Romania’s cultural heritage includes over 1,400 wooden churches constructed before 1918, according to a report by PressOne, supported by the National Historic Cultural Tourism Program “Attractive Romania.” These wooden churches are almost evenly distributed throughout the country, although the figures might suggest otherwise: 650 in Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș ~500 in Muntenia, Oltenia, and…
A delegation of the Romanian Orthodox Church met with representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church during an official visit aiming to establish a framework to support Armenian refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The meetings are taking place in the context of a fundraiser organized by the Romanian Patriarchate in 2024 to aid Armenian refugees. The…
On Friday evening, July 12, after the all-night vigil and procession with the relics of Saint Demetrius the New, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel delivered a welcome message to Metropolitan Naum of Ruse. “Joining us now, this evening, and tomorrow during the Divine Liturgy, which will begin at 8:30 AM, is His Eminence Metropolitan Naum of…
On Saturday, Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia received Prof. Dr. Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania, at the metropolitan residence in Chișinău. The meeting’s agenda was rich and diverse, covering a wide range of topics from Romanian history and culture to the challenges and prospects of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Bessarabia. During the meeting, His…
The Diocese of Spain and Portugal announced in a statement published on the diocesan website that an essential phase of the painting work has recently been completed at the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Madrid. So far, the team coordinated by Archdeacon Nicolae Bradu Balan, a church painter from Alba Iulia, has completed over 430 of…
On the occasion of Europe Day, Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia delivered a compelling message supporting the Republic of Moldova’s European trajectory. His Eminence emphasized the importance of aligning Moldovan society with the evangelical principles of love, wisdom, and justice. Metropolitan Petru highlighted the efforts of the Metropolis to endorse the “European path,” describing it as…
Today marks 139 years since the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized the autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church, an essential moment for the Church and the Romanian State, which had won its independence from the Ottoman Empire (1877). “Essentially, autocephaly is the recognition of the spiritual maturity and administrative and pastoral freedom of an Orthodox Church in…
His Eminence Metropolitan Petru issued a message honouring the victims of the organised famine that ravaged Bessarabia from 1946 to 1947. “We bow our heads and knees to the memory of the reposed and promise never to forget their suffering and the lesson they left us,” the Metropolitan of Bessarabia said. This commemoration takes place…
In a message published on the Metropolis of Bessarabia’s official website, His Eminence Metropolitan Petru urged the faithful in the Republic of Moldova to participate in the Population and Housing Census and identify as Romanian by nationality and mother tongue. Metropolitan Petru noted that this year’s Census on Population and Housing is “a good opportunity…
Bulgarians paid their last homage to Patriarch Neophyte on Saturday, after the head of their national Church reposed into the Lord on Wednesday. In addition to many faithful who came to say goodbye at the “St Alexander Nevsky” Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, as well as the hierarchs of the Bulgarian…
The assistance extended by the Romanian Orthodox Church to Ukrainian refugees who sought refuge in Romania and the Republic of Moldova over the previous year exceeded one million euros and included a variety of services, products, and financial aid. Therefore, in 2023, the Filantropia Federation and the dioceses of the Romanian Orthodox Church provided measurable…
