Romania Archives

Romania OKs holding Easter celebrations despite virus surge

Mar 26, 2021

Romanian authorities announced Thursday that Easter celebrations in the deeply Christian country will go ahead in person this year, even though Romania is battling a surge of COVID-19 infections that is threatening to overwhelm its hospitals.

By Stephen McGrath

Pandemic tempers patron saint festival in Romania

Oct 31, 2020

The feast of St. Dimitrie of Basarabov, the patron saint of Bucharest, is a show of Orthodox Christianity’s strength in Romania, where a weeklong festival devoted to the former hermit typically draws up to 100,000 people from all over the country to the capital every October.

By Vadim Ghirda and Andreea Alexandru

Romania marks first national day honoring persecuted Christians

Aug 15, 2020

On Sunday Romania marked its first ever National Day of Awareness of Violence against Christians, a move intended to honor Romanian Orthodox martyrs and raise awareness about global anti-Christian persecution.

By Elise Ann Allen

Romanian port city marks Easter late due to virus

May 28, 2020

Stretching the church calendar, Orthodox Easter arrived over a month late in a Romanian city on the shores of the Black Sea.

By Vadim Ghirda

Romania: Orthodox Church blasts posters of doctors as saints, Catholics supportive

Apr 30, 2020

Romania’s Orthodox Church on Wednesday criticized a billboard campaign showing doctors dealing with the coronavirus epidemic as saints with halos shaped like the virus.

By Associated Press

East European Catholics draw lockdown parallels with communist rule

Apr 16, 2020

Although Catholics in most East European countries have backed measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic, for some it has also revived painful memories of communist rule. Sensitivities over church closures have also surfaced in Western Europe, where some Catholics have questioned the right of civil authorities to prohibit religious worship.

By Jonathan Luxmoore

Church wounded by internal tensions, pope tells Jesuits in Romania

Jun 13, 2019

Pope Francis told Jesuits in Romania that tensions and struggles within the Church have left it wounded and that the only path forward is through humble dialogue, not futile arguments.

By Junno Arocho Esteves