Bucharest’s “Holy Empress Helen” Counselling and Information Centre will sponsor participation in the next Heartbeat International Conference for a Romanian pro-life worker. The sponsorship will be awarded to a Romanian who can convince Santa Claus that he or she has a serious intention to support women in pregnancy crisis. “If you really want this sponsorship,…
“The Christmas Tree reminds us of the Tree of Life, with the many gifts of the Holy Eucharist. The Tree of Life – Christ. In the Holy Trinity icon painted by Andrey Rublyov, the Tree of Life is placed exactly behind the Son, meaning Christ, Who is blessing the content of the Chalice,” explained Patriarch…
On the Nativity of the Lord, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel urged the faithful to offer Christ their most precious gifts not only at Christmas but every day of their lives. The gifts of the faithful During his sermon on Christmas day, the Patriarch of Romania explained that Christ does not want us to bring gold,…
The year 2023 will be an occasion to commemorate hymnographers and church chanters (psaltes) in the Romanian Patriarchate, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided this December. The Reverend Archdeacon Mihail Bucă, founder and conductor of the Tronos Byzantine Choir of the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, welcomed this decision. “I feel that the…
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of France (AEOF) resumed its regular meetings on December 14, under the chairmanship of His Eminence Metropolitan Demetrios of France (Ecumenical Patriarchate). The bishops prayed for Orthodox unity and encouraged the affirmation of the true faith. After the introductory speech of Metropolitan Demetrios, the new chairman of the AEOF,…
During its working session on December 16, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church declared 2023 a Solemn Year of the pastoral care of the elderly and a Commemorative Year of hymnographers and church chanters in the Romanian Patriarchate. “These grandparents who have worked all their lives must also be remembered in the Church’s…
The Patriarch of Romania awarded on Wednesday the Patriarch of Jerusalem the “St. John Jacob of Neamț, the New Khozevite”. The distinction was granted in the context of the Solemn Year 2021 in the Romanian Patriarchate and it was transmitted to Jerusalem by Archim. Teofil Anăstăsoaie, Representative of the Romanian Patriarchate in the Holy Land.…
Patriarch Daniel received on Wednesday a group of young beneficiaries of Bucharest’s Down Plus Association. His Beatitude blessed the young people with Down Syndrome and told them they intensified the joy on the Patriarchate’s Hill. “You sang very beautifully and conveyed joy, as the song said, especially since we are here in Bucharest, which means…
“St. John of Damascus says the only new thing under the sun is God the Man, Jesus Christ. And this mystery of God the Child Who grows through the love and care shown by the Mother of God and His adoptive father, Righteous Joseph, reveals the mystery of family,” Patriarch Daniel said on Monday to…
Christ came into the world as a Child “to reveal the great mystery of humble and generous love: a child can be ignored, as it often happens, it can be rejected, it can be killed in the womb or it can be granted all the attention, all the care and all the affection fit for…
In his first Christmas encyclical in 1986, Romania’s former Patriarch Teoctist Arapasu noted that the Nativity shows how much God loves us and how much the price of human life is before God. 1. What can give wings to the mind towards the deep and mysterious meaning of life; what can inflame the heart towards…
A commemoration service was officiated on Wednesday in Bucharest’s Romanian Revolution Square. Prayers were offered for the martyrs who fought for freedom during the last days of the Nicolae Ceauşescu’s communist regime. The religious ceremony was held after the state anthem. “We have officiated a commemoration service for the maryrs of the Romanian December 1989…
In his first pastoral encyclical on the Nativity of the Lord in 1977, Romania’s fourth Patriarch Iustin Moisescu stressed the joyful way Christians need to welcome the Baby Jesus in their lives. 1. Listening to Christmas hymns, let us all now bow our heads before the icon of the Nativity, thanking God for the saving…
In his first Christmas encyclical in 1948, Romania’s third Patriarch Justinian Marina emphasized that the news of the Nativity did not resonate in marble palaces, but in the pure hearts of the poor, of those who worked without rest. 1. As we prepare to honour, according to tradition, the great feast of the Incarnation of…
Metropolitan Nicolae’s Pastoral Letter for the Lord’s Nativity points to the fact that the Lord’s Nativity restores man by bringing the Light of Knowledge: the knowledge of God. The hierarch quotes St. Athanasius the Great, who said that Adam’s sin consisted of turning away from the contemplation of God – of the One Who is,…
In his first pastoral letter on the Nativity of the Lord in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War, Romania’s second Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu urged the faithful to remember the cave in Bethlehem in times of unrest and insecurity, because only through the One born in it they would find escape, tranquillity, and…
Patriarch Miron Cristea, the first Patriarch of Romania, wrote his first Christmas pastoral letter in 1926. In the five selected quotes below, the Patriarch points to wealth and poverty as possible obstacles in fulfilling the Christian’s purpose, the real power of mastery, sacrifice, as well as the conditions in which social well-being can be achieved.…
In this year’s Christmas encyclical, His Grace Bishop Mihail of Australia and New Zealand emphasizes that the Nativity of the Saviour represents the fulfilment of all Old Testament prophecies. Through Him, divine revelation is concrete, complete, and perfect. “By the birth of Christ, the prophecies which God the Father revealed to His elect in the…
Fr. Ioan Sauca, Acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), visited, on December 15, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East at His Beatitude’s residence in Balamand, Lebanon. Patriarch John X is one of the WCC presidents. His Beatitude shared the situation of the people and churches from his Patriarchate.…
Orthodox faithful throughout the U.S. have a special opportunity now through early February to venerate the relics of one of Romania’s most recently glorified saints. With the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, the relics of St. George the Pilgrim have arrived in America. The relics have already visited a number of parishes in several…