His Grace Assistant Bishop Teofil of Iberia of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Spain and Portugal warned on Sunday that the Holy Cross does not offer a magical protection if a Christian’s life contradicts the Gospel. He delivered a sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Cross Parish, Alcalá del Júcar – Casas-Ibáñez in…
Archbishop Irineu of Alba Iulia said on Sunday at Aiud Monastery that the martyrs of the communist prison in Aiud transformed their prison hell into a spiritual ascent. Speaking on the monastery’s patronal feast, the archbishop recalled the sacrifice of those who endured persecution in communist prisons. “Today we remember with reverence all Romanians who…
Aris Servetalis, who portrayed Saint Nectarios of Aegina in the film Man of God, will play Saint Joseph the Hesychast in a biographical television series to be broadcast in Greece by Mega Channel, according to ope.gr. The role of the Athonite saint will be portrayed at two stages of life: the younger Joseph will be…
Members of the Romanian Orthodox Parish of Tokyo have begun building a wooden church in Maramureș style in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture, after purchasing land and establishing the first Orthodox cemetery in Japan at the site. The foundation stone was blessed at the end of last week. The service was officiated by the parish priest, Daniel…
The St Maximos the Greek Institute of Vatopedi Monastery and the Ormylia Foundation of Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos will organise the International Theological Symposium “In Memory and Honour of Elder Aimilianos of Simonos Petras: A Witness to the Glory of God and a Guide in the Spirit” in Athens from 8–10 May 2026. The…
Bishop Macarie Drăgoi of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe ordained Swedish deacon Serafim Lundqvist to the priesthood on Sunday during the Divine Liturgy at the parish of Sts Theodore the Viking Martyr and his son John, in Leksand, Sweden. Fr Serafim Lundqvist said the moment of his ordination was both a great blessing…
Around 1,000 pupils from 37 schools at all levels of education in Thessaloniki chanted hymns to the Virgin Mary at the city’s Hagia Sophia Church. The pupils, together with the choir of the Hellenic Army Officers’ School and the Eirmos Byzantine Children’s Choir of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki, provided the liturgical responses on Friday, 13…
Denis Vlad, a religion teacher and parliamentary adviser, has urged young people to recognise the importance of faith in God for coping with life’s challenges and for healing. He said there are numerous examples showing that a strong faith in God provides not only emotional resilience but also physical strength. “We have many examples, books…
Kim Hyeonwoo, a 25-year-old medical student from South Korea, was baptised into the Orthodox faith last Thursday at a church in Vaslui County, in eastern Romania. The sacrament was officiated by Archpriest Andrei Mereuță, dean of Bârlad, while the young man’s sponsors were Fr Sabin Apopei and his wife Maria, who guided him on the…
“Self-denial, taking up or accepting the cross and following Christ are the three conditions for being Christians and attaining salvation or eternal life through the union of man with God, the source of eternal life,” said Patriarch Daniel of Romania on Sunday. The head of the Romanian Orthodox Church explained that Christian life cannot be…
The Ukrainian community in Romania marks 36 years since the re-establishment of the Ukrainian Orthodox Vicariate in Romania on Monday. Following the fall of the communist regime, Orthodox Ukrainians in Romania initiated steps to obtain the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church for the restoration of the Ukrainian Vicariate, which had…
The Faculty of Orthodox Theology and Educational Sciences of Valahia University of Târgoviște hosted an academic conference on Thursday, attended by professors from Tbilisi and members of the university’s teaching staff. The discussions focused on the theme “The Church of Georgia in the 19th–20th Centuries”. Among the invited speakers were Dimitry Gegenava, vice-rector of Sulkhan-Saba…
Fr. Narcis Stupcanu, a priest serving at the St. Paraskeva Parish in Berceni, Bucharest, said in an interview with Trinitas TV that one of the main problems affecting families today is individualism. “We have become very selfish and expect more from the other person than from ourselves,” the priest said. He noted that many people…
Hierarchs of the Metropolis of Bessarabia met in a working session on Thursday at the Metropolitan Residence in Chisinau, where they approved the text of the Akathist to St Blandina of Iași and set the date and location for the local proclamation of her canonisation: 23 May 2026 in Chisinau. The meeting was chaired by…
Archbishop Casian Crăciun of Lower Danube on Monday commemorated the martyrs of the Salcia labour camp in the Great Brăila Island, where hundreds of anti-communist political prisoners died in suffering. The memorial service was held in connection with the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and Romania’s National Day of Remembrance for anti-communist political…
Charity priests from the Archdiocese of Bucharest blessed a cross monument installed in the courtyard of the Mina Minovici National Institute of Legal Medicine in Bucharest on Tuesday. “The moment chosen, close to the Sunday of the Holy Cross at the midpoint of Great Lent, is symbolic for a place where suffering is constantly present, because families…
“Today, a new spiritual jewel enters the sacred treasury of Râmeț Monastery: the honourable relics of Venerable Philotimia,” said Archbishop Irineu of Alba Iulia. “They will be venerated alongside those of Gelasius of Râmeț and Dometius the Merciful of Râmeț.” The archbishop made the remarks at Râmeț Monastery on Thursday during the exhumation of the…
Assistant Bishop Teofil of the Archdiocese of Roman and Bacău urged believers who are unable to fast during the Lenten period to intensify their prayer or perform more acts of charity. The hierarch celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday at the Nativity of the Mother of God Monastery in Caraclău, Bacău County.…
Archimandrite Hrisostom Ciuciu of Putna Monastery addressed soldiers during a lecture titled “The Mystery of Confession and the Divine Liturgy for Authentic Orthodox Living”, held on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Romanian Land Forces Staff in Bucharest. Opening his lecture, Fr Hrisostom Ciuciu highlighted the closeness between the military and monastic vocations, underlining their…
Andreea Horoiță, a clinical psychologist who also teaches at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, told the hosts of the Hristocentric platform in an interview that religious practice can bring meaning where it is difficult to find and can effectively transform behaviours, thoughts and emotions. The specialist stressed the…