“St. John of Damascus says the only new thing under the sun is God the Man, Jesus Christ. And this mystery of God the Child Who grows through the love and care shown by the Mother of God and His adoptive father, Righteous Joseph, reveals the mystery of family,” Patriarch Daniel said on Monday to…
Christ came into the world as a Child “to reveal the great mystery of humble and generous love: a child can be ignored, as it often happens, it can be rejected, it can be killed in the womb or it can be granted all the attention, all the care and all the affection fit for…
In his first Christmas encyclical in 1986, Romania’s former Patriarch Teoctist Arapasu noted that the Nativity shows how much God loves us and how much the price of human life is before God. 1. What can give wings to the mind towards the deep and mysterious meaning of life; what can inflame the heart towards…
A commemoration service was officiated on Wednesday in Bucharest’s Romanian Revolution Square. Prayers were offered for the martyrs who fought for freedom during the last days of the Nicolae Ceauşescu’s communist regime. The religious ceremony was held after the state anthem. “We have officiated a commemoration service for the maryrs of the Romanian December 1989…
In his first pastoral encyclical on the Nativity of the Lord in 1977, Romania’s fourth Patriarch Iustin Moisescu stressed the joyful way Christians need to welcome the Baby Jesus in their lives. 1. Listening to Christmas hymns, let us all now bow our heads before the icon of the Nativity, thanking God for the saving…
In his first Christmas encyclical in 1948, Romania’s third Patriarch Justinian Marina emphasized that the news of the Nativity did not resonate in marble palaces, but in the pure hearts of the poor, of those who worked without rest. 1. As we prepare to honour, according to tradition, the great feast of the Incarnation of…
Metropolitan Nicolae’s Pastoral Letter for the Lord’s Nativity points to the fact that the Lord’s Nativity restores man by bringing the Light of Knowledge: the knowledge of God. The hierarch quotes St. Athanasius the Great, who said that Adam’s sin consisted of turning away from the contemplation of God – of the One Who is,…
In his first pastoral letter on the Nativity of the Lord in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War, Romania’s second Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu urged the faithful to remember the cave in Bethlehem in times of unrest and insecurity, because only through the One born in it they would find escape, tranquillity, and…
Patriarch Miron Cristea, the first Patriarch of Romania, wrote his first Christmas pastoral letter in 1926. In the five selected quotes below, the Patriarch points to wealth and poverty as possible obstacles in fulfilling the Christian’s purpose, the real power of mastery, sacrifice, as well as the conditions in which social well-being can be achieved.…
In this year’s Christmas encyclical, His Grace Bishop Mihail of Australia and New Zealand emphasizes that the Nativity of the Saviour represents the fulfilment of all Old Testament prophecies. Through Him, divine revelation is concrete, complete, and perfect. “By the birth of Christ, the prophecies which God the Father revealed to His elect in the…
Fr. Ioan Sauca, Acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), visited, on December 15, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East at His Beatitude’s residence in Balamand, Lebanon. Patriarch John X is one of the WCC presidents. His Beatitude shared the situation of the people and churches from his Patriarchate.…
Orthodox faithful throughout the U.S. have a special opportunity now through early February to venerate the relics of one of Romania’s most recently glorified saints. With the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, the relics of St. George the Pilgrim have arrived in America. The relics have already visited a number of parishes in several…
Father Ionuț Timoce, a Transylvanian parish priest, offered his parish house to family with eight children recently left homeless after the owner ended their tenancy by selling the house. Reghin Deanery got involved in providing a home to the Balazs family. The eight children are aged 4 to 18, their father is a taxi driver…
In this year’s Christmas message, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel emphasizes that Christmas urges us to pay more attention to children whose parents have gone to work abroad. Patriarch Daniel’s Christmas Message 2021: full text The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ or Christmas announces to us the humble and generous love of…
The Holy Prophet Daniel, a pastor for his people during the Babylonian exile, is the spiritual protector of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, who leads the Romanian Orthodox Church during the most extensive spread of Romanians on all meridians of the globe. Intrinsically, the Prophet Daniel is a source of inspiration for the many initiatives coordinated…
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on Thursday, December 16, 2021, for a working session at the “Patriarch Teoctist” Great Hall of the Palace of the Patriarchate under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. The Holy Synod elected by secret ballot His Grace Assistant Bishop Nestor of Hunedoara as new Bishop…
Patriarchal Vicar Ephraim (Maalouli) of Seleucia (Antiochian Patriarchate) was enthroned last Friday as the new Metropolitan of Aleppo in a ceremony presided by Patriarch John X of Antioch at Aleppo’s “Prophet Elijah” Cathedral. The new metropolitan honoured his mother at the end of the ceremony by offering her his archimandrite cross. Accompanied by the cheers…
In his speech on Sunday at the Orthodox Cathedral of Baia Mare, His Grace Bishop Justin of Maramureș and Sătmar spoke about the spiritual and historical reality of the Feast of the Nativity, which contrasts with the new trends of limiting the religious message. Bishop Justin spoke to the faithful about the dangers of false…
Many migrants, mainly Afghans, transit Romania’s western city of Timisoara on their way to the West. The Orthodox Church and local organizations offer them help as winter draws near. His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan of Banat has constantly donated hundreds of kilograms of food for migrants. The metropolitan said that he saw Romanians in the same…
His Grace Nestor was elected on Thursday by the Holy Synod in the dignity of Bishop of Deva and Hunedoara, succeeding Bishop Gurie Georgiu of blessed memory. His Grace received the vote of the synodal members for the second time this year, after being elected Assistant Bishop to the Diocese of Deva on February 25.…