Armenian Orthodox Echmiadzin Catholicos Visiting Italy, Romania

Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin has begun a pastoral visit to the Armenian Orthodox Church in Italy and Romania. More here.

Romania Makes St. Andrew's Day a Public Holiday

The Romanian Parliament has designated the new style feast of St. Andrew (30 November) as a public holiday in recognition of the widely held belief that St. Andrew introduced Orthodox Christianity to what is today Romania. More here.

Romanian Orthodox Bishop Meets with Department for Romanians Abroad

Bishop Cyprian of Campineanca, an auxiliary of the Bucharest Patriarchate, has met with representatives of the Romanian government's Department for Romanians Abroad to discuss ways in which the department and the Romanian Orthodox Church can cooperate in caring for the Romanian Diaspora. Bishop Cyprian discussed the recent expansion of the Bucharest Patriarchate in the Diaspora and into the canonical territories of its sister Orthodox Churches during the course of the meeting, also noting that the Patriarchate is now preparing to open a church on the canonical territory of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church in South Africa. More in Romanian here.

Pope Theodore Comments on Unity of the Alexandria Patriarchate

As part of remarks at the opening of his ongoing visit to Romania Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria was careful to point out the multiethnic character of the Church of Alexandria and his thankfulness to God for the cooperation of its sister Orthodox Churches in sending clergymen to serve their compatriots in Africa under the jurisdiction of the Alexandria Patriarchate. A full account (in Greek) of Pope Theodoros' comments can be found here.

First Royal Address to the Romanian Parliament in 64 Years

On the occasion of his 90th birthday King Michael I of Romania addressed the Romanian Parliament for the first time in 64 years. In his address King Michael called on the Romanian MPs to restore faith in democracy and the dignity of the Romanian nation on the world scene, indirectly condemning post-Communist Romanian governments by calling on the country's leadership to "break for good with the bad habits of the past."

Romanian President Traian Basescu refused to attend the special joint session of Parliament, condemning King Michael, who was forced to abdicate by the Communist regime in 1947, "Russia's servant." More here.

Pope Theodoros Begins Visit to Romania

Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria has begun a visit to the Romanian Orthodox Church, being received in the Romanian capital by Patriarch Daniel of Bucharest. The texts (in Romanian) of the first hierarchs' speeches at the reception can be found here.

Relic of St. Andrew to Visit Romania

Preparations are being made for the visit of the head of St. Andrew the Apostle from its resting place in Greece to Romania. During its time in Romania the relic will make stops in Bucharest, Sibiu, and Alba Iulia. More (in Romanian) here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Representation Church to be Built Near Bucharest

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has acquired property near the Romanian capital in the city of Snagov for the construction of a church and cultural center for the members of the Bulgarian Diaspora in Bucharest. The process is underway to have the future church canonically established as a representation of the Sofia Patriarchate to the Romanian Orthodox Church. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Romania Designates Dormition as a State Holiday

The Romanian government has added the date of new style Dormition, 15 August, as a national holiday in its labor code, which requires employers to either give their employees time off on full holidays or to pay them overtime. More here.

Romanian President Condemns Former King of Romania as Pro-Nazi, Pro-Soviet

Romanian President Traian Basescu has strongly criticized King Michael I of Romania, accusing him of complicity in the Holocaust during World War II and of serving Soviet interests in the country. President Basescu's comments have stunned Romanians, among whom King Michael remains highly popular. Although King Michael's reign saw the rise of a pro-Nazi government in the country, it was the king who organized the overthrow of the fascist regime. He later sought to remain in Romania as the Soviet Union orchestrated the rise to power of a Communist regime there, but abdicated when the new Romanian Communist authorities threatened to execute 1,000 Romanians if he did not do so. More here.

Hungarians Call for Investigation of Alba Iulia Attack

Hungary's ruling party has called on the Romanian government to investigate a recent attack on a Hungarian Catholic clergyman in the city of Alba Iulia during which the clergyman's attackers shouted anti-Hungarian slogans and beat him with baseball bats. More here.

Relations between Hungary and Romania have been improving in recent years, but Romania's Hungarian minority still faces a great deal of discrimination for its past dominance of local government when Transylvania (now northwestern Romania) was part of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Photo of the Day: Ascension in Bucharest

Patriarch Daniel (Ciobotea) of the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrating the festal Divine Liturgy for the Ascension in Bucharest's patriarchal Cathedral of St. Demetrius the New. More pictures can be found here.

Elder Cleopa Still Heals, Works Miracles

There are growing reports of miracles being worked through the prayers of reposed Elder Cleopa (Ilie) of Sihastria. More here. Hat tip to Mystagogy for posting this!

Romanian Minister Visits Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in Gyula, Hungary

The members of the Romanian government's council of ministers responsible for the Romanian Diaspora has visited the Romanian community in neighboring Hungary, making a stop during his visit at the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Hungary to meet with Bishop Siluan (Manuila) of Gyula. More (in Romanian) here.

Romania's Arabs Meet with Patriarch Daniel

Patriarch Daniel (Ciobotea) of Bucharest has met with members of Romania's Arabic-speaking minority to discuss the challenges facing the community in Romania. The Patriarchate of Antioch periodically sends a clergyman to celebrate the divine services in Arabic for the community, which has grown significantly in recent years. More (in Romanian) here.

126th Anniversary of the Romanian Orthodox Church's Autocephaly

Bright Monday this year marked the 126th anniversary of the granting of autocephaly to the Romanian Orthodox Church on the territory of the former Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia (then newly united as the Kingdom of Romania). Romania's tomos of autocephaly was granted by Patriarch Joachim IV of Constantinople as its faithful were at that time part of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church. More (in Romanian) here.

Romanian Teens Polled

A poll in Romania has found that many of its teens may be anti-Semitic and racist. More here.

Fr. Arsenie Recuperating from Surgery

The Romanian elder and confessor Fr. Arsenie (Papacioc) has been released following bladder surgery and is reported to be recovering well. More here.

Festal Services in Ukrainian Orthodox Parish in Romania

Bishop Lucian (Mic) of Caransebes celebrated Annunciation today in a parish in Zorile, Romania. (More on that here.) This wouldn't be particularly noteworthy were it not that this parish is a Ukrainian Orthodox community in Romania (and therefore under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Bucharest, whose canonical territory Romania is) and on the Julian calendar, whose Romanian Orthodox faithful were persecuted and cast out of the Church of Romania from the 1920s onwards.

Were all the Orthodox to follow the principles being adopted by the Bucharest Patriarchate outside Romania, then the Zorile parish would be under Moscow or perhaps Kiev, whilst others in southwestern Romania would be under the Pech Patriarchate and still more in southern and southeastern Romania would be under the Sofia Patriarchate. Perhaps in the near future the Bucharest Patriarchate will transfer its non-Romanian parishes in Romania to their "rightful" Churches so that 'there is Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, for all are divided in Christ Jesus' as the Scriptures say...

Elder Cleopa of Sihastria on the Calendar Controversy

Some interesting comments from Elder Cleopa (Ilie) of Sihastria in Romania on the calendar controversy and the schisms that have come from it can be found here (the site links to the Romanian-language original as well). I certainly agree with Elder Cleopa's comments on the unhealthiness of the Old Calendrist movements' oftentimes sectarian spirit, but conversely I find it troubling that he does not mention the persecution the Old Calendrists suffered at the hands of both the state and, at times, the world Orthodox Churches in Greece and Romania at the time of the calendar change.

As with so many schisms, there may well be more gray involved than either we in the mainstream Orthodox Churches or those in the various Old Calendrist synods would like to believe. Hat tip to Mystagogy for posting a link to a link to a link to the original of this ;-). Some of the comments on Mystagogy's posting are worth the read while others, especially one regarding the decision of Patriarch Meletius (Metaxakis) of Constantinople to recognize the "Living Church" as the true Church of Russia in the 1920s, are most definitely not...