Diaspora

Romanian Orthodox Bishop marks one year in office as Church life expands in Ireland

His Grace Bishop Nectarie of Ireland and Iceland marked on Sunday one year since his enthronement as head of the diocese, an occasion that highlighted the expansion of Romanian Orthodox church life in Ireland. The Bishop of Ireland and Iceland celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Parish of “Saint Columba and the Holy Great Martyr…

Jan 13, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania has EU’s largest diaspora as millions seek work abroad, Church becomes anchor for communities

Romania is the European Union country with the largest number of citizens living outside its borders. More than 3 million Romanians reside legally in EU member states, according to Eurostat data. The real number is higher, however, given that not all Romanians in the diaspora appear in official statistics, especially those who have acquired citizenship…

Jan 13, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Iosif offers condolences, prays for Swiss fire victims in hospitals

Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe on Friday conveyed condolences to the families of victims of the deadly fire at the Crans-Montana mountain resort in Switzerland, which broke out on New Year’s Eve and claimed dozens of lives. Swiss authorities have said the blaze killed at least 40 people and left 119…

Jan 5, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Ioan Casian hails man–woman complementarity as God-given path to human fulfilment

In his New Year message, Bishop Ioan Casian of Canada wrote about the idea of renewal and about the family as a place of spiritual and communal renewal. His message opens with a quotation from St Paul the Apostle: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed…

Jan 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Siluan urges Romanians in Italy to cherish families as small churches at start of 2026

At the start of the new year 2026, Bishop Siluan of Italy delivered a pastoral message to Romanians living in Italy, urging them to value the family as “a small church” and to honour its role in preserving faith and identity in the diaspora. In his New Year message, the bishop called on the faithful…

Jan 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox Bishop in Canada urges joy and renewed witness at Christmas

In his Christmas pastoral letter, Bishop Ioan Casian of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada has called on the faithful to live the season of the Nativity with joy, hope and renewed commitment. “Let us live this time of the Nativity of the Lord with joy and hope, with trust in God and with renewed…

Dec 25, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox Bishop in Ireland and Iceland urges inner renewal in first Christmas pastoral letter

Bishop Nectarie of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland underscored the need for inner change and the rediscovery of spiritual purity in the face of contemporary challenges in his first Christmas pastoral letter since his enthronement. “Our renewal begins today — a perpetual today — for before the Lord there is no yesterday,…

Dec 24, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Serafim urges humility over comfort in Christmas message, highlights women’s role in Church and family

In this year’s Christmas pastoral letter, Metropolitan Serafim of Germany invites the faithful to move beyond the material comfort associated with the Nativity feast and to rediscover what he calls “the only new thing under the sun”: the humility of God who becomes Man. In the pastoral message titled “The Christian Woman in the Family,…

Dec 23, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas urges faithful to sing to God through deeds, not words, in Christmas message

The Christmas exhortation of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas, calls on the faithful to sing to the Lord not only with their voices, but above all through their deeds. In his pastoral letter for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, Metropolitan Nicolae Condrea brings to the fore the…

Dec 19, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese joins UK faith network supporting prisoner reintegration

The Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has taken a significant step in strengthening its social mission by joining The Welcome Directory, a UK-based interfaith initiative dedicated to supporting the social reintegration of people released from prison. The Welcome Directory is a charitable organisation that connects former prisoners with welcoming and safe…

Dec 16, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Orthodox community forms new parish in Kilkenny, Ireland

A new Romanian Orthodox parish is being formed in Kilkenny, Ireland. The parish will be dedicated to Saint Arsenius (Boca) of Prislop and Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe (Kenneth), one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Bishop Nectarie of Ireland and Iceland celebrated the Divine Liturgy on December 7 with the Romanian community in Kilkenny. Before…

Dec 15, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu