 2016) in a meeting with the representatives of the Basilica Press Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate. The event took place at the Dumitru Stăniloae Centre for Continuing Education in Bucharest.
Thursday, on the first day of the meeting, the current Church communication was evaluated, while the participants also have sought new ways of answering to the needs and the questions of today’s society.
As reported by Mr. Vasile Bănescu, spokesman of the Romanian Patriarchate, the stated purpose of the meeting was “to discuss the terms and details of a communication strategy of the Romanian Orthodox Church, but also an extra-institutional communication strategy”, i. e. “the relation of the Orthodox Church with the press in Romania”.
“Church communication is related to her internal life, to the transmission of the theological and spiritual message, which is a part of her ministry”, Mr. Ionuţ Mavrichi, patriarchal adviser within the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate, noted. He went on emphasyzing that “the Church must also be present in the media, while the communication has to be somehow structured in accordance to every public expectation. (…) In this respect, this meeting aims at elaborating a common strategy that can be implemented by the entire Romanian Patriarchate”.
The spokespersons of the dioceses have also discussed about the need for the compliance of the message of the Church to the social and cultural context, so that it can be properly received and provide a quality content to the public.
The special guest of the meeting was the dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies of the University of Bucharest, Prof. Mihai Coman, who presented some aspects related to public relations and crisis management.
