The Church of Greece has called on families—especially wives—to support with love and understanding those who feel called to serve as ministers of the Church. The appeal was made by the Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece in a pastoral message issued ahead of the Week of Priestly Vocations. In the encyclical letter,…
His Grace Bishop Veniamin officiated a Te Deum service on Tuesday at the diocesan cathedral in Cahul to mark the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Cetatea Albă–Ismail, whose canonical successor today is the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia. The hierarch recalled the historical context of the diocese’s establishment, noting that the Great…
Anti-communist political prisoners were commemorated on Monday in Timișoara in an event that coincided with the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. The memorial service was officiated by Fr Timotei Anișorac, eparchial vicar, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Timișoara, marking the Day of Anti-Communist Political Prisoners from the 1944–1989 period. Former political prisoners, former…
The Romanian Orthodox Church in Moncalieri—the first church built by Romanians on Italian soil—celebrated its patronal feast with a series of liturgical events held on Sunday and Monday. Archimandrite Maxim Drăguț from the Episcopal Chapel “Exaltation of the Holy Cross” in Turin celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday together with Fr Marius Floricu, dean of…
The relics of Gregory Palamas were carried in procession through the streets of Thessaloniki on the second Sunday of Great Lent, which in the Orthodox Church is dedicated to the saint who defended hesychast spirituality. The religious procession took place on Sunday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in the historic Greek city, where the relics of…
“The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard reveals the mercy and goodness of God,” said Bishop Ignatie of Husi during his sermon on Monday, adding that people must learn to look upon this goodness with generosity of heart. Reflecting on the Gospel reading on the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, the bishop…
Orthodox bishops in Germany have adopted new guidelines and procedural rules for handling cases of abuse and sexual harassment within the framework of the Conference of Orthodox Bishops in Germany (OBKD). According to a press release, the canonical Orthodox bishops in Germany held a working session on 7 March at the diocesan centre of the…
Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești on Monday urged believers to follow the example of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste while presiding at the patronal feast of Antim Monastery in Bucharest. “Looking with admiration at the example of the Forty Martyrs, let us follow their faith,” the bishop said during the Liturgy of the Presanctified…
Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj on Sunday commemorated St Liviu-Galaction Munteanu at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Cluj-Napoca, praising the faith and steadfastness of the newly canonised priest-martyr. “We look up and admire his faith and seriousness,” the metropolitan said during the Divine Liturgy celebrated together with his Assistant Bishop Samuel of Bistrița, on the saint’s feast…
The Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți distributed about 500 icons to mothers and their caregivers in maternity wards across Suceava County on Sunday. The initiative took place in the context of International Women’s Day and formed part of the eparchial programme “Month for Life”. Hospital chaplains distributed the icons, offering blessings and words of encouragement…
His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan of Banat on Saturday commemorated seven Greek football supporters who died in a road accident on Jan. 27, 2026, in Lugojel, Timiș County. The metropolitan officiated a memorial service and blessed a funerary monument erected in their memory at the site of the crash. About 120 supporters of the PAOK Thessaloniki…
Children and young people from Romanian Orthodox communities in Canada marked the beginning of spring with the 2026 Spring Religious Camp dedicated to Saints Andrew and John Cassian. The event was organised on March 1–4 by the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada at the Notre-Dame-de-la-Rouge Centre in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Quebec. The spiritual coordinator was Fr Grigorie Țăpuc,…
The living Church is a communion of merciful love, Patriarch Daniel of Romania said on Sunday, explaining that the four anonymous men who brought the paralytic to Jesus through the roof in the Gospel account symbolise the Church as a serving and compassionate community. “The Church prays not only for those present at its prayer,…
Two young Mexicans were baptised Orthodox at the Church of St Joseph the Confessor in Cancun, marking a first for the Romanian Orthodox mission in the city. The service took place last Saturday during the pastoral visit of Fr Daniel Ene, vicar of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas, who served last weekend both…
The Romanian Settlement in Jerusalem has offered Chozeva Monastery an icon of St John Jacob of Neamț, whom Patriarch Daniel has described as “the Romanian saint of the Holy Land”. The gesture reflects the spiritual bond between Romania and the Holy Land. This connection is closely associated with the life and ministry of St John…
Father Nicolae Bulat combines weekend pastoral ministry with building site work during the week. He serves the parish of St Joseph the Merciful in Corby, UK, which brings together Romanian and Moldovan communities living in the area. The priest told Basilica.ro that the experience helps him better understand the lives and challenges faced by Romanians…
The “Saint Christopher” Pediatric Palliative Care Centre of the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj—the first facility of its kind in Romania—welcomed its first patients in mid-February. The moment was marked in the center’s chapel, where the Archdiocese’s Assistant Bishop Samuel of Bistrița met with Father Lorand‑Emanuel Komives and the medical team, offering them a…
“Princess Maria Brâncoveanu remains a luminous example of living the Christian faith,” said Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova on Wednesday at St George the New Church in Bucharest, where the relics of the newly canonised saint were exhumed. “What did this way of life mean? First of all, patience until the last day of her…
Eighty-seven years have passed since the repose of Miron Cristea, the first Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. He distinguished himself through intense efforts to organise and develop church and cultural life. Amid profound social and political transformations, he participated in the Great Union of 1918, contributed to the administrative consolidation of the Romanian Orthodox…
On March 9, Romania commemorates both the Feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and the Day of Remembrance for Anti-Communist Political Prisoners from the period 1944–1989. Each year on this date, Romanians have a moral duty to remember those who resisted the totalitarian communist regime, confessing the Orthodox faith against state-imposed atheism. Many were…