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 foste…

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 o…

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 uni…

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 covered…

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 S…

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 churches…

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 wu…

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 tausende…

(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 C…

Vor rund eineinhalb Jahren hat die rumänisch-orthodoxe Kirche den Startschuss zur Errichtung ihres ersten Klosters in Irland gegeben. Inzwischen nimmt das Projekt bereits deutliche Konturen an. Die Kirche erwarb im Dezember 2019 ein früheres katholisches Exerzitienhaus in Shannonbridge im Herzen Irlands. In der unmittelbaren Umgebung hatte im 6. Jahrhundert der Heilige Ciaran von Clonmacnoise gelebt, der auch von der orthodoxen Kirche verehrt wird. Während des ersten Jahrtausends gab es in der…

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 i…

On February 9, 2021, eleven deputies submitted a draft law on the repatriation of the Holy Transylvanian Confessors’ relics. The Saints died in the Kufstein prison in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the 18th century, when the Austrian authorities imposed the union between the Orthodox believers in Transylvania with the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Bessarion Sarai and the Holy Martyr Oprea Miclăuș were canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1950. The Holy Hieromartyrs John from Galeș a…

In Suceava ist ein sechs Wochen altes Baby nach seiner Taufe gestorben. Nachdem es drei Mal im Wasser untergetaucht worden war, erlitt es einen Herzstillstand. Später starb es im Krankenhaus, wo auch Wasser in seiner Lunge gefunden wurde. Die Tragödie hat ein großes Medienecho und Debatten über die Form der Taufzeremonie ausgelöst. Gegen den Priester, der die Taufe durchführte, sind polizeiliche Ermittlungen wegen Totschlags eingeleitet worden.

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, and…

During this year’s first meeting of the Romanian Patriarchate’s Church Painting Committee, the Patriarch of Romania urged the new members to draft an iconographic guide and a set of norms for the restoration of the ecclesiastical heritage used in worship. “The Church Painting Committee is now called, during this term, as the most competent central forum, with a consultative role in matters of church art in the Romanian Patriarchate, to respond promptly to urgent needs, felt for several years in…

In a message occasioned by the 162nd anniversary of the Union of the Romanian Principalities, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel stressed that „the Romanian Patriarchate blesses and supports the communion of Romanians everywhere.” The message has three main topics including the declaration of 2021 as a Solemn Year of the pastoral care of Romanians outside Romania, the history or Romanian migration and the current configuration of the Romanian communities in the diaspora. Weiterlesen auf basilica.r…

A poll made by the Center for Urban and Regional Sociology – CURS between January 11-15 found that the Church remains the most trusted institution in Romania. The research report showed that 62% of Romanians place a high and very high degree of trust in the Church. On the second place came local councils, trusted by 60% of Romanians. These are the only institutions trusted by more than half of the participants to the poll. Romanians showed the least of trust in Political Parties (11% of Romania…

The Church, the Army and the Romanian Academy occupy the first places in terms of the degree of trust granted by Romanians, according to the first barometer of the religious life in Romania, presented on Wednesday, December 16, in the Aula Magna of the Romanian Academy, Agerpres reports. According to the barometer, conducted by the LARICS Center for Sociological Research, in partnership with the State Secretariat for Religions and the Institute of Political Science and International Relations o…

Romania’s State Secretariat for Religious Affairs (SSC) hosted on Thursday, December 3, a new meeting of the Platform of Dialogue between faith leaders and the representatives of public authorities with attributions in combating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The goal of the consultation was to ensure dialogue and cooperation-based decisions that can meet both public health protection needs and religious needs. The debate concluded with the unanimous approval of the resolution entitled…

The Romanian Orthodox Church in Tokyo was consecrated on Tuesday, on the feast of the transfer of St George’s relics to his church in Lydda. The service was officiated by Romanian Metropolitan Iosif of Western Europe and Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and Japan. The consecration concluded the restoration works which took several years. The Romanian parish of Tokyo was established 12 years ago. In 2008, the Romanian Patriarchate sent, upon request from its faithful in Japan, priests Alexandru Nico…