The central governing bodies of the Romanian Orthodox Church convened on Wednesday at the Patriarchal Palace in Bucharest to evaluate the Church’s activities for the year 2024.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel led the annual meetings of the National Church Council and the National Church Assembly.
“We are still basking in the joy of yesterday’s celebration of the Romanian Patriarchate Centennial, and today we are pleased to present the activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church for 2024,” Patriarch Daniel announced at the beginning of the session.
His Beatitude provided a summary of the reports from all dioceses, encompassing pastoral-liturgical, administrative, cultural-missionary, and social-charitable activities.
€73 Million Allocated to Philanthropy
The Church disclosed that nearly €73 million was dedicated to social and charitable initiatives throughout the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2024.
This sum included:
- Funding for 867 social institutions and services, benefiting over 363,000 individuals last year.
- Over €4 million in aid for disaster victims.
“This amount does not account for the numerous charitable activities carried out by parishes and monasteries for the benefit of the sick, elderly, children, and the poor, which were not financially quantified and therefore not systematically reported to diocesan centers,” noted Patriarch Daniel.
In comparison, the Church invested over €60 million in philanthropy in 2023 and €69 million in 2022.
“At the conclusion of this comprehensive report on the activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2024, we express our special gratitude for the spiritual and material contributions of all those directly involved or supporting the Church in its missionary, cultural, and social-philanthropic endeavors,” stated the Patriarch.
“We extend our thanks and appreciation to all those assisting our Church—clergy and lay faithful, central and local authorities, sponsors, and volunteers.”
Church Art and Restoration, Sacraments in the Diaspora
The report also highlighted that in 2024, 599 church art and restoration projects were in progress across the Romanian Patriarchate.
In the Romanian Orthodox diaspora, a total of 20,811 baptisms and 4,305 weddings were recorded in 2024, reflecting a slight decrease compared to the previous year.
The complete report can be found online.
Centennial Gathering and Holy Synod Session
On the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Church’s central governing bodies held a special session to reflect on the significant moments and accomplishments of the Romanian Orthodox Church over the past century.
On Wednesday evening, the Holy Synod is set to commence this year’s initial working session at the Patriarchal Palace.
Source and photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca-Emanuela Ene