November 30, 2018
Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Theophilos II of Jerusalem and All Palestine hold religious service in Romania's new cathedral
Newsroom, 30.11.2018, 14:20
FEAST DAY – Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic believers from all over the world, Romania included, are today celebrating St. Apostle Andrew. He is the first of Jesus Christ’s apostles who preached Christianity in the south of Romania, in Dobruja. Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Romania. Saint Andrew preached in Dobruja and in today’s Ukrainian territory, in Great Scythia, and in Byzantium. He then went to Greece and preached the Gospel, going up to Patras town where he died a martyr’s death. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Over 700 thousand Romanians named after St. Andrew celebrate their name day today.
CELEBRATIONS – Alba Iulia, the central Romanian city where on December 1st 1918, the Romanian nation state was proclaimed, is hosting as of today a new edition of the Congress of Romanian Spirituality, attended by representatives of Romanian communities from all over the world. This is only one of the events held on Friday and Saturday in the city, in celebration of 100 years since Romania became a nation state. Military and religious ceremonies at the monuments of the personalities and heroes that played an important role in the unification of all Romanian provinces have been scheduled for today. According to local authorities, over 100 thousand people are expected to attend celebrations in Alba Iulia on December 1st. In Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis will host a reception on the occasion on Romania’s National Day. According to Klaus Iohannis, the centenary is not only about the past, but also about the future Romania. Being a Romanian is now the same with being a European, and means being part of a community of values that treasures freedom, democracy, solidarity, the respect for human dignity and for the rule of law, Iohannis has said. On December 1st, around 450 public events have been announced with over 550 thousand people expected to attend.
RELIGIOUS SERVICE – Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Theophilos II of Jerusalem and All Palestine officiated a religious service on Friday, dedicated to St. Apostle Andrew, celebrated on Nov 30 and considered the protector of Romania. The religious service was held at the new national cathedral in Bucharest, inaugurated a week ago. His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos announced that the delegation of the Jerusalem Patriarchate brought with them a fragment of the holy relics of Saint John Jacob for the new cathedral. Patriarch Daniel said that these relics of ‘the Romanian Saint from the Holy Land’ will be placed in one of the chapels at the basement of the National Cathedral which will be dedicated to Saint John Jacob. The Patriarch of Jerusalem arrived in Romania Thursday morning to lead the celebrations of the first patronal feast held in the National Cathedral. On Saturday, Patriarch Theophilos will also attend, alongside patriarch Daniel, the ceremonies in Alba Iulia marking Romania’s National Day and the 1918 Great Union Centennial.
G 20 – G20 member nations are struggling to reach agreement on major issues including trade, migration and climate change as world leaders have gathered in the Buenos Aires for a summit starting on Friday. This is the first G20 summit ever held in South America. The summit takes place amid new tension with Russia over Ukraine and a US trade row with China. US President Donald Trump has cancelled a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in protest at Russias seizure of Ukrainian naval boats. Trump’s move may also be connected to the internal investigation regarding suspicions of Russian interference in the elections for the White House, commentators believe. The two-day summit in Buenos Aires will be a major test for the Group of 20 industrialized nations, whose leaders first met in 2008 to help rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in seven decades, but which now faces questions over its relevance to deal with the latest round of crises, Reuters reports. Overhanging the summit in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, is a bitter trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, which have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s imports.
HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball team is in France where it will play the Czech Republic in the European Championships Group D on Saturday. Romania will next play Germany on December 3 and Norway on December 5. The first three teams in each group will advance to the next phase. Coached by Ambros Martin of Spain, Romania is taking part in the Championship for the 13th time. Two years ago it ranked 5, while its best performance was in 2010, when it scooped bronze.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
