Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania, awarded on July 22 His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the National Order of the Star of Romania with the rank of Collar. The highest and oldest national distinction was awarded on the patriarch’s 70th birthday, as a sign of high esteem for his precious contribution to the common good through the pastoral, missionary, cultural, social and philanthropic activity of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Romania and abroad, and for fos...

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania has sent a message marking World Social Media Day 2021 highlighting responsible communication in the context of the challenges of today’s world “A good word enlightens communication”: In the context of the pandemic, social networks proved to be a very useful missionary and pastoral means since, for a long time, the faithful could not physically participate in church services. Thus, the online streaming of services was a spiritual consolation, a source...

An event was held on May 11 dedicated to the cultural-monastic landscape of Vânători-Neamț and the proposal to include the monasteries in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Vânători-Neamț is a commune in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania. The area includes 6 large monasteries, including the famous Neamț Monastery, and 10 dependent hermitages, with about 1,000 monastics. Between all the monasteries and churches in the area, there are 40 altars where the Holy Mysteries are served, which is u...

The People's Salvation Cathedral (Romanian: Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului), also known as the National Cathedral, an Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest, Romania, to serve as the patriarchal cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, has a giant Orthodox iconostasis (23.8 meters length and 17.1 meters height and an area of 407 square meters), which sets the new world record for the Largest Orthodox Iconostasis, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY. The iconostasis will be cover...

Claudiu-Lucian Pop wurde als neuer Bischof der rumänischen griechisch-katholischen Eparchie Cluj-Gherla inthronisiert. Als Vertreter von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn nahm Yuriy Kolasa, Generalvikar des Ordinariats für die Gläubigen der katholischen Ostkirchen in Österreich, an den Feierlichkeiten in Cluj teil. Bischof Pop folgt auf Bischof Florentin Crihalmeanu, der im Januar an den Folgen einer Covid-Erkrankung verstorben war. In seinem Gratulationsschreiben an den neuen Bischof hat Kardinal...

The spokesman of the Romanian Patriarchate, Vasile Bănescu, offered assurances that the Holy Easter services will take place normally this year. „In connection with the misunderstanding about the time interval for lifting mobility restrictions (on foot or by personal means of transport) on the night of the Resurrection, a misunderstanding that some hastened to speculate again martyrically.” “The service of the Resurrection begins and ends at different times in the Catholic and Orthodox church...

Am 1. April jährte sich zum 80. Mal das Massaker von Fântâna Albă, bei dem bis zu 3000 Menschen zu Tode kamen, wie der Pro Oriente-Informationsdienst berichtete. Im Rahmen einer Feierstunde im rumänischen Kloster Putna gedachten Kirche und Politik am Donnerstag der Opfer. Um 18:00 Uhr läuteten in der Bukowina in allen Klöstern und Kirchen der Erzdiözese Suceava und Rădăuţi die Glocken. Im Putna-Kloster wird das Andenken an die Opfer von Fântâna Albă besonders hochgehalten. Vor einigen Jahren ...

Das Gefängnis von Piteşti in Rumänien war zur Zeit des Kommunismus ein Ort der Folter, unvorstellbarer Grausamkeiten und des Todes. Nun wird auf dem Gefängnisgrund eine neue orthodoxe Kirche errichtet, die an die Opfer der Vergangenheit erinnern soll, wie der Pro Oriente-Informationsdienst berichtete. Die feierliche Grundsteinlegung nahm der Bischof der Erzdiözese Argeş und Muscel, Calinic (Argatu), vor. Er feierte zudem vor der Grundsteinlegung vor Ort einen Gedenkgottesdienst für die tausen...

(Radio Free Europe, www.rferl.org, 4. März 2021) The death of a 6-week-old infant after he was submerged while being baptized has sparked public outrage in Romania and led to calls for the centuries-old rite to be changed. The drama of the tragic event - which has been headline news in Romania for weeks - has been quite impersonal, with few details published about the baby or his family. But it has provided a snapshot of the divisions in contemporary Romania. The influential Romanian Orthodox...