During the Epiphany season, Romanians in Zagreb gathered in prayer to usher in the New Year at the city’s Romanian church.
The liturgical program began last Saturday evening with the Great Vespers service and continued on Sunday through Tuesday with the Divine Liturgy. Following Sunday’s Liturgy, Fr. Nicolae Ceruță, the parish priest of the Romanian Orthodox community in Croatia, led a Te Deum service to mark the beginning of the New Year.
On Monday, at the Feast of the Theophany of the Lord, Fr. Nicolae Ceruță shared theological and practical insights about the feast with the Romanian faithful in Zagreb. He says, “God has gone beyond human reasoning and shown us how we can see and understand Him.”
He emphasized that the feast represents “a regeneration of the entire universe” and urged attendees not to approach it superficially.
Diplomatic and Interfaith Participation
As in previous years, representatives of the Romanian Embassy in Zagreb attended the service.
On Tuesday, as the Serbian faithful celebrated the Nativity of the Lord according to the Julian calendar, Fr. Nicolae Ceruță attended a reception organized by the Serbian Association of Croatia.
During the event, the Romanian parish priest discussed with His Grace Bishop Kirilo, administrator of the Metropolis of Zagreb and Ljubljana, about St. Parascheva, the protector of Christians in the Balkans.

Romanian Parish in Zagreb
The Romanian Orthodox parish in Zagreb holds services in a historic chapel provided by the Roman Catholic Diocese. Bishop Siluan of Hungary consecrated the chapel in 2017. That same year, the parish welcomed a visit from His Beatitude Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, then the Metropolitan of Zagreb.
The parish, established by a decision of the National Church Council on March 16, 2017, is dedicated to “The Nativity of St. John the Baptist” and “Saints Constantine and Helen.”
Photo: Romanian Parish in Zagreb