His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has called on Romanians living abroad to preserve their Christian faith, family unity and national identity in a message issued for the Day of Romanians Everywhere, marked this Sunday.
In his message, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church described the celebration as an occasion to reaffirm the values that unite Romanians worldwide: the Romanian language, culture, and Christian traditions. This year’s observance coincides with the Feast of Pentecost, which he presents as a source of spiritual renewal and communion.
Patriarch Daniel highlighted the role of Romanian Orthodox parishes and dioceses established throughout the diaspora in supporting communities that have carried their ancestral faith far from their homeland. He stressed that the Church continues to expand its pastoral and social mission for Romanians living outside Romania, whom it considers an integral part of the worldwide Romanian Orthodox community.
The Patriarch also emphasised the importance of the Christian family as the primary environment in which faith is lived, transmitted and strengthened. He encouraged Romanian families abroad to raise future generations in the spirit of faith, love, solidarity and respect for their cultural and spiritual heritage, becoming ambassadors of friendship and understanding among nations.
The Day of Romanians Everywhere – An Occasion of Joy and Blessing
The last Sunday of May is celebrated as the Day of Romanians Everywhere, an event of profound spiritual and national significance and a fitting occasion to reaffirm the common values that underpin our unity: the Romanian language, Romanian culture, and the Christian traditions of the Romanian people.
The year 2026 has been proclaimed by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church as the Solemn Year of the Pastoral Care of the Christian Family and the Commemorative Year of Holy Women in the Calendar (Myrrh-bearing Women, Martyrs, Nuns, Wives, and Mothers). This year, the last Sunday of May (31 May), when we mark the Day of Romanians Everywhere, coincides with the Great Feast of Pentecost, the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
Romanians who left their homeland for various reasons carried their ancestral faith with them throughout the world. They kept the Church of their homeland in their hearts and lived the spirituality and holy Orthodox faith far from their native country. Therefore, the Mother Church, caring for her spiritual children, has established numerous parishes and dioceses throughout the diaspora in order to meet the spiritual needs of Romanian Orthodox faithful.
We live in a time when the institution of the family, both in Romania and in the diaspora, faces multiple challenges. In this context, the role of the family and of women in the Church and in society requires a deeper understanding and appreciation.
For this reason, the Church has the duty to support and strengthen the Christian family by offering pastoral guidance and spiritual assistance for every stage of family life: the Christian upbringing of children, the preparation of young people for marriage, overcoming difficulties, and strengthening the bonds of love among family members.
Saint John Chrysostom teaches us that the Christian family is not merely a social unit but a small church (“for the household is also a small church”), in which the Orthodox faith is lived and transmitted in a natural and living way. Holy Scripture describes God’s relationship with the world as one of intimacy, as a marriage and a family (cf. Ephesians 5:21–33).
The Church is the place where, through the purifying work of the Holy Spirit upon the humble human soul, brotherly love in God the Son made Man and the fatherly love of God the Father are experienced. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to call Him: “Our Father, Who art in heaven.” The Church is therefore the Family of the Holy Trinity’s love for humankind, while the Christian family has rightly been called by Blessed Augustine the “household Church” (Ecclesia domestica).
In the current context of global migration, the Romanian Orthodox Church continues to develop and intensify its pastoral and social mission and responsibility toward Romanian Orthodox believers living outside Romania, whom it regards as its faithful children and an integral part of the Romanian Orthodox communion throughout the world.
The beneficial work of the Church is received, lived, and transmitted to children, especially through families formed by Orthodox Christian men and women. The family is the primary environment in which faith is embraced, practised, loved, and passed on to future generations. Communion with God through prayer, familiarity with His saints, and the beauty of the Church’s feasts are discovered through the ministry of pastors and the witness of devout believers who manifest their faith in life with joy and kindness.
In this regard, Romanians desire to preserve the unity of the Christian family, composed of husband, wife, and children, because the family blessed by God represents the most precious intimate space in which conjugal love, as well as parental, filial, and fraternal love, is expressed.
Likewise, it is essential to educate the younger generation in the spirit of love for God, the Church, and the nation, while cultivating in the hearts of children and young people such virtues as love and compassion, solidarity with those in need, friendship, courage, and hope.
The pastoral, liturgical, philanthropic, and cultural activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the diaspora promote family unity, the Romanian language, the Christian faith, and Romanian culture, while engaging in dialogue with the spiritual values of the countries where Romanians live.
Therefore, we wish that Romanian families in the diaspora may raise faithful, diligent, and generous people, lovers of Romanian spirituality and promoters of friendship among nations.
We wish all Romanians everywhere health and salvation, peace and joy, hope and happiness for many blessed years!
With paternal blessing,
† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Photo: Basilica.ro Archive
