communist prisons

Romanian Orthodox confessor Aspazia Oțel Petrescu remembered eight years after death

Aspazia Oțel Petrescu died eight years ago, on January 23, 2018. She was among the women who bore witness to Orthodox Christianity during Romania’s communist era. She was born on December 9, 1923, in Cotul Ostriței, in Northern Bukovina. Between 1944 and 1948, she studied at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of Babeș-Bolyai University…

Jan 23, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Bishop Benedict reflects on ‘theology of the cave’, linking Bethlehem to communist prisons

Bishop Benedict of Sălaj has proposed in his first Christmas Pastoral Letter a reflection on what he calls the “theology of the cave,” drawing a parallel between the humility of the manger in Bethlehem and the “cave” of suffering experienced in communist prisons. He stresses that no human suffering is too dark to be illumined…

Dec 22, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania: Church of Martyrs and Confessors of Communist Prisons consecrated in Târgu Ocna

The Church of Martyrs and Confessors of Communist Prisons built within the National School for Prison Officers in Târgu Ocna, Romania, was consecrated on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The ceremony was part of a series of events marking 25 years since the establishment of this institution, which chose Martyr Prince Constantine Brâncoveanu as its spiritual patron.…

May 25, 2022Ștefana Totorcea

Church of Martyrs and Confessors of Communist Prisons to be consecrated in Târgu Ocna

The National School for Prison Officers in Târgu Ocna, Romania, hosts two days of celebrations dedicated to the consecration of the Church of Martyrs and Confessors of Communist Prisons. Five hierarchs will officiate on Saturday the consecration of the church built near the prison where Valeriu Gafencu, surnamed “the saint of the prisons”, reposed. The…

May 13, 2022Ștefana Totorcea

Archbishop Irineu commemorates confessors of communist prisons at Aiud Monastery

His Eminence Archbishop Irineu of Alba Iulia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the “Holy Cross” Monastery in Aiud and prayed for the souls of the confessors in communist prisons on Sunday, March 27. In his sermon for the Sunday of the Holy Cross, the Archbishop of Alba Iulia explained that “our Saviour Jesus Christ calls…

Apr 1, 2022Aurelian Iftimiu

15th anniversary of Fr Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa’s blessed repose

Sunday marks 15 years from Fr Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa’s blessed repose into the Lord. He was one of the most prominent opponents of communism and was imprisoned for more than 20 years on political grounds. He was among the prisoners of the infamous Pitești Experimental Prison. “I think many times, due to terror and fear, our…

Nov 21, 2021Ștefana Totorcea