The Diocese of Southern Bessarabia recorded visible pastoral growth throughout 2025, alongside greater involvement of young people in diocesan life. Figures in the diocese’s annual activity report point to an encouraging development: 889 baptisms, 350 weddings and 870 funerals were recorded, with the number of those entering the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism exceeding…
Physicist Cristian Presură reflected on the relationship between science and faith in a Facebook post, starting from a definition of scientific knowledge formulated by St Gregory Palamas: “It is the most beautiful definition of science that I know, and the finest praise that can be given to it.” The researcher begins with a passage by…
Romanian Patriarch Daniel presented the general report on the Bucharest Archdiocese’s activities in 2025 during the annual meeting of the Archdiocesan Assembly on Thursday, January 22. The event opened with a Te Deum service celebrated by the Archdiocese’s Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova, in the Europa Christiana Hall of the Patriarchal Palace. Patriarch Daniel delivered…
The Diocese of Southern Bessarabia supported Romanians in Ukraine affected by the war by delivering dozens of tonnes of humanitarian aid as part of a wide-ranging social and charitable campaign, according to its 2025 activity report. With the direct involvement of priests from the Ismail Deanery, humanitarian assistance was provided to the two Romanian parishes…
Marking the anniversary of the 24 January 1859 Union of the Romanian Principalities, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued a message of thanksgiving and national remembrance, describing the event as the “foundational union” that laid the groundwork for the modern Romanian state. In his statement, the Patriarch stressed that the union of Moldavia…
His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia expressed hope that “brothers will live together again” in a message issued on the occasion of the Day of the Union of the Romanian Principalities. According to Metropolitan Petru, the day represents “a work of divine Providence through which history was set on the natural path of unity”. “24…
His Eminence Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina said on Saturday that the 1859 Union of the Romanian Principalities was made possible with God’s help and through the vision of courageous people. However, he noted that the landmark event was also marked by sadness, because Moldavia was not whole when it united with Wallachia. “Where…
“Our world still bears the deep scars of division which, without prayer and without God’s help, lead to an increasingly alarming rise in misunderstanding and a sense of spiritual disconnection,” Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Paisie of Sinaia said on Sunday. The hierarch represented Patriarch Daniel at the final prayer gathering of this year’s Week of Prayer…
“Without united families there can be no strong nation, and without an awareness of national unity there can be no shared future,” Assistant Bishop Teofil of Trotuș said on Saturday. The assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Roman and Bacău led a Te Deum service at the Archdiocesan Cathedral in Roman, marking 167 years since…
Aspazia Oțel Petrescu died eight years ago, on January 23, 2018. She was among the women who bore witness to Orthodox Christianity during Romania’s communist era. She was born on December 9, 1923, in Cotul Ostriței, in Northern Bukovina. Between 1944 and 1948, she studied at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of Babeș-Bolyai University…
Drug consumption is rising across the European Union, while the growing diversity of substances is making it harder for health authorities to respond effectively, according to a report by the European Union Drugs Agency. In response, anti-drug specialists and clergy are stepping up prevention and awareness programmes in schools, families and local communities, seeking to…
Human trafficking is a scourge affecting tens of thousands of people worldwide, and victims can come from any social background, regardless of age, ethnicity or economic status. In Romania, the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP) reported in its 2024 review that the number of victims rose compared with the past five years. Against…
“There is no greater illness in the Church than drifting away from the true faith,” Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bucovina said on Sunday, during the patronal feast of the Copou Monastery in Iași. The monastic community honoured its patron Saints Athanasius and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandria. “The Church has set before us faces of…
The Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in London is hosting a photography exhibition dedicated to Constantin Brâncuși, the first of its kind in the past two decades, the Romanian Cultural Institute in London announced. The exhibition brings together photographs taken over three decades by the sculptor from Gorj County, most of them being shown in the United…
His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia, on Wednesday, received an official visit at his residence in Chişinău from a delegation from Bucharest led by Adrian Felician Cozma, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament. The official was accompanied by Lavinia Felicia Năstase and Claudiu-Ion Chelcea, First Secretary at the Romanian Embassy in the…
In about a month, on February 23, Orthodox Christians will enter Great Lent, also known as the Great Fast. The Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord (Holy Pascha) will be celebrated on April 12 this year. On February 1, the liturgical season of the Triodion begins, including three preparatory weeks for Great Lent, followed…
“The face of Schema-nun Elisabeta (Lazăr) shines like the example and life of the hermits of old. She urges each of us to value time and dedicate as much of it as possible to the Lord,” said Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova from the Archdiocese of Bucharest, on Friday, January 16, at Pasărea Monastery in…
According to the World Watch List 2026 report published by Open Doors, religious persecution targeting Christians has a direct impact on family life, with converts facing pressure, abuse and marginalisation even from their own relatives. The report points to a worsening of anti-Christian persecution worldwide, both in scale and intensity, with direct consequences for family…
This second January instalment of Digital Matericon continues our monthly series dedicated to the women saints commemorated in the Orthodox calendar. Because January contains an especially rich number of holy women—martyrs, monastics, ascetics, mothers, confessors, and “fools for Christ”—the month is presented in two parts, allowing each figure to be remembered with due attention. In…
Recent archaeological excavations in Egypt’s southern Sohag governorate have uncovered traces of a Byzantine-period monastery, offering new insights into the organisation and daily life of monastic communities in Upper Egypt. Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathi, said the discovery reflects the richness of the country’s historical heritage and the diversity of its religious…