Der Hl. Synod der Rumänischen Orthodoxen Kirche (RumOK) hat am 29. Februar die Einrichtung von neuen Strukturen im Ausland beschlossen. So schuf er eine Eparchie von Großbritannien mit Sitz in London, um die mehr als 1 Mio. rumänische orthodoxe Gläubige dort zu betreuen. Zugleich errichtete er eine Eparchie von Irland und Island mit Sitz in Dublin. Eine eigene Struktur will die RumOK zudem in der Ukraine schaffen: Sie entschied, die „Initiativen von rumänischen orthodoxen Gemeinden in der Ukr...

The Romanian Patriarchate learned with deep indignation about the theatre play ‘Eu sunt. Si?’ (‘I am. So?’) performed in Cluj-Napoca during the ‘Pride Week’ of sexual minorities. The indecent content of this representation includes the mocking of Christian religious symbols, sending a deliberately blasphemous message. Such offensive attitudes towards the overwhelming majority of Romanians, the negative labeling of Christian believers, the repeated offending of religious feelings divide societ...

The Romanian Patriarchate organized several solemn events to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of communism and the remembrance of the heroes who fell during the Romanian Revolution of December 1989. The Patriarch of Romania, members of the Holy Synod, the President of the Former Political Prisoners Association, state officials, professors and students attended the events. Those who lost their lives in December 1989 were remembered during a memorial service officiated at the Patriarchal C...

The Romanian Patriarchate announced it stands for keeping the one-hour-per-week time budget of Religious Education in all high schools, regardless of their technological or theoretical profile. His Grace Varlaam of Ploieşti transmitted the message in person at the Palace of Parliament, during a debate organized by the joint parliamentary committees for Education, science, youth and sports. The hierarch was accompanied to the event by Fr. Nicuşor Beldiman, Patriarchal Coordinating Counselor, a...

„The Romanian Patriarchate received with joy the intensely awaited and fully justified decision of the authorities to allow the celebration of religious services inside the churches, with the participation of the faithful, in compliance with clear and still necessary regulations,“ the Patriarchate’s spokesman Vasile Bănescu told Basilica.ro. The decision to allow religious services to be officiated inside the places of worship was announced by the Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, after the Gover...

On February 4, 1925, the Holy Synod gathered in Bucharest and resolved the establishment of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate, following Romania’s Great Union achieved in 1918. The first person who advocated for the elevation of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the patriarchal rank was Fr. Gheorghe Ciuhandu who supported this idea during the Assembly of the clergy of Transylvania in 1919. After him, several other important figures of Romanian culture, historians like Nicolae Iorga and Ioan Lu...

Please find below the precise point of view of the Romanian Patriarchate on the EU digital COVID certificate, which was briefly expressed at the meeting of representatives of religious denominations with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health of the Romanian Government at the Coral Temple in Bucharest on December 2, 2021. On November 12, 2021, the Romanian Patriarchate requested the Chamber of Deputies not to introduce the obligation of the EU digital COVID certificate for clergy or be...

Through “Filantropia” Federation and “Diaconia” Social Mission, the Romanian Orthodox Church is carrying out a pilot project entitled “Eco-initiatives in the parishes of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.” The project is carried out in partnership with Caritas Ambrosiana, an NGO in Milan, Italy. The project is the first of its kind and aims to initiate an environmental education and identify solutions to increase environmental responsibility at the level...

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the Romanian Patriarchate and the Ministry of Health signed a Protocol regarding the conduct of Christian-Orthodox religious assistance activities in health units subject to the Ministry of Health. The two institutions were represented by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Prof. Dr Alexandru Rafila, Romania’s Minister of Health. This protocol, which revises and replaces those of 1995 and 2008, is intended to regulate the activity o...

Religion als wahlweises Prüfungsfach bei der Matura: Das wird nach einer Entscheidung des Parlaments in Bukarest künftig für Schülerinnen und Schüler in Rumänien möglich sein. „Es ist eine Entscheidung, die den Religionen noch mehr Verantwortung überträgt“, sagte Vasile Bănescu, Sprecher des Bukarester Patriarchats der Rumänischen Orthodoxen Kirche, laut Berichten der Nachrichtenagentur SIR und des Portals Vatican News. Bănescu betonte den kulturellen Charakter der Religion. Die Schule vermi...

In an address initiated by the Romanian Patriarchate, thirteen representatives of religious denominations in Romania requested the inclusion of Religion in the list of subjects for which the Baccalaureate exam can be taken. The signatories also demand the removal from the new draft Law on pre-university education of some provisions related to the new ideologies. Religion as a school subject is “one of the few that is studied throughout pre-university education and the only one that has been v...

On July 6, the Orthodox Diocese of Vad, Feleac, and Cluj in central Romania and the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Württemberg, Germany, celebrated thirty years of partnership. The anniversary was marked by a retrospective session held at the diocesan centre in Cluj-Napoca, attended by representatives from both institutions. The joint projects of the past 30 years were reminisced at the session. The German delegation was led by His Eminence Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl, the Evangelical Lutheran Bishop...

The discovery of the vaccine as a method of prevention and medical treatment was a very important step made by modern medicine. Thus, very serious illnesses have been eradicated, millions of lives have been saved and the people’s quality of life has improved significantly. Vaccines are of particular importance in the prevention of diseases and epidemics that can threaten the life of very large segments of the population, thus contributing to the defense of the sacred gift of human life. In th...

The generation of Romanians who emigrated overseas after 1990 “is the generation of Romanians who want to keep their Romanian identity through the Church,” said the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Two Americas in an interview with Lumina Newspaper. Therefore, “it is essential to continue to pray in Romanian, to keep our spirituality and traditions,” he said. His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Two Americas explained how Romanian communities are formed overseas. “A parish in America...

Das Oberhaupt der Rumänischen Orthodoxen Kirche (RumOK), Patriarch Daniel, hat seine Einladung an Papst Franziskus widerholt, Rumänien zu einem von ihm gewählten Zeitpunkt zu besuchen. Anlass der Einladung war ein Treffen mit dem Präfekten der vatikanischen Ostkirchenkongregation, Kardinal Leonardo Sandri, der Ende September Rumänien besuchte. Patriarch Daniel dankte Sandri für die guten Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Kirchen und für die Gastfreundschaft, die vielen rumänisch-orthodoxen Geme...

Im Vorfeld des Papstbesuchs in Rumänien (31. Mai bis 2. Juni) hat der Vatikan am Dienstag bekanntgegeben, dass sieben Bischöfe der Verfolgungszeit 1948–1970 als Märtyrer selig geprochen werden. Die Dekrete betreffen Kardinal Iuliu Hossu und die griechisch-katholischen Bischöfe Valeriu Traian Frenţiu, Alexandru Rusu, Ioan Bălan, Ioan Suciu, Titu Liviu Chinezu und Vasile Aftenie. Ab 1949 wurden alle griechisch-katholischen Bischöfe für viele Jahre inhaftiert. Kardinal Iuliu Hossu (1885–1970) h...

Auf Druck der Rumänischen Orthodoxen Kirche hat das rumänische Parlament ein kürzlich verabschiedetes Gesetz zur Sexualkunde an Schulen angepasst. Im angepassten Gesetzestext ist nicht mehr von verpflichtender Sexualkunde die Rede, sondern nur noch von „Bildung für das Leben, darunter Gesundheitsbildung zur Verhinderung von sexuell übertragbaren Krankheiten und Schwangerschaften bei Minderjährigen“. Die Eltern müssen zudem schriftlich ihr Einverständnis geben, damit ihre Kinder an den Kursen ...

The Solemn and Commemorative Year 2023 was officially proclaimed at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest after the Divine Liturgy celebrated on New Year’s Day. The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church declared 2023 as a Solemn Year of the pastoral care of the elderly and a Commemorative Year of hymnographers and church chanters. The patriarchal auxiliary bishop Varlaam of Ploiesti read the Proclamation Decree signed by the members of the Holy Synod. The text remembered that the Holy S...

St. Sava, the Enlightener of Serbia and first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, is the most beloved saint of the Serbian Orthodox faithful. He was declared the patron saint of schools and students by Prince Miloš Obrenović (1780-1860) and today many schools in Serbia and in the Serbian diaspora are named in his honor and his feast day is always festively celebrated. His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia has said of St. Sava: “From any point that we start from in the fields of ...

In the Centenary year of the Great Union, Romfilatelia introduces into circulation the postage stamp issue entitled The consecration of Altar of the Salvation National Cathedral, dedicated to an important event for the Orthodox Christians. On the stamp of the issue, with the face value of Lei 5, is illustrated the icon of the Holy Apostle Andrew, the First-Called, the Protector of Romania, from the Iconostasis of the Cathedral, alongside with the layout of the edifice. The...