Putna Monastery

Metropolitan Athanasios of Latakia consecrates Putna Monastery metochion: ‘We are brothers in Christ. Nothing separates us’

His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios of Latakia (Patriarchate of Antioch) consecrated on Sunday evening the church of Putna Monastery’s metochion at Poiana Mănăstirii, Suceava County. “We are brothers in Christ. Nothing separates us,” the visiting hierarch said. “We are one Body – the Body of Christ. And this Body is the Church. Even though we speak…

Aug 19, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Fr. John Breck recalls first encounter with Orthodoxy: “At last, I had come home”

Fr. John Breck, a priest of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), recalled his first encounter with Orthodoxy in an interview published by Words to Youth, a magazine edited by Putna Monastery. “I had a very profound feeling and the conviction that, at last, I had come home,” the American priest said. Fr. Breck explained…

Aug 4, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Archbishop Victorin Ursache commemorated at Putna Monastery 25 years after his repose

Archbishop Victorin Ursache, who led the Romanian Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese in America and Canada from 1966 to 2001, was commemorated at Putna Monastery on Saturday, 18 July, marking 25 years since his repose in the Lord. His Grace Damaschin of Dorna, Assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți, officiated a memorial service in…

Jul 23, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Antiochian Metropolitan Saba visits Romanian Orthodox monastery in New York

Metropolitan Saba Isper visited the Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Middletown on Monday, where he met with Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, abbot of Putna Monastery, and Archimandrite Ieremia Berbec, abbot of Middletown Monastery. The head of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America spent the day in prayer and dialogue with the two abbots. “In an atmosphere…

May 29, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Putna monastery holds memorial service for victims of Soviet-era Fântâna Albă massacre: They died facing the homeland

The monastic community of Putna Monastery held a memorial service on Wednesday in remembrance of the thousands of Northern Bukovinians massacred by Soviet forces at Fântâna Albă as they attempted to cross peacefully into Romania, seeking refuge in their motherland following the occupation of Northern Bukovina. “A tragedy, a sorrow, a sacrifice about which, for…

Apr 3, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Putna archimandrite says young people seek authentic fasting rooted in love, not constraint

Archimandrite Hrisostom Ciuciu of Putna Monastery said in an interview with Trinitas TV that young people have a distinctive way of understanding the spiritual life, noting that “they are the first to recognise true fasting”. The archimandrite emphasised that young people do not act out of constraint, but from inner conviction: “They do nothing unless…

Apr 1, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romania marks 85 years since Fântâna Albă Massacre, known as ‘Romanian Katyn’

Wednesday, 1 April, marks 85 years since the Fântâna Albă massacre, an event often referred to as the “Romanian Katyn”. In April 1941, Northern Bukovina was part of the Soviet Union following the ultimatum issued to the Kingdom of Romania in June 1940. The predominantly Romanian population was subjected to a campaign of arrests and…

Apr 1, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Archimandrite tells soldiers military and monastic callings share spirit of sacrifice

Archimandrite Hrisostom Ciuciu of Putna Monastery addressed soldiers during a lecture titled “The Mystery of Confession and the Divine Liturgy for Authentic Orthodox Living”, held on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Romanian Land Forces Staff in Bucharest. Opening his lecture, Fr Hrisostom Ciuciu highlighted the closeness between the military and monastic vocations, underlining their…

Mar 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Teoctist remembered at Putna as a defender of monasticism as a vital force of Orthodoxy

Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, abbot of Putna Monastery, said last Saturday that Patriarch Teoctist viewed monastic life “not as a relic of the past, but as a vital, regenerating force of Romanian Orthodoxy”, as the monastery’s brotherhood officiated a memorial service marking 111 years since the former patriarch’s birth. “He loved monasticism, because he himself remained,…

Feb 10, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Putna Monastery prays for Romanians killed in Ukraine war as numbers double in 2025

The Very Rev. Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, abbot of Putna Monastery, led a memorial service on Sunday together with his monastic community in remembrance of ethnic Romanians who have lost their lives in the war in Ukraine. While last year’s memorial listed 130 ethnic Romanians killed in the conflict, this year the number has risen significantly,…

Dec 15, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu

Relic of Saint Jacob of Putna to be venerated in Denmark for first time

A particle of the relics of Saint Jacob of Putna, Metropolitan of Moldavia, will be brought for veneration for the first time in Denmark, in Copenhagen, between November 22-24. The delegation from Putna Monastery will be led by Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, the monastery’s abbot, and the holy relic will be received on Saturday at 19:00…

Nov 22, 2025Aurelian Iftimiu