The first Lesser Blessing of Water in decades was officiated last Friday at the Romanian Skete on the Jordan River following decades of abandonment, Archimandrite Ioan Meiu, representative of the Romanian Patriarchate in the Holy Land and superior of the Romanian Settlements in Jerusalem, Jericho and Jordan, announced. With the support of the Israeli authorities,…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel welcomed the relics of St Anne, the mother of the Mother of God, at the Patriarchal Residence on Saturday evening. Brought from Koutloumousiou Monastery at the initiative of St George the New Parish in Bucharest, the relics are visiting Romania for the first time and are accompanied by a delegation from…
Bishop Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia issued a message at the start of the 2026–2027 school year to pupils, students, parents, and teachers, urging young people to combine the acquisition of knowledge with character formation and the cultivation of faith, while emphasising that true wisdom has its source in God. The Bishop of Southern Bessarabia recalled…
The Romanian Orthodox Malajnica Monastery of the Timok Vicariate, Diocese of Dacia Felix, Serbia, will host celebrations for the local proclamation of the canonisation of St Magdalena of Malajnica on 12–13 September 2026. Hierarchs, clergy, representatives of authorities and institutions from Romania and the Republic of Serbia, as well as numerous faithful and pilgrims, are…
“In a world marked by extensive and rapid change, the diversification of means of communication and the use of artificial intelligence, written culture continues to be that magnificent point of reference for stability, discernment and depth,” Archbishop Nifon of Târgoviște, Honorary Metropolitan and Patriarchal Exarch, said on Friday. “It helps us maintain balance, cultivate reflection…
His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan of Banat urged students to learn what benefits them, warning: “Not everything you can learn builds you up spiritually.” In a message for the beginning of the new school year, the Metropolitan of Banat emphasised that the first day of school is a moment of joy, but also one of emotion…
A young woman from Thailand received the Mystery of Holy Matrimony on Sunday at St George–Capra Church in Bucharest, after being baptised into the Orthodox Church and given the name of St Eugenia. Fr Bogdan Neacșiu, eparchial inspector in the Church Administration Department of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, celebrated the Mystery of Holy Matrimony for…
Andrei Pohrib, who received the ITO torch with Maria Stella Pascal, said the 2026 International Meeting of Orthodox Youth represented for him an image of the Christian life. The moment took place during the closing ceremony at the National Cathedral, where the Archdiocese of Bucharest handed over the ITO torch to the delegation of the…
The 2026 International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO 2026) concluded on Thursday at the National Cathedral with the Divine Liturgy and a ceremony handing over the torch to the Archdiocese of Iași, which has been designated to organise the next gathering. Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishops Varlaam of Ploiești and Paisie of Sinaia celebrated the service, along…
Nearly 2,000 participants and volunteers at the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO 2026) in Bucharest took part on Wednesday in interactive training workshops on project management, digital communication, and responsibility in interpersonal relationships. For approximately 1,800 Romanian participants, the activities took place in classrooms at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest…
“Dear young people, we thank you for the beautiful Procession of Lights you held this evening from the National Cathedral to the historic Patriarchal Cathedral. It was a pilgrimage of joy and peace,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel told young participants in the 2026 International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO 2026) on Wednesday evening, after they…
Romania’s top officials urged young participants in the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO) 2026 to continue to believe in Romania. Among the participants in the opening ceremony held on Tuesday at Romania’s National Cathedral were the Patriarch and the President of Romania. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel emphasised that young people learn love and communion…
“A young believer in a secularised society is not someone closed in on themselves; rather, the Gospel makes them free and helps them become purer, more responsible and more loving,” Bishop Macarie of Northern Europe said on Wednesday evening at the National Cathedral, where he spoke with participants in the 2026 International Meeting of Orthodox…
A team of archaeologists led by Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, has reconstructed the ancient landscape surrounding the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The present church is built over part of an ancient quarry on Gareb Hill. After stone extraction ceased, some areas were adapted for agricultural use, while others were used for…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel emphasized the importance of the family for humanity at the closing ceremony of the 2026 International Orthodox Youth Meeting (ITO), held on Thursday at the National Cathedral in Bucharest. „The conjugal family in its entirety, consisting of a man, a woman, and children, is a blessing and a gift from God…
Orthodox hierarchs from France and the Benelux countries will organise a day of prayer and reflection on caring for creation in Paris on 12 September, according to Orthodoxie.com. The event will take place at the Holy Archangels Cathedral of the Romanian Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe, beginning at 16:00. The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops…
“A dignified future can only be built through knowing and embracing one’s own identity,” Metropolitan Antonie of Bessarabia told students at the Ion Creangă Pedagogical College in Bălți, Republic of Moldova, on Tuesday. In his message marking the start of the new school and academic year, the Metropolitan of Bessarabia emphasised that education is not…
Archimandrite Maxim Drăguț, Assistant Bishop-elect of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy, will be ordained to the episcopate at the Parish of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste in Moncalieri, near Turin, Italy. Services will take place on 7–8 September. The programme will begin on the evening of Monday, 7 September, with Great Vespers at…
Andreea Ogăraru, a mother of six, and Dr Radu Țincu, a senior physician in Intensive Care and Toxicology at Bucharest’s Floreasca Emergency Clinical Hospital, spoke with participants at the 2026 International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO 2026). The event took place on Tuesday evening at the National Cathedral in Bucharest and was broadcast live by…
Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland issued a message at the beginning of the new Church Year, emphasising that “at the threshold between two liturgical years, the Church places before us the same person: the Most Holy Mother of God”. His Eminence noted that we are accustomed to measuring time by what begins…