On the Sunday of Orthodoxy—the first Sunday of Great Lent—the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church released its annual pastoral encyclical, signed by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and all members of the Synod. The letter, traditionally read in every parish during the Divine Liturgy, centres on the theme: “Man is the living icon of…
The Romanian Patriarchate firmly reaffirms its pro-life position, and it upholds respect for the unborn children’s fundamental right to life, while also urging concrete support for women in pregnancy crisis situations who are facing major material, social, and emotional difficulties. From 1958 to the present, more than 23 million abortions have been recorded in Romania.…
Fr Florin Haniș, parish priest of the Romanian Orthodox community in Forlì, Italy, spoke in an interview with the Romanian publication Formula AS about the beginnings and development of the Romanian community in the Emilia-Romagna region. “The Romanian Orthodox Parish of Saint Gregory the Theologian in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, was born only around 2006, after we…
The Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland addressed London police officers on Monday during the event “Orthodox Easter 2026,” stressing that for Orthodox Christians, “faith is not separate from public service, but supports and ennobles it.” The event took place at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service (New Scotland Yard). Among…
“The Great Canon has been called Adam’s Lament—that is, the lament of the man who realised that, in losing God, he lost himself. For this reason, the Canon is the biography of each of our souls, written in the form of prayer,” said patriarchal auxiliary bishop Paisie of Sinaia on Tuesday evening at the Patriarchal…
On 25 February 1958, the wonder-working icon of the Mother of God known as the “Syriac” Icon of the Theotokos was brought to Ghighiu Monastery near Bucharest by Metropolitan Basil Samaha of Sergiopolis, from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. Over the 68 years the icon has been kept at the…
The Romanian community in Settimo Torinese, Italy, is preparing to inaugurate its new parish church, built in just a year and a half. The inauguration is scheduled for Saturday, 14 March, at 3:30 p.m. The wooden church was constructed in Romania by craftsmen specialised in woodwork, while the carved interior elements were created by master…
The Very Rev. Archimandrite Ioan Meiu, representative of the Romanian Patriarchate to the Holy Places and superior of the Romanian establishments in Jerusalem, Jericho and at the Jordan River, announced that the first official meeting with Israeli authorities regarding the restoration of the Romanian Hermitage on the Jordan River—closed since 1967—took place on the first…
His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan of Banat issued a pastoral message at the beginning of Great Lent urging the faithful to use the season as a time for renewing family life, in the context of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s Solemn Year of Pastoral Care for the Christian Family and the Commemorative Year of the Holy Women…
“Fasting is not a simple exercise in hygiene or aesthetics, but a school of spiritual self-restraint, a school of purification or gradual liberation from selfish passions in order to acquire the humble and merciful love found in Jesus Christ, Who became obedient unto death—even death on the Cross,” said Patriarch Daniel on Clean Monday. The…
Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești on Sunday highlighted the decisive role of Patriarch Justinian in the history of Romanian Orthodoxy, saying he “was called by God to guide the ship of the Church in its most turbulent times.” Bishop Varlaam delivered the remarks during a memorial service marking 125 years since the birth of…
The season of Great Lent, which begins on Monday in the Orthodox Church, is a “time of inner examination, of clarifying the mind and of re-placing our being within the horizon of eternity,” Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Territories said in a pastoral message. “Beyond the outward exercise of bodily abstinence, we…
“Whoever understands the mystery of forgiveness understands that the Lord came to wipe away the sin of this world,” Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said on Sunday in his message at the beginning of Great Lent. Referring to the well-known liturgical hymn “Open to me the doors of repentance,” chanted during the…
His Grace Bishop Ignatie of Huși on Sunday encouraged the faithful to undertake a fast from digital media as part of their preparation for the Resurrection of the Lord. Reflecting on the Gospel verse, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21), the hierarch stressed that the direction in which…
Romanian Patriarch Daniel said on Sunday that fasting should not be practised “to be seen or praised by others,” but in order “to love God more.” The Patriarch of Romania took part in the Divine Liturgy celebrated at the historic chapel of St George at the Patriarchal Residence, where he explained the Gospel reading for…
The beginning of Great Lent resounds in the Church’s hymnography as an unexpected invitation to light, Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada said in a message issued for the occasion. “Great Lent is a season which, although it calls for bodily and spiritual effort on our part, remains a time of light and of the joy…
Special prayers for peace will be offered in all places of worship of the Romanian Patriarchate on Sunday, 22 February 2026, marking four years since the outbreak of the devastating war in Ukraine. Romanian Orthodox priests, both in the country and throughout the diaspora, will pray in parish churches, monastery chapels and churches, as well…
Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church has sent a congratulatory message to Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe on the occasion of his 60th birthday, praising his missionary zeal, pastoral dedication and efforts to strengthen Romanian Orthodox communities across the diaspora. In the message, the Patriarch of Romania highlights Metropolitan Iosif’s role as…
The Library of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has marked 80 years since the official launch of the “Burning Bush” spiritual movement at Antim Monastery in Bucharest, commemorating the anniversary in a social media post. In a petition addressed to Patriarch Nicodim and dated 12 February 1946, several Christian lay intellectuals requested…
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas has called on the faithful, as Great Lent approaches, to maintain “a balance between the effort of fasting and the fulfilment of daily responsibilities.” In his pastoral message marking the beginning of Great Lent, the Metropolitan stressed that this fasting season is not…