conversion

Increase in Orthodox Conversions in the USA: 2022-2023 trends

A study published this month shows that the number of conversions to Orthodoxy increased in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023. Most converts are aged 30-39 and are unmarried, with the majority coming to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, the research indicates. The study, conducted by the Orthodox Studies Institute at St. Constantine College in Houston, covered…

Jul 31, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Young Finns increasingly converting to Orthodoxy, says Finnish abbot

In an interview with Yle.fi, the young abbot of New Valaam Monastery, Archimandrite Mikael Nummela, said that young people between 18 and 30 increasingly convert to Orthodoxy in Finland. The abbot leads weekly discussions with young individuals who are contemplating the vocation of monasticism or converting to Orthodoxy. In recent decades, New Valaam has had…

Apr 16, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

True Christmas story: How a Romanian convict from an Italian prison turned to God

On the feast of the Nativity of Lord, the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy carried out several actions dedicated to people deprived of liberty. In this context, Father Vasile Ștefan Bobița tells how a Romanian convict, who is serving his sentence in the Viterbo prison, turned to God. Text republished from the official website of…

Jan 3, 2024Ștefana Totorcea

“You don’t find the icon. The icon finds you”: His conversion to Orthodoxy started with a collection of Orthodox art

Peter Peterson, a collector of Romanian sacred art, travelled the world far and wide, only to settle in Romania, where his passion for the Orthodox icon gradually turned into a spiritual journey, at the end of which he was baptised Orthodox. Recently, he offered his collection of sacred art to the Romanian Patriarchate, to be…

Nov 17, 2023Ștefana Totorcea

Oslo: 55-year-old Norwegian baptized Orthodox by Romanian Bishop Macarie of Northern Europe

55-year-old Norwegian Toma and child Matias are the newest members of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Northern Europe. Romanian Orthodox Bishop Macarie baptized them on July 30. The Holy Sacrament was officiated in the Oslo Chapel of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe. “I rejoice when I dress people into Christ – be they…

Aug 12, 2022Ștefana Totorcea

American convert Rod Dreher launched his most recent book in Bucharest, Romania

Romanian publisher Contra Mundum launched on Saturday the Romanian version of Rod Dreher’s most recent book, “Live Not By Lies”, in the presence of its author, an American convert to Orthodoxy. The event was held in the courtyard of Bucharest’s “New Merchants'” Church, where the author presented his book and answered questions from the public.…

Jun 7, 2021Ștefana Totorcea

Writer Paul Kingsnorth, baptized in the Romanian Orthodox Church, says he feels like arriving home

Paul Kingsnorth, one of the most important English writers alive, was baptized as a Christian Orthodox at the Romanian Monastery in Shannonbridge, Ireland. “As a Western newcomer to Orthodoxy, I have a lifetime’s learning journey ahead of me, but I already feel like I have arrived home,” said the writer. “I first discovered Christian Orthodoxy…

Feb 15, 2021Ștefana Totorcea

Muslim converts to Orthodoxy at Apostol Parish in Bucharest

A Muslim converted to Orthodoxy this December and received the name of Saint Peter during a Baptism ceremony at Apostol Parish in Bucharest. ‘It was a unique event, I think, in the nearly 300-year history of our parish. Last Sunday was a really special day for our community,’ Marinel Laurentiu Marcu, a parish counsellor, commented…

Dec 31, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu