Orthodox Spirituality

Orthodox Dormition Fast begins with prayer, fasting and spiritual renewal

The Dormition Fast begins on Friday for Orthodox Christians observing the revised calendar and concludes on 14 August, the eve of the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. During these two weeks, the faithful are called to fasting, prayer and spiritual purification. Typically, the fasting period starts on 1 August. However, according…

Jul 29, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Cambridge hosts launch of Patriarch Daniel’s Brâncuși – Orthodox Christian Sculptor: Rediscovering the bond between faith and culture

The volume Brâncuși – Orthodox Christian Sculptor, authored by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, was launched on Thursday, 16 July, in Cambridge. On the occasion, Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said that the book “invites us to rediscover the profound bond between faith and culture.” The event brought together representatives of the academic…

Jul 23, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Assist. Bishop Sofian at Cernica Monastery: Holiness is the health of soul and body as God intended it

Assistant Bishop Sofian of Brașov said on Sunday at Cernica Monastery that holiness represents “the health of the soul and body” as God intended human beings to live. The assistant bishop to the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the monastery’s St Nicholas Church, where he spoke about…

Jun 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian religion teacher: Young people’s real crisis is not AI, but the loss of meaning and love

A religious education teacher told Basilica.ro that the real problem facing young people today is not artificial intelligence. He stressed that “their deepest thirst is for meaning and for love – and these can only be answered in the presence of another human soul, one that is healthy and responsible.” Denis Vlad has been teaching…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Archbishop in UK calls Triodion season a “school of repentance and humility”

In a pastoral message issued at the beginning of the Triodion period, Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said that this liturgical season is “a true school of repentance and humility, a school of prayer, and also a school of spiritual asceticism, which reopens for us the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven.”…

Feb 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Nicolae meets clergy in Texas for Pastoral Assembly

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas met with Romanian clergy during the General Assembly of the Southern USA Deanery, held November 21-22. The meeting took place at the Church of St Mary in Cedar Park, Texas, where the Metropolitan and local clergy gathered in the newly consecrated church —…

Nov 28, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Pray to Saint Menas to regain lost faith, Bishop Varlaam urges on feast day

Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești, general secretary of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, urged the faithful on Tuesday to pray to Saint Menas for the recovery of lost or weakened faith, during celebrations dedicated to the saint known for helping believers find lost objects. “First of all,” said Bishop Varlaam, “let…

Nov 12, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniel urges Christian education as witness to Christ at start of Romanian school year 2025-26

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued a message for the opening of the 2025–2026 school year, calling Christian education both an academic and spiritual responsibility and a witness to Christ as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He thanked parents, grandparents, and teachers for their role in nurturing Christian values…

Sep 4, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Ioan of Banat urges faithful to receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost

“May the Holy Spirit comfort your hearts,” Metropolitan Ioan of Banat told the faithful on Sunday during the Feast of Pentecost. “Beloved mothers, who always have tears in your eyes, may God comfort the sorrowful—and all of you, allow yourselves to be comforted by the Spirit of God… Let the Holy Spirit comfort you all.”…

Jun 11, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj urges purification of the soul to see the risen Christ in Easter Pastoral Letter

“Our greatest desire is to see Christ, who rose from the dead. He gives the condition we must fulfill: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8),” emphasized Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj, Maramureș, and Sălaj in his Easter Pastoral Letter. His Eminence underlined the need to purify the inner senses…

Apr 14, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

140 years since the birth of Father John the Stranger, a key figure in the Burning Bush hesychast movement

One hundred forty years have passed since the birth of Father John the Stranger, a priest who introduced the Jesus Prayer to the Bucharest-based Burning Bush hesychast movement, as he had learned it from the elders of Optina Monastery. “John the Stranger” is the name by which Father Ioann Kulygin, born on February 24, 1885,…

Feb 24, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu