More than 1,600 students participated in the Orthodox Religion Olympiad in Bucharest on Saturday, competing at the district level. Across the rest of the country, the competition took place at the county level, with a total of approximately 10,000 participants.
Students Compete in Religion Olympiad
Students who secure first place at the county or district stage will qualify for the national phase, scheduled to take place from April 22 to 27 in Slobozia for middle school students and in Bacău for high school students.
“The results are very good. We are pleased that, year after year, not only does the number of participants grow, but the quality of their work also improves,” said Professor Cristian Alexa, inspector for Religion within the Bucharest School Inspectorate, in an interview with Trinitas TV.
Olympiad Hosted at Goethe German College
One of the schools that hosted the Olympiad was the Goethe German College in District 1, whose principal is religion teacher Sebastian Stoica. On Saturday, the school hosted both the Orthodox Religion Olympiad and the German Language and Literature Olympiad for native speakers.
A total of 300 students competed in the Orthodox Religion Olympiad at Goethe German College.
“It is extraordinary that the Orthodox Religion discipline is represented with such strong interest across all grade levels,” said Professor Sebastian Stoica.
Religious Education in Public Schools
The first Religion Olympiad in Romania was held in 2009 in Baia Mare, with 227 students participating.
Religious education was reintroduced in schools immediately after the fall of the atheist communist regime. Previously, this subject was listed first in school records.
As part of the celebration of his 35th anniversary as a bishop and in honour of Saint Liviu Galaction, Patriarch Daniel spoke about the reintroduction of religious education in schools, highlighting it as a significant achievement of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the post-communist era, to which His Beatitude significantly contributed.
Photo: Basilica.ro files / Raluca Ene
