The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church during its working session on Thursday elected by secret ballot His Grace Assistant Bishop Nestor Dinculeana as new Bishop of Deva and Hunedoara, succeeding Bishop Gurie Georgiu of blessed memory, who reposed in October. Since February, His Grace Nestor has been the Assistant Bishop to the Diocese…
Hieromartyr Eleutherius, Bishop of Illyria, was born in Rome in a family that embraced the Orthodox faith through the preaching of the Holy Apostle Paul and was educated a Christian, especially by his mother, Anthia. “This Eleutherius grew up in the porch of the church, but the church, at that time, was not like this…
His Grace Bishop Sofronie of Oradea attended the festivities marking 100 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Japan organized at the Medieval Fortress of Oradea by the Embassy of Japan to Romania on Friday, December 10, 2021. The event was attended by His Excellency Hiroshi Ueda, Japan’s Ambassador to Romania, and by local officials.…
The Archdiocese of Timisoara starts its most important project next year. A multifunctional complex for social services and educational, cultural and physical activities will be built in Timisoara. The AfiOM project – Timișoara Philanthropic Multiplex will include a youth centre, a gym, a maternity home for women in pregnancy crisis, a kindergarten and an Orthodox…
One Orthodox community in the Republic of Moldova is experiencing the joy of finally having their own church. And the Church of Sts. Seraphim of Sarov, Catherine, and John (Maximovitch) in the Chișinău suburb of Floreni was built in just 40 days. His Eminence Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia blessed the church with holy water on…
On Tuesday, His Grace Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova celebrated the Divine Liturgy and a memorial service at Radu Vodă Monastery in Bucharest, marking the feast of Saint Philemon, the patron saint of actors. In his sermon, the assistant bishop to the Bucharest Archdiocese referred to the Saint’s life. Being asked by a Christian that…
Converted to Orthodoxy in 1990, a French octogenarian received the monastic tonsure at Văratic Monastery after fifteen years of preparation. Under the mantle of the Abbess Iosefina Giosanu, Françoise Détouche received the name of Saint Radegund (+587), a Thuringian princess and Frankish queen, who founded a monastery at Poitiers, who is revered as a Saint…
Monday, December 13, 2021 marks the 38th anniversary of the repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and one of the 20th century’s leading Orthodox Christian theologians. Father Alexander was born in Estonia in 1921 to a family of Russian emigres. He spent his youth in France, where he completed his…
“St. Parascheva” parish in the city of Brăila, on the Lower Danube, offered medical devices and gifts for mothers at the local maternity. The donation amounted to 8,000 Euros. The medical institution received a sonographer, a ventilation device kit and special stands for medical equipment. The parish did not neglect the mothers who were at…
Speaking at an International Symposium dedicated to the pastoral care of Romanians abroad last week, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel stressed that “the Mother Church supports and encourages her spiritual sons and daughters from abroad and understands the difficulties they face in their struggle to ensure a better future.” The Symposium combined a “live” in-person event…
His Grace Assistant Bishop Damaschin of Dorna became the first Orthodox hierarch to serve in the chapel inside the Cacica Salt Mine, sculpted by Polish miners 29 meters underground. The hierarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with an assembly of clerics, including Father Răzvan Cîmpulungeanu, missionary priest of Suceava II Deanery, and Archdeacon Bogdan-Mihai Hrișcă,…
The local synod of the Metropolis of Transylvania announced the two nominees for the next bishop of the Diocese of Deva and Hunedoara. The nominees are: His Grace Assistant Bishop Nestor of Hunedoara and Archimandrite Gherontie Ciupe, administrative vicar. The Metropolitan Synod of Transylvania met for a working session at the metropolitan residence in Sibiu…
The memory of Elder Cleopas (Ilie), one of the greatest elders of the 20th century, who has been proposed for canonization by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2025, was honoured in the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți on December 2 with the consecration of his mountain cell and a holy spring. December 2 marked the…
Bethlehem Municipality inaugurated on Saturday the huge Christmas tree installed in Manger Square, near the Nativity Church. The lighting of the Christmas tree was preceded by a concert of traditional music and dance and by fireworks. The show was watched by a large local audience. The huge Christmas tree installed near the Nativity Church has…
Please find below the precise point of view of the Romanian Patriarchate on the EU digital COVID certificate, which was briefly expressed at the meeting of representatives of religious denominations with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health of the Romanian Government at the Coral Temple in Bucharest on December 2, 2021. On November…
The Holy Hierarch Andrei Şaguna, the founder of the Metropolis of Transylvania, was celebrated during a Divine Liturgy in Sibiu on Tuesday. This year marks ten years since the canonization of Saint Andrew Şaguna, whose relics are kept at the Orthodox Cathedral in Sibiu. Thanks to him, Transylvania remained in the faith of the Apostle…
Father Arsenie Boca was commemorated last Sunday at his resting place, Prislop Monastery, on the 32nd anniversary of his blessed repose. A memorial service was held in the monastery church immediately after the Divine Liturgy, and additional prayers were offered at the elder’s tomb in the monastery’s cemetery. The services were officiated by Metropolitan Laurenţiu…
“The National Cathedral has become a cardinal point,” the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Ieronim of Sinaia said on the third anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral’s altar. The bishop referred to the fact that the Cathedral can be seen from a considerable distance on clear days – such as from the Bucharest-Pitesti highway or the…
The town of Văleni in Braşov County will open a mobile library soon. The initiative belongs to the local parish priest, Father Claudiu Popa. The priest wanted to help children he pastors by turning a bus into a mobile library, calling it a bibliobus. “One day, I realized that I had many books, both from…
Stavrophore Anastasia Honcioiu, Abbess of Bistrița – Vâlcea Monastery, urges everyone “to bring to God the sighs of the publican” and to avoid despair by putting our trust in God. The abbess agreed to answer a few questions about fasting and preparing for the feast of the Lord’s Nativity. Basilica.ro: How should we fast? Stavrophore…