Commemorative Year 2022

Probable first cell of St. Paisius Velichkovsky discovered on Holy Mount Athos

A small stone hut believed to be the first monastic habitation of St. Paisius Velichkovsky during his time on the Holy Mount Athos was recently discovered by a group of monks who were cutting back the thickets of the monastery forest. The monks invited Sergei Shumilo, Director of the International Institute of the Athonite Legacy,…

Dec 16, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel offers remedy for secularisation during Bucharest monastic synaxis

During the annual assembly of the superiors of all monasteries within the Archdiocese of Bucharest, which took place last Thursday at the Patriarchal Palace, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel shared his thoughts on prayer, hesychasm, and the antidote to secularisation. The most concise and intense prayer “The first duty of a monk or nun is to…

Nov 28, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

It’s not too early to start thinking about the Nativity Fast

At the end of the Solemn Year of Prayer and the Commemorative Year of the Hesychast Saints, you have another opportunity to pray more, calm and recharge your soul with the words of the Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers of the Church: the Nativity Fast that begins in two weeks. The Nativity Fast “is…

Nov 3, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel on grace and hesychasm: St Gregory Palamas was a fruit of St Paul’s exhortation to pray unceasingly

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel spoke on Thursday about St. Demetrius the New as a hesychast saint and outlined his connection with the believers on both banks of the Danube River. His Beatitude also referred to St. Gregory Palamas, the Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and described him as a fruit of the work of grace among the…

Oct 28, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel’s address for welcoming the relics of St Gregory Palamas to Bucharest

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel addressed the pilgrims on Monday upon the reception of the relics of St. Gregory Palamas at the Patriarchal Cathedral. The relics were brought by a delegation of the Orthodox Church of Greece, led by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria, Naoussa and Kampania. Patriarch Daniel’s address for welcoming the relics of Saint Gregory…

Oct 25, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

A heavenly treasure: Metropolitan of Veria evokes the Romanian people’s love for saints

His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria, Naoussa and Kampania, the region where the family of St. Gregory Palamas lived for a while, brought a fragment of the saint’s relics for the festivities of Saint Demetrius the New, Protector of Bucharest. On this occasion, the Greek Metropolitan said that the saints’ relics are a heavenly treasure…

Oct 25, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

St Gregory Palamas relics arrive in Bucharest: We are called to be co-workers with God, says Patriarch Daniel

The relics of St. Gregory Palamas arrived on Monday on the Patriarchate’s Hill for the festivities of St. Demetrius the New, the patron saint of Bucharest. St Gregory’s relics were placed for veneration in an outdoor baldachin next to the other relics usually kept in the Patriarchal Cathedral. “All these saints are calling us to…

Oct 24, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

St Gregory Palamas’ relics are arriving to Bucharest for St Demetrius the New 2022 festivities

The relics of the prominent Hesychast Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, will be brought to Bucharest for this year’s festivities of St Demetrius the New. The honourable relics of Saint Gregory Palamas will be brought from Greece by a delegation arriving on Monday, October 24, for the ‘Way of the Saints’ procession. The delegation…

Oct 20, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Iași: 20,000 people process with relics of Saints Paraskeva and Paisius

Tens of thousands of Romanian Orthodox faithful came out for a procession with the relics of two of the most beloved Romanian saints through the streets of Iași on Sunday evening. The feast of St. Paraskeva, October 14, is traditionally one of the most significant religious events in Romania, drawing pilgrims from throughout Romania and…

Oct 12, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch of Romania celebrates 35th anniversary of his monastic tonsure at Cernica Monastery

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel attended the patronal feast of Cernica Monastery on Saturday, August 6. The monastic community congratulated the Patriarch of Romania on the 35th anniversary of his monastic tonsure. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel attended the Divine Liturgy celebrated by an assembly of priests, including Archimandrite Nectarie Șofelea, Exarch of the monasteries of the…

Aug 10, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel: The Tabor Light, perceived by the Hesychasts, is sought by every Christian enlightened at baptism

The light that appeared on Mount Tabor at the Saviour’s Transfiguration “is the light that every Christian enlightened at baptism by water and the Holy Spirit seeks,” Patriarch Daniel said Saturday. Fruit of prayer and a symbol of hesychasm, this light “is given to those who pray much and live a Christian life of fasting,…

Aug 9, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu