In his New Year message, Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada wrote about the idea of renewal and about the family as a place of spiritual and communal renewal. His message opens with a quotation from St Paul the Apostle: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed…
At the start of the new year 2026, Bishop Siluan of Italy delivered a pastoral message to Romanians living in Italy, urging them to value the family as “a small church” and to honour its role in preserving faith and identity in the diaspora. In his New Year message, the bishop called on the faithful…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel delivered a meditation at the Patriarchal Cathedral on New Year’s Eve, focusing on the relationship between time and eternity in the theological thought of Saint Dumitru Stăniloae. The first major teaching, he said, is that “time has been and remains humanity’s constant and principal concern, and this sense of time flowing…
“This passage between years is also a time of watchfulness. We are not called to judge our lives with harsh severity—which leads to discouragement—but to place them before God with sincerity,” noted Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in a message marking the turn of the year. “The year now drawing to a…
Following the devastating fire at the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland on January 1, which claimed dozens of lives and left many more injured, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued a message of condolences and prayers, expressing solidarity with the victims, their families, and all those affected by the tragedy. Swiss authorities have…
In his Christmas pastoral letter, Bishop Ioan Casian of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada has called on the faithful to live the season of the Nativity with joy, hope and renewed commitment. “Let us live this time of the Nativity of the Lord with joy and hope, with trust in God and with renewed…
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord that Christ came into the world to sanctify creation and to teach humanity, from within it, to give thanks to God for the very existence of the created universe and for human life itself. “Christ comes into the world to sanctify…
European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) and the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) have published a new annual report showing that hate crimes and violence targeting Christians remain at persistently high levels across Europe. The report finds that ideological motivations are increasingly driving such incidents, alongside religiously motivated attacks…
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said euthanasia is “one of the most delicate and complex contemporary issues our societies are called to confront,” speaking last week at an international conference held at the Phanar. The conference, titled “Good Living – Decisions at the End of Life,” took place on December 19–20 under the auspices of the…
Bishop Nectarie of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland underscored the need for inner change and the rediscovery of spiritual purity in the face of contemporary challenges in his first Christmas pastoral letter since his enthronement. “Our renewal begins today — a perpetual today — for before the Lord there is no yesterday,…
In this year’s Christmas pastoral letter, Metropolitan Serafim of Germany invites the faithful to move beyond the material comfort associated with the Nativity feast and to rediscover what he calls “the only new thing under the sun”: the humility of God who becomes Man. In the pastoral message titled “The Christian Woman in the Family,…
The Metropolis of Bessarabia has dedicated the year 2026 to Metropolitan Antonie Plămădeală (1926-2005). The announcement was made on Saturday, December 13, at Durlești Monastery, which marked the patronal feast of the Apostle Andrew, according to the unrevised calendar. Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with Archbishop Casian of Lower Danube and…
In a landmark year marking the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church adopted decisions that reshaped the Church’s liturgical calendar, pastoral priorities and institutional life. From the canonisation of new saints to the consecration of the National Cathedral’s iconography and key administrative reforms, 2025 stood out as one…
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, sent an irenic letter to His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, wishing him good health, peace, and joy on the occasion of the Nativity of the Lord and New Year. Full text: Bucharest, Nativity of the Lord, 2025 His Holiness BARTHOLOMAIOS, Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome,…
In his Christmas video message, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church reflects on the mystery of the Incarnation as God’s saving descent into human history, emphasising that Christmas is fundamentally a celebration of forgiveness, peace, and communion among people. Recalling the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah, the Patriarch of Romania underscores that the birth…
In his Christmas Pastoral Letter, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church reflects on the mystery of the Nativity as a living encounter between God and humanity, presenting Christ as the divine “Pilgrim” who continues to come to people through love, humility, and mercy. Drawing on Scripture, patristic teaching, and the spiritual heritage of Romanian…
Mother Magdalen of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Essex worked for decades with children, young people, parents, and mothers, with the blessing and guidance of Saint Sophrony Sakharov. From this experience emerged dialogues and conferences, and books were published. In the interview given to the #vinereapentruviață column, Mother Magdalen speaks about the…
His Eminence Metropolitan Teofan of Moldavia and Bukovina calls on the faithful in his Christmas Pastoral Letter to cultivate unity, patience and responsibility towards one another. His Eminence reflected on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God as the foundation of Christian life and as the source of a way of living…
A memorial service was held on Sunday in University Square in Bucharest in remembrance of the heroes who died in December 1989 for the dignity, freedom and faith of the Romanian people. The service was officiated by Rev. Dean Nectarie Busuioc, who spoke about the sacrifice of those who lost their lives on those very…
Bishop Benedict of Sălaj has proposed in his first Christmas Pastoral Letter a reflection on what he calls the “theology of the cave,” drawing a parallel between the humility of the manger in Bethlehem and the “cave” of suffering experienced in communist prisons. He stresses that no human suffering is too dark to be illumined…