On Saturday, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel welcomed two hieroschemamonks from St George – Colciu cell on Mount Athos: Fr Dionisie Alb, the cell’s hegumen, and Fr. Dionisie Florea. The Athonite fathers presented the Patriarch of Romania with a fragment of the honourable head of Elder Dionisie Ignat. Patriarch Daniel granted them the second highest distinction…
The UN General Assembly established World Bee Day in 2017 to highlight the importance of these small workers on which the survival of humanity and ecosystems depend: they are responsible for pollinating three-quarters of the world’s agricultural crops and 90% of wild flowering plant species. On 20 May, World Bee Day, farmers are invited to…
Christian Churches and NGOs from EU met last week in Berlin for the 3rd Strategy Conference on Sustainability. The participants called for the support of the German and European authorities for an administrative and legislative framework to prevent the price of social services from rising after the entry into force of the new EU environmental…
Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, the abbot of Putna Monastery in Romania, blessed on Tuesday a reliquary with a fragment from the relics of Holy Hierarch Jacob of Putna (+1778) who was canonized in 2017. A delegation made of the abbot and other four members of the monastic community then departed for America, where the relics will be…
World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973 as Resolution 46. In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the…
The first Orthodox place of worship built in Warsaw in the last hundred years was consecrated on Sunday. The “Hagia Sophia” Church is a replica of the basilica of the same name built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in Constantinople and has been dedicated to the victims of the Communist regime: those deported, imprisoned and killed…
His Eminence Saba Isper was enthroned on Saturday as the Antiochian Metropolitan of North America. In his enthronement speech, he spoke of the mission of Orthodox Christians in today’s society: to give witness to the beauty of Christ in a world which is thirsty for the Word of Life. The ceremony was held at “St…
His Beatitude Patriarch Neophitos of Bulgaria and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church sent a message for on May 10, 2023, which marks the 70th anniversary of the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate (1953). The message expresses gratitude to the forefathers for “remaining firm in the Orthodox faith”. The Holy Synod states that…
On May 7, 2023, Bucharest’s historical patriarchal cathedral dedicated to the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen marked the 365th anniversary of its consecration. In 1658, Patriarch Makarios of Antioch and All East led the consecration ceremony of the church founded by Wallachia’s ruler Constantin Serban Basarab, which initially served as catholicon for a monastery. Concelebrants…
Europe Day held on May 9 every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman declaration. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war…
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, sent a message on Saturday for the Coronation of King Charles III, whom His Beatitude calls “a true friend of the Romanian people”. Full text: Bucharest, 6 May 2023 His Majesty King CHARLES III Your Majesty, On the occasion of the solemn moment of Your Majesty’s…
His Grace Bishop Ieronim of Dacia Felix extended condolences over the tragic shooting in a school in Belgrade, which killed nine, including eight children and wounded others. “Such tragic events, which sadden us and, simultaneously, worry us due to their unpredictability, are just as many alarm signals regarding the unconditional love, attention and emotional support…
In the context of Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, His Eminence Archbishop Calinic of Suceava and Rădăuţi proposed a Christian woman’s Decalogue. The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has designated the third Sunday after Holy Pascha as Christian Women’s Sunday beginning in 2020 to underscore the role and significance of Christian women in the…
Priest Cătălin Mureș, who serves at the Holy Great Martyr Menas Church in Suceava, is a physiotherapist in his spare time. At his ordination to the priesthood, he prayed to God to be able to heal sick people. “Then, in 1992, I was thinking of helping them through prayer, thinking that I would pray for…
The itinerant exhibition called the Museum of the Bible, which hosts over 1000 copies of the Holy Scriptures in hundreds of languages and dialects, has returned to Timișoara. During the opening of the exhibition, a new initiative began: the handwriting of the biggest Bible in Romania. The opening of the exhibition took place on Monday,…
The Patriarch of Romania expressed his compassion and solidarity in a letter to Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia. We reproduce the full text: Bucharest, 4 May 2023, His Beatitude PORFIRIJE, Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrad-Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch Your Beatitude, Christ is Risen! The news of the tragic event that took place in the morning of…
A photo showing the wooden church in the village of Gîrbova, Ocnița district, Republic of Moldova, was ranked 11th in the latest edition (2022) of the Wiki Loves Monuments international competition. From over 150,000 images registered, 337 photos were selected by the jurors of the 36 national competitions. “These are the 15 best images from…
The relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle and the Holy Great Martyr Catherine were brought last week from Greece for the patronal feast of Pantocrator Monastery in Teleorman County in southern Romania. Before leaving for Greece, the Greek delegation visited the patriarchal residence bringing the relics to be venerated by the Patriarch of Romania. “We…
Tuesday, before departing for the European Championship in Spain, His Eminence Archbishop Irineu blessed the Romanian National Bodybuilding and Fitness Team at Christ Pantocrator Monastery in Alba Iulia. Gabriel Toncean, the president of the Romanian Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, headed the team. “Let’s say a young gymnast wants to compete in the Olympic games.…
In a message on National Youth Day (May 2), His Grace Benedict of Bistrița, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj, urged young people “to be enthusiastic, joyful and full of hope” and be inspired by the experience of older people. Being one of the youngest hierarchs in the Romanian Holy Synod,…