Society

Orthodox Calendar tops Google searches in Romania at the start of 2025

The Orthodox Calendar remains one of the most popular topics searched by Romanians on Google in 2024, but also at the beginning of the New Year 2025. In three months of the previous year, the term Orthodox Calendar appeared among the top 10 most searched topics. According to an analysis published by Panorama, in January…

Jan 6, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Orthodox Church representatives engage in dialogue with new European Parliament members

On Tuesday, representatives of Orthodox Churches to the European Union, alongside other religious communities, met with newly elected members of the European Parliament to emphasize the need for continued and strengthened dialogue between EU institutions and faith communities. The meeting, titled “Article 17 TFEU Dialogue – The importance of intergenerational dialogue in addressing Europe’s future…

Dec 12, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Romfilatelia launches 2024 Christmas stamp collection celebrating the Lord’s Nativity

Last Friday, Romfilatelia unveiled its latest stamp issue dedicated to the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, titled “Christmas 2024.” The philatelic collection features two stamps, a perforated souvenir sheet, a “first-day” cover, and a special philatelic folder produced in a limited edition. The collection’s centrepiece is the stamp on the souvenir sheet, with a…

Nov 26, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Government advances Religious Freedom Day proposal

The Romanian Government authorised a draft law on November 14 that establishes the National Day of Religious Freedom and the Contribution of Faith Communities to Romanian Society. This day will be observed annually on May 16. The draft law suggests organising cultural, religious, and educational events to respect religious freedom and the relationship between the…

Nov 22, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Alarming rise in Christian Persecution over the last two years, reports ‘Aid to the Church in Need’

Christian persecution has seen a troubling increase over the past two years, according to a report conducted in 18 countries by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need. The report, covering the years 2022 to 2024, was presented to the British Parliament on October 22 and highlights a particularly severe rise in persecution…

Nov 1, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Alexandra Nadane: 2026 Commemorative Year will illuminate the spiritual paths for women

The 2026 Commemorative Year “will bring a greater societal understanding of the spiritual paths available to women,” said Alexandra Nadane, executive director of the Association for the Support of Pregnant Women and Families. “I was very pleased to hear that the Holy Synod has declared 2026 as the Solemn Year of Christian Family Pastoral Care…

Nov 1, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanians still await official recognition of Romanian Language Day in Ukraine

The Romanian community in Ukraine is still awaiting the establishment of a Romanian Language Day in Ukraine, which would be comparable to the acknowledgement of Ukrainian Language Day in Romania on November 9, as enshrined by Romania’s Law 213/2018. The initiative for a Romanian Language Day in Ukraine came from the “Bessarabia” National-Cultural Association of…

Oct 30, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Ministry of Family applauds Romanian Orthodox Church’s 2026 theme honouring Christian family and holy women

The Ministry of Family, Youth, and Equal Opportunities has welcomed the decision by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church to designate 2026 as the “Solemn Year of Pastoral Care for the Christian Family” and the “Commemorative Year of Holy Women” celebrating myrrh-bearing women, female martyrs, nuns, wives, and mothers. The Romanian Orthodox Synod’s…

Oct 30, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Greece’s OXI Day celebrated by Greek community in Bucharest, honouring WWII heroes

Greece’s OXI Day, considered the second national day of the Greek people, was celebrated on Sunday at the “Annunciation” Church of the Greek community in Bucharest. On this occasion, Fr. Ioan Moldoveanu, the parish priest, led a Te Deum service and commemorated the heroes who fell defending their homeland in World War II. Among those…

Oct 30, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

50 years of Anglican-Orthodox dialogue: Metropolitan Nifon attends Boston anniversary meeting

His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Târgoviște and Patriarchal Exarch, is attending the plenary meeting of the International Commission for Orthodox-Anglican Theological Dialogue. This year’s conference, which is hosted by the Huffington Ecumenical Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, is taking place from October 4 to 11. To mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the…

Oct 11, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Oradea hosts meeting of religious representatives. Romanian Gov’t to fund religious denominations for socio-medical projects

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Palace in Oradea hosted a meeting on Tuesday between representatives of religious denominations and the Romanian government. The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs organised the event, which included key announcements, such as the government’s decision to fund socio-medical establishments run by religious groups. Ciprian-Vasile Olinici, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs,…

Oct 10, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu