Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox Religion Olympiad draws 10,000 students nationwide, including 1,600 in Bucharest

More than 1,600 students participated in the Orthodox Religion Olympiad in Bucharest on Saturday, competing at the district level. Across the rest of the country, the competition took place at the county level, with a total of approximately 10,000 participants. Students Compete in Religion Olympiad Students who secure first place at the county or district…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

National Symposium in Teleorman to mark Patriarchate’s Centennial and First Ecumenical Council anniversary

A national symposium commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Romanian Patriarchate and the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea will take place in early May at Pantocrator Monastery in Teleorman, coinciding with the arrival of the relics of the Holy Empress Helena. The symposium, titled “Faith, Service, and History in the Ecclesial…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox youth plant 3,000 trees in memory of unborn children

Last Friday, an afforestation initiative took place at Maglavit Monastery in Dolj County, carrying not only an ecological message but also a profoundly moving one as part of the Month for Life 2025: each of the 3,000 trees planted was dedicated to the memory of a child who never had the chance to be born.…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Assistant Bishop Damaschin of Dorna explains: Why we commemorate the departed during Lenten Saturdays?

On Saturday, His Grace Bishop Damaschin of Dorna, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Lazaret Parish in Bacău and led a memorial service for the departed. In his sermon, Bishop Damaschin highlighted three key reasons why the Orthodox Church remembers the deceased on Saturdays during Lent.…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Iosif joins patronal feast in Brussels: Fasting restores our place in Paradise

On Sunday, His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the “Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and Saint Gertrude of Nivelles” Parish in Uccle, Brussels. “When we fast, we reclaim our place in Paradise, for Adam and Eve ate the fruits that God provided for them in Eden. When…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Greek Metropolitan brings relic of St. John Chrysostom to Romanian Orthodox community in Germany

On Saturday, Germany’s Romanian Metropolitan Serafim welcomed Metropolitan Theoklitos of Stagoi and Meteora, along with a delegation of Greek monks, at the archdiocesan centre in Nuremberg. On this occasion, the Greek hierarch brought for veneration the left hand of St. John Chrysostom, a precious relic from the Monastery of St Varlaam at Meteora. Metropolitan Theoklitos…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: Jesus healed many, but only called some ‘son’

On the second Sunday of Lent, Patriarch Daniel of Romania spoke at the historic Chapel of St. George within the Patriarchal Residence about the healing grace of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Gospel account of the Paralytic’s Healing in Capernaum. “Jesus healed many sick people, but not all were called ‘son.’ However, to this…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Hon Metropolitan Nifon: Health is a sacred gift, but often disregarded by man

Reflecting on the paralytic’s healing at Capernaum at the local cathedral on Sunday, Hon Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Târgoviște, underscored the importance of health as a divine gift and the imperfect manner in which individuals occasionally approach it. “Health itself is God’s great, blessed, and ineffable gift, which must be cultivated, protected, and honoured because…

Mar 18, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

35 years since the reactivation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Vicariate in Romania

Sunday marked 35 years since the Ukrainian Orthodox Vicariate’s re-establishment under the Romanian Patriarchate’s jurisdiction. Following the fall of the atheist communist regime, Orthodox Ukrainians in Romania sought the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Church to reinstate the Ukrainian Vicariate, which had been dissolved by the communist authorities in 1952. The initiative…

Mar 17, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Joan of Korçë elected new Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania

The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Albania has elected Metropolitan Joan (Pelushi) of Korçë as the new Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania. The election process took place on Sunday in Tirana following the Divine Liturgy. Metropolitan Joan is regarded as the spiritual son of the late Archbishop Anastasios and is expected…

Mar 17, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian priests urge vigilance amid widespread wildfires

Over 13,000 hectares have been affected by vegetation fires this month, prompting many dioceses to collaborate with regional and county representatives of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations to raise awareness among the faithful. Church and Firefighters Issue Joint Appeal In the Metropolis of Oltenia and the Archdioceses of Suceava and Rădăuți, as well as…

Mar 14, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu