Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday signed the decree proclaiming August 16 as National Day of Remembrance of the Brancoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians. This new National Day aims to inform the public, including young people, about the role of Christianity in the history of Romania and the ongoing nature and extent…
On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church will celebrate his 69th birthday. On this occasion, a prayer of thanksgiving to God will be offered during the Divine Liturgy celebrated at the Patriarchal Cathedral. After the Divine Liturgy, at 11.30 a.m., a Te Deum service will be held as…
Invited by King Felipe VI, His Grace Bishop Timotei of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Spain and Portugal attended a ceremony at Madrid’s Royal Palace in memory of the almost 30,000 people who have died from the coronavirus pandemic in the country on Thursday. Tributes were paid to the victims of COVID-19, as well as…
His Eminence Serafim, Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Germany, visited last weekend the Lord’s Resurrection Parish in Mannheim. He listened to people’s confessions, baptized three children, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and ordained a deacon to the priesthood. He spoke to the faithful about prayer, honest confession of sins and forgiveness, and also about the “evil spirits who…
Auxiliary Bishop Marc of Neamț celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the “Holy Apostles Peter and Paul” Romanian Orthodox Parish in Nantes, France, on Sunday, July 12. The parochial community took advantage of his pastoral visit to properly celebrate its patronal feast last Sunday. The feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul had previously been…
Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj wrote an article in a local publication about His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel who will soon celebrate his 69th birthday. The Metropolitan of Cluj, Maramures and Salaj calls the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church ‘a charismatic patriarch for atypical times’ and ‘a strong patriarch for difficult times.’ “And, we would not…
His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia celebrated his patron saint the Apostle Peter at St John the Theologian metropolitan chapel in Chisinau on Sunday. The Orthodox Metropolis of Bessarabia observes the unrevised Julian calendar, thus celebrating the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on July 12. During his sermon, the Metropolitan praised Saint…
Just one day after the feast of St. Sophrony of Essex was celebrated for the first time since his glorification among the saints last year, he was honored as the patron saint of a restored and reconsecrated church in a town in northwestern Romania. On Sunday, July 12, the old church in Sânmartin de Beiuș,…
“It is a joy to see that an icon of the Mother of God gathers in the love of the Holy Trinity a lot of people from different parts of the country, but also of different ages,” said His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel on Sunday at the summer patronal feast of the National Cathedral’s Chapel. At…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel wrote a message marking the 300th anniversary of the translation to Bucharest of the ‘relics sanctified through martyrdom’ of one of Romania’s most significant leaders, martyrs and saints Constantine Brancoveanu. The message was read out Sunday, July 12, 2020, at St George the New Church in Bucharest, one of Brancoveanu’s foundations.…
The assembly of bishops (synod) of the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina gathered Saturday, July 11, for a working session in Iași during which two candidates were proposed for the vacant episcopal see of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți. The archdiocesan see became vacant after the repose of 90-year old Archbishop Pimen Suceveanul of…
Monastics and pilgrims gathered Thursday at Neamț Monastery in eastern Romania to celebrate the feast of the Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God called the Directress. The festive Divine Liturgy was presided over by His Grace Bishop Calinic of Botosani, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Iasi. The day’s sermon was delivered by Fr.…
The Romanian Diocese of Australia and New Zealand is carrying out a complex project in the Australian state of Victoria, which includes the first Romanian Orthodox monastery in the southern hemisphere, a social and cultural centre, an episcopal chapel and a church dedicated to the Three Holy Romanian Hierarchs Andrew Șaguna, Gregory the Teacher, and…
The campaign to fund a new pregnancy crisis helpcenter in Bucharest has almost reached its target last week, raising 96.5% of the 20,500 Euros needed for the center to be set up and operate for two months. In addition to money, a donor offered a copy of the icon of the Mother of God “Protectress…
The June edition of Atiqot, an Israeli research journal, illumines the Christianity of a Byzantine settlement from old Galilee, destroyed by Persian invaders in 613 AD. Archeologists have just finished their analysis of this site, which was partially unearthed in 2007 at Pi Mazuva, in northwestern Israel. “While for now, we have no documents from Christian…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel told the Ecumenical Patriarch that the Romanian Patriarchate supports the preservation of the current status of the Hagia Sophia Basilica in Constantinople (Istanbul). The status of this symbol for Christianity is being re-discussed in Turkey. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has asked the Turkish authorities to keep the current museum status for the…
For the first time since the canonization of Ruler Prince Saint Stephen the Great (1992), the Saint’s feast day was celebrated at Putna Monastery in the absence of Archbishop Pimen of Suceava, abbot Melchisedec Velnic noted Thursday. The celebrations took place in special conditions caused by the pandemic. The abbot of Putna also lamented the…
The Romanian artist Luminița Pătrățeanu created mindful illustrations that reflect on the world’s current situation and capture the harsh reality of doctors who sacrifice themselves to take care of people. The illustrations went on display this week at the Municipal Emergency Hospital in Moinesti under the title ‘Blue Quarantine Story.’ The outdoor exhibition was opened…
The “Holy Apostles Peter and Paul” Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia, celebrated on Monday its patronal feast, which coincided with the 12th anniversary of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand. On this occasion, His Grace Mihail gave an impressive account of his visit to a small Romanian community from Dunedin, one…
Dumitru Comănescu was aged 111 years and eight months old when he passed away on Saturday – just under one month after inheriting the title of the oldest living man in the world. The oldest man in the world has died less than one month after scooping the impressive title. Romanian Dumitru Comanescu was 111-years-old…