Thursday marks 92 years since the birth of Fr Seraphim Rose, one of the best-known American witnesses and apologists of Orthodoxy. His journey took him from the study of Eastern thought to his conversion at the age of 28, when he was received into the Orthodox Church through Baptism. Eugene Dennis Rose was born on…
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem officiated a vigil service on Monday in honour of St John Jacob of Neamț at Choziba Monastery in Palestine. His Beatitude described the saint as “an offspring of Romania”. The service was celebrated by Patriarch Theophilos III together with His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Secretary-General of the…
“You are the heart of the Church scattered throughout the world, like the seed of the Gospel carried to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8),” Assistant Bishop Iachint of the Pacific of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand told young Orthodox Christians on Wednesday. Marking International Youth Day, the youngest hierarch…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church has called for stronger spiritual and family ties with Romanians living abroad, saying Orthodox parishes in the diaspora have become places where migrants can preserve their faith, language and cultural identity. In a message for the Sunday of Romanian Migrants, observed this year on 16 August,…
The foundations of a Roman bridge built across the Danube nearly 1,700 years ago have emerged as exceptionally low water levels exposed parts of the ancient structure, Reuters reported. The Bridge of Constantine was built in the early fourth century and inaugurated in 328 by the Holy Emperor Constantine the Great. It linked the ancient…
World Calligraphy Day celebrates the art of handwriting, practised since antiquity. Over the centuries, calligraphy has embellished manuscripts and has also held an important place in the Christian tradition. The observance is held annually on the second Wednesday of August and is dedicated to the art of calligraphy and those who practise it. In 2026,…
“The Church journeys through history in the footsteps of the saints, and their fascinating experience and profound embrace of Christian values constitute that wonderful treasure of spirituality which inspires the lives of us all, young and old,” His Eminence Archbishop Nifon of Târgoviște, Honorary Metropolitan and Patriarchal Exarch, said on Tuesday. On the feast of…
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I prayed last Friday at the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople, marking 1,400 years since the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God was first chanted. According to tradition, the hymn dedicated to the Mother of God was first chanted at the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople in 626, after the Byzantine…
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will visit Bulgaria on 19 October for the feast of St John of Rila. The announcement was made on Friday during the Service of Supplication to the Mother of God held at the Church of St John of Rila of the Bulgarian community in Constantinople. The visit will take…
The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand is encouraging Romanians living in Australia to declare both their Romanian ethnicity and their Orthodox Christian faith in the 2026 Australian Census. According to a press release issued by the Diocese, the census data helps provide an accurate picture of the Romanian and Orthodox communities in…
Mihaela-Iuliana Păun is the wife of Fr. Ionuț Păun, the parish priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church dedicated to St. Parascheva and the Holy Martyrs Kilian, Coloman, and Totnan in Bamberg, Germany. She has lived there for almost seventeen years together with her husband and their four children. She teaches German in adult education, and…
“Only after you believe that God can help you can you take the first step on the path of renewal and salvation,” His Grace Iachint of the Pacific, Assistant Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, said on Sunday at St Mary Romanian Orthodox Parish in Wellington, New Zealand. Reflecting on…
“Let us seek the light through a constant struggle against darkness,” His Grace Timotei of Prahova, Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, urged the faithful on Sunday at the Patriarchal Cathedral. Reflecting on the Gospel reading for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, the bishop explained that the power of evil is limited and that…
The Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina’s “Five Loaves and Two Fish – Food for All” project provides hot meals and support to vulnerable people. Launched in May in Iași, the mobile social kitchen has so far reached more than 680 beneficiaries. According to the organisers, the project has grown steadily with each edition. While about…
“The mountain is also an image of the spiritual ascent. No one reaches the mountain’s summit without effort,” Assistant Bishop Nectarie of Bogdania said last Thursday at the patronal feast of Ceahlău Monastery, situated at an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900 feet). Pilgrims from across Romania attended the celebration, some walking hundreds of kilometres to…
“Strong faith, persistent prayer, and complete fasting drive out demons,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church said on Sunday at the historic St George Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest. The Romanian Patriarch explained that the disciples’ inability to heal the demon-possessed boy described in the Gospel was due to the…
Sunday marked 425 years since the death of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), the first ruler to unite Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia under a single leadership. At the end of the 16th century, Michael the Brave became Prince of Wallachia, beginning his reign in 1593. Amid the conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg…
Participants in the World Congress of Syriac Studies and the International Conference on Arab Christian Studies adopted the “Bucharest Declaration” on Friday, recognising Romania’s contribution to the development of cultural diplomacy. According to a press release issued by the Levant Institute for Advanced Studies in the Culture of Peace, the declaration was adopted in the…
Romania’s Ambassador to Chișinău, Cristian-Leon Țurcanu, met on Wednesday with Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia during an official visit to the Diocese of Bălți. During their meeting, the two reaffirmed their partnership in support of Romanian communities in the Republic of Moldova. The ambassador’s visit continued the institutional dialogue initiated in July at the Metropolitan Residence…
A pilgrimage at the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St Ephraim the New in Mono, Ontario, marked the beginning of the Dormition Fast in the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. Held from 31 July to 2 August, the event brought together faithful from several Canadian provinces, as well as numerous young…