The National Church Council of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on Wednesday at the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest. On this occasion, Patriarch Daniel presented the activity report of the Romanian Orthodox Church for 2025.
The summary report, entitled “The Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate, the New Romanian Saints and the Consecration of the Iconography of the National Cathedral”, reflects the life and activity of the Church in 2025, a year proclaimed as the commemorative year of the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate and of the Romanian Orthodox spiritual fathers and confessors of the 20th century.
Historic events in the Centennial year
From a liturgical perspective, the Romanian Patriarch highlighted the general proclamation of the canonisation of 16 new Romanian saints—spiritual fathers and confessors of the 20th century—which took place on 4 February 2025, marking 100 years since the Romanian Orthodox Church was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate.
During the same year, several saints and feasts were added to the Church calendar, liturgical texts dedicated to the newly canonised Romanian saints were approved, and the Sunday of the Athonite Saints was established, to be observed on the third Sunday after Pentecost. The Holy Synod also instituted the Day of the Military Clergy, celebrated for the first time on 30 October at the National Cathedral.
A major moment of the year was the consecration of the mosaic iconography of the National Cathedral, celebrated by the Romanian Patriarch together with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and an assembly of hierarchs of the Holy Synod.
Church life in the diaspora
Patriarch Daniel also presented data on the activity of the Romanian Orthodox Church outside Romania. The number of parishes and subsidiary communities in the diaspora increased compared with 2024.
Over the past year, Bishop Nectarie became the first Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Ireland and Iceland, while Bishop Atanasie was enthroned as the first Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In Romanian Orthodox communities abroad, almost five times more baptisms than funerals were celebrated in 2025.
“We see in the Romanian diaspora that the number of Romanian faithful and newly baptised is increasing,” Patriarch Daniel said.
Pilgrimages and missionary activity
The pilgrimage department of the Romanian Patriarchate organised both domestic and international pilgrimages last year, attended by around 15,000 pilgrims. The Patriarch underlined the importance of pilgrimages within Romania, which contribute to greater awareness of Romanian monasteries and of recently canonised Romanian saints.
Approximately 280,000 people in vulnerable situations benefited from social, charitable and medical assistance. A total of 506 chaplain priests were involved in these activities, providing pastoral care in hospitals, military units, prisons and social care institutions.
Data for 2025 also show increased youth involvement, reflected in a higher number of associations and volunteer groups, as well as intensified church art and restoration activity. At the same time, there was a significant rise in the printing of Bibles, with nearly three times as many copies of Holy Scripture printed compared with 2024.
Centre to prevent early school leaving
In his presentation, the Patriarch also referred to a national project aimed at preventing early school leaving, run by the Romanian Patriarchate with European funding through the Youth Activity Centre “Saint Prophet Elijah the Tishbite”, located in the town of Pantelimon, Ilfov County.
The project, with a total non-refundable value of approximately €50 million, will run from 1 September 2025 to 31 December 2029. It includes two components: the construction of a multifunctional centre with sports and cultural facilities for children and young people on an area of around 10 hectares, and the delivery of educational and formative activities in 117 youth centres across all dioceses of the Romanian Patriarchate, supporting 5,850 children.
“Saint Elijah the Tishbite was a confessor of the faith in times of hostility and alienation from the ancestral faith. For this reason, this centre represents an opportunity to strengthen the faith of young people, parents and those involved in education,” Patriarch Daniel said.
The report presented to the National Church Council will be submitted for approval to the National Church Assembly, which meets on Thursday. On Friday, it will be presented to the members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who will convene for a working session.
The National Church Council is the central executive body of the Holy Synod and of the National Church Assembly. It is composed of 12 members of the National Church Assembly—one cleric and one lay representative from each metropolitan province in Romania—appointed for a four-year term, renewable for no more than two mandates.
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