„The Romanian Patriarchate received with joy the intensely awaited and fully justified decision of the authorities to allow the celebration of religious services inside the churches, with the participation of the faithful, in compliance with clear and still necessary regulations,“ the Patriarchate’s spokesman Vasile Bănescu told Basilica.ro. The decision to allow religious services to be officiated inside the places of worship was announced by the Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, after the Governm…

Romania’s most significant mosaic icon of the Mother of God emerged in the National Cathedral in Bucharest as workers have started removing tons of metal scaffolding covering the altar’s impressive iconography. At present, about 50% of the altar painting work has been completed. The basin of the altar apse is completely covered with mosaic, including decorations on the window frames and nave’s belt. Weiterlesen auf basilica.ro (19. Juni 2020)

Auf Druck der Rumänischen Orthodoxen Kirche hat das rumänische Parlament ein kürzlich verabschiedetes Gesetz zur Sexualkunde an Schulen angepasst. Im angepassten Gesetzestext ist nicht mehr von verpflichtender Sexualkunde die Rede, sondern nur noch von „Bildung für das Leben, darunter Gesundheitsbildung zur Verhinderung von sexuell übertragbaren Krankheiten und Schwangerschaften bei Minderjährigen“. Die Eltern müssen zudem schriftlich ihr Einverständnis geben, damit ihre Kinder an den Kursen te…

Considering that, from May 15, 2020, the state of emergency and the applicability of the Military Ordinances that limited essential aspects of the public religious life of the faithful cease, following consultation with the Romanian Government, the Romanian Patriarchate sends the following instructions to the cult units of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding the access of Orthodox believers to places of worship and cemeteries, and their participation in divine services. Weiterlesen auf basi…

Vasile Banescu, a spokesman for the Romanian Patriarchate, denounced billboards depicting doctors and nurses as “saints” with coronavirus-shaped halos as a blasphemous “visual mistreatment of Christian iconography”. The posters, created by Romanian artist Wanda Hutira for the McCann Worldgroup ad agency’s “Thank you doctors” campaign and posted throughout Bucharest, have also offended the Medical Guild, Banescu said. Weiterlesen auf basilica.ro (30. April 2020)

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel Sunday expressed his hope that the faithful will be able to attend the divine services shortly. Especially during this period, ‘when many people suffer spiritually from anxiety and fear,’ church services are ‘a healing from solitude and restlessness.’ ‘In this period, we also suffer because our beloved faithful cannot physically, directly participate in the church services. We hope that we will be able to meet again soon at the church services. However, at the beg…

On Bright Saturday, the Romanian Orthodox Church marked the 135th anniversary of its restored autocephaly, which was granted by Patriarchate Joachim IV of Constantinople on April 25, 1885. The Church also celebrates the 95th anniversary of the restoration of its Patriarchate this year, reports the Basilica News Agency. “After Romania gained its state independence in 1877 and was declared a Kingdom in 1881, the prestige of the Romanian Orthodox Church increased, making necessary the formal recog…

In seiner Osterbotschaft hat der rumänische Patriarch Daniel die Gläubigen daran erinnert, dass der Glaube an die Auferstehung „uns hilft, die Hoffnung angesichts schwieriger Lebensumstände nicht zu verlieren“. Angesichts des Leids im Zusammenhang mit der Coronavirus-Pandemie rief der Patriarch zum Gebet für Kranke, aber auch Ärzte und Pfleger sowie freiwillige Helfer auf. Zudem verwies er auf die Beiträge, die die Rumänische Orthodoxe Kirche (RumOK) „verantwortungsvoll und substantiell“ zum Li…

The Romanian Orthodox Church has announced a new program of prayer in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, beginning today, on the new calendar feast of the Annunciation, calling upon all faithful to join one another in common prayer daily at noon, each from his own home, while church and monastery bells ring out throughout the country. “In this difficult time of trials related to the pandemic, the clergy and laity of our Church, being physically separated in terms of prayer, can still unit…

Fr Prof. Ioan Sauca has been appointed acting World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary beginning 1 April. Sauca, who currently serves as deputy general secretary for the WCC programme on Ecumenical Formation and Bossey Ecumenical Institute, will hold the general secretary post until the WCC Executive Committee meets in June. The leadership of the WCC Central Committee decided to postpone the full WCC Central Committee meeting, once slated for 18-24 March, along with the Executive Commi…

The Romanian Patriarchate organized several solemn events to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of communism and the remembrance of the heroes who fell during the Romanian Revolution of December 1989. The Patriarch of Romania, members of the Holy Synod, the President of the Former Political Prisoners Association, state officials, professors and students attended the events. Those who lost their lives in December 1989 were remembered during a memorial service officiated at the Patriarchal Cat…

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania received Bucharest’s Honorary Citizenship for his contribution to the spirituality and education of the Romanian people. The Patriarch of Romania received the award from Bucharest Mayor Gabriela Firea at the Patriarchal Residence on December 12. Mayor Firea was accompanied by a delegation of the Bucharest City Hall including the former Minister of Culture and National Identity George Ivascu who read out the Laudatio, stressing the academic and pastoral…

One year since the consecration of Romania’s National Cathedral we provide you with some figures to help you understand what this national project has meant until today: 110 million euros: Because the number of press materials increased with the cathedral’s building process, and most of the time the deep significance of this national project is overlooked, the amounts spent with the National Cathedral have been intensely discussed. Weiterlesen auf basilica.ro (26. November 2019)

The Church has joined the ‘Let’s do it, Romania!’ campaign and summoned teams of young students from the theological seminaries across Romania to help out with the clean-up day. Over 180‘000 Romanians, most of them students but also volunteers of all ages, have said yes to this year’s national environmental action. On Saturday, Sept. 21, several Orthodox high schools, parishes and other church institutions put into practice the advice of Patriarch Daniel to express a special care towards God’s…

A 100-year-old building in the city of Haugesund in southwestern Norway was given new life on Sunday, as it was consecrated as a parish church of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The new church, the first Romanian Orthodox parish in Norway, is dedicated to the “O All-Hymned Mother” Icon of the Theotokos, as well as Sts. Macarius the Great and Macarius of Alexandria, reports Doxologia. According to OrthodoxWiki, there are 16 other parishes operating in Norway, divided between the Russian Church, th…

His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos of Drama consecrated a newly built church at the hut of the Annunciation at Lakkoskiti in honour of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos. This is the first church serving a Romanian community on the Holy Mount to be dedicated to St Paisios. The consecration ceremony took place on July 25, the feast day of St Paisios according to the unrevised Julian calendar. The church was also offered a second Patron Saint, the holy and righteous King David. Weiterlesen auf basilica…

A group of tech-savvy Romanians are currently testing Sotiras, a new social platform that could be an Orthodox alternative to Facebook. Their initiative has the blessing of the Romanian monks from the Annunciation Kellia of the Romanian Lakkoskete on Mount Athos. The new social networking website ‘aims at promoting beauty, normality, and Christian values’, reads a statement of the founders published by Marturie Athonita. Weiterlesen auf basilica.ro (22. August 2019)

MP Daniel Gheorghe has submitted a draft law to parliament that declares August 16 an official Remembrance Day of the Holy Brancoveanu Martyrs and a National Day of Awareness of Violence against Christians. If the draft law will be approved by the Parliament, the following buildings will be illuminated in red on August 16, between 20:00 and 24:00: the Romanian Parliament, the Government of Romania, the central and local public authorities, the Arc de Triomphe and the Mogosoaia Palace. The bill…

Because sometimes the Romanian media refers to the glorification of the persons who suffered persecutions during the communist regime in our country or even died in the communist jails, we provide the following information: The canonization of Saints has the role to profess, to strengthen and to convey the true faith so as to guide the faithful on the path of salvation and of gaining saintliness. One of the essential conditions to glorify Saints is their undoubted faith kept until death (Revela…

The Romanian Patriarchate learned with deep indignation about the theatre play ‘Eu sunt. Si?’ (‘I am. So?’) performed in Cluj-Napoca during the ‘Pride Week’ of sexual minorities. The indecent content of this representation includes the mocking of Christian religious symbols, sending a deliberately blasphemous message. Such offensive attitudes towards the overwhelming majority of Romanians, the negative labeling of Christian believers, the repeated offending of religious feelings divide society…