Radio România Internațional

Tag: Catholic

August 6, 2023 UPDATE

WAR President Klaus Iohannis Sunday released a message occasioned by
the centennial of the War Heroes Mausoleum in Mărăşeşti (east). The president
points out in the message that in the most important battle of the 1917 campaign
in World War I, in Mărăşeşti, the Romanian Army with support from the Allies
managed to stop the offensive of the Central Powers and stabilised the front
line for the rest of the war. Construction works on the Mausoleum, erected in
memory of the over 5,000 officers and soldiers who died then, started on August
6, 1923, at the initiative of the Romanian Orthodox Women Society, and ended in
1938. The president’s message also says that the current military conflict in
Ukraine is a reminder of the horrors of war and of the duty to strengthen
Romania’s resilience and defence capacity. A NATO and EU member state, Romania is
at present a pillar of regional stability, a major security provider in
South-Eastern Europe, and it benefits from the most reliable security
guarantees in its history, Klaus Iohannis also says in his message.

HEALTHCARE The task group entrusted with drawing up Romania’s
healthcare digitisation strategy had a first meeting in Bucharest on Sunday. According
to the line minister, Alexandru Rafila, electronic and information technologies
will improve Romanians’ access to healthcare services, will help reduce errors
and optimise management and resource planning in the sector. Calls for
proposals have already been opened for the introduction of electronic
technologies in 200 hospitals and the National Health Insurance Agency, and in
mid-August further calls will be opened for the development of the national
telemedicine system. Romania can spend EUR 400 mln for the digitisation of the public
healthcare sector, under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

FIRES The Romanian
fire-fighters deployed to Greece worked on Saturday and Sunday together with
their Greek colleagues to put out a fire in the Aragonitis area, around 55 km
from the village of Vilia, in the region of Attica, the General Inspectorate
for Emergencies announced. According to the institution, at the request of the
Greek liaison officers, the Romanian unit supported the Greek fire-fighters
with 4 fire engines, personnel rotating every 4 hours, and additional lighting
equipment. Scores of Romanian fire-fighters have already taken part, over the
past few weeks, in similar missions to support the Greek authorities manage
extensive wildfires.

CATHOLICS The South
Korean capital city Seoul will host the next edition of World Youth Day, in
2027, Pope Francis announced on Sunday during a religious service in Lisbon
held at the end of the 16th edition of the event. Initiated in 1986 by
Pope John Paul II, World Youth Day, the largest international gathering of
Catholic youth, is organised every 2 or 3 years and comprises cultural and
religious events. The 2023 edition, postponed by a year because of the Covid-19
pandemic, brought 1.5 million worshippers to Lisbon, where Pope Francis, 86, Sunday
concluded a 5-day visit to Portugal, his 42nd international trip since his election in 2013.
The World Youth Day editions with the largest numbers of participants were in Manila
in 1995 (5 million people), Rio de Janeiro (3.7 million) and Krakow (3 million).
Around 11% of South Korea’s 52-million population are Catholic.

GAMES Romania came
out 2nd in the Francophonie Games hosted by Kinshasa (Congo), after
Morocco, with a total 17 gold, 9 silver and 12 bronze medals. Third came
Cameroon. On Saturday, the Romanian athletes won 2 medals, a silver and a
bronze, in African wrestling. Romania participated in the Games with 57
athletes, competing in athletics, women’s basketball, freestyle and African
wrestling, road cycling, table tennis and judo. The 9th Francophonie
Games were held between July 28 and August 6. (AMP)

6 August 2023
May 28, 2023

DAY The Day of the Romanians all over the
world is a special moment and it has a major emotional, spiritual and cultural
dimension, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis says in the message conveyed on
this occasion today. According to him, Romania has a large Diaspora, which
could represent the force capable of promoting the Romanian values and
spirituality in a continuously changing Europe. The Day of the Romanians all
over the world is celebrated in the last Sunday of the month of May in order to
acknowledge the importance the state attaches to the communities of Romanians
living outside the country’s borders. In Italy this day has been marked through
a series of theatre shows. A team of professors and students from the
University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest has kicked off a project entitled,
‘A Caravan for the Romanians all over the world’, which has already had its
first shows in Rome and is going to give more performances in Lazio, Turin, Padua
and Venice. In Bucharest, over 300 Romanians from the historical communities
and from abroad have attended a three-day event entitled ‘Here-There’ unfolding
under the auspices of the Romanian president. ‘Here-There’ comprised a series
of events staged by the Department for the Romanians All Over the World jointly
with the Fine Artists Union in Romania and has brought together artists from
Romania and abroad from various fields, like art, design, music and literature.

STRIKE The all-out strike of the Romanian
teachers is going to continue into the next week with a fresh protest rally in
Bucharest on Tuesday. Demonstrations took place on Friday in several major
Romanian cities, as teachers are disgruntled by the government offer of 500 Euro
bonuses in two installments. The Executive has accepted though a 9% pay rise
for the auxiliary staff who are going to get bonuses around 200 euros also in
two installments. Trade unions in the country’s education system have asked for
a 25% pay rise and for wages of 600 euros for beginners. Employees in the
primary and secondary education kicked off their protests on May 22nd
disgruntled with the low wages and working conditions. Trade union leaders have
threatened with more protests unless their claims are met.

MEDAL Romanian rower Ionela Cozmiuc has today reaped gold in
LW1x race of the European Championships in Bled, Slovenia. The Romanian made a
spectacular comeback and managed to overtake a Greek opponent. The women’s four
from Romania walked away with gold from the same competition on Saturday, while
the country’s crew of eight became silver medalist in the men’s competition. We
recall that last year, Romania walked away with five gold medals and three
bronze from the European Championships held in Munich, the best Romanian
performance in the aforementioned competition ever.

HOLIDAY Catholic believers in Romania are today
celebrating Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the
other followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. This holiday, which completes the
Easter cycle – the Resurrection, the Ascension and the descent of the Holy
Spirit – is a major Christian event always celebrated on Sundays, fifty days
after Easter. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands believers, including the
president of Hungary Novak Katalin, participated in the great pilgrimage on
Catholic Pentecost in Sumuleu Ciuc, central Romania. The event there brought
together Catholics from all over the world, most of them Hungarian-speaking
believers, including from countries like Australia and the United States. The
pilgrimage in Sumuleu Ciuc boasts a history of 450 years and has at its center
the miracle-working statue of Virgin Mary in the Franciscan Church there.
Legend has it that around the year 1567, the Transylvanian Prince John
Sigismund would have tried to impose Unitarianism to the Roman-Catholic
believers who managed to keep their faith with the help of the aforementioned
statue. Hundreds of gendarmes, policemen and firefighters have been deployed
for the good functioning of the pilgrimage, while the local authorities have
imposed traffic restrictions.

(bill)

28 May 2023
June 5, 2022

Pentecost — Sunday is the second day of the Catholic Pentecost pilgrimage in Şumuleu Ciuc, in central Romania. It is the first time in the last two years that this event, considered to be the largest of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, has taken place without the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. On Saturday, a large number of Catholic believers prayed for peace and wellbeing. This years motto of the pilgrimage is Peace and well-being, which is also the motto of the Franciscan Order. The pilgrimage from Şumuleu Ciuc has a history of over 450 years, being based on the miracle-working statue of the Virgin Mary, located in the Franciscan church. In 1567, the prince of Transylvania, Ioan Sigismund, tried to impose the Unitarian religion on the Roman Catholic believers in the Szekler regions of Ciuc, Gheorgheni and Caşin and people say that only with the help of the miracle-working statue did they manage to oppose and keep their ancestral faith. The Marian shrine from Şumuleu Ciuc was visited, on June 1, 2019, by Pope Francis, on this occasion the miracle-working statue of the Virgin Mary being removed from the church, for the first time after the Second World War. The Sovereign Pontiff then held a service dedicated to the Virgin Mary and offered a golden rose to the Marian shrine, as he always does when he goes to the places of pilgrimage dedicated to the Mother of God.

Environment — World Environment Day is marked on Sunday. The day is celebrated every year on June 5. This year, the theme chosen by the United Nations is “We only have one Earth” and emphasizes the need to bring people and nature back to the balance lost in recent decades. In Romania, several actions are taking place to draw attention to the urgent problems of the planet, such as climate change, biodiversity, pollution and waste. Pupils, students, teachers, along with professionals in the field of environmental protection and representatives of civil society are involved in these campaigns. This year marks 50 years since the UN General Assembly established Environment Day to make people more aware and responsible for the environment and its condition.

Bookfest — The Bookfest International Book Fair organized in Bucharest, the largest event of its kind in Romania, closes its doors on Sunday. The guest of honor at the 15th edition of the fair was Japan. During the five days of the book fair, over 500 events were scheduled, 50 of which were dedicated to children and adolescents. A series of debates on the Russian-Ukrainian war, education and childrens health were also scheduled for this year.

Ukraine –Explosions were heard this morning in Kyiv, but no data are yet available. The capital of Ukraine has been the target of numerous Russian bombings since the outbreak of the war, but has recently been spared any attacks. The most intense fighting is taking place in the east of the country and, especially, in the city of Severodonetsk, where the Ukrainian forces have managed to regain some of the lost ground. A few days ago, the Russians were already in control of 70% of the city, and there were discussions about a withdrawal of the Ukrainian forces, but in the meantime they have launched a counter-offensive. The Severodonetsk counter-offensive is not the first success of the Ukrainian forces, which in the past managed to force the Russians to withdraw from the area of Kyiv and Kharkiv, the second most important Ukrainian city. The Ukrainian defense minister was optimistic about the outcome of the war and said he hoped the war would end this year. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba criticized the French President Emmanuel Macron for saying that a solution must be found so that Russia should not be humiliated in this war.

Football – The Romanian national football team had a bad start in the new edition of the League of Nations, being defeated by the national team of Montenegro with the score of 2-0, on Saturday evening, on Gradski Stadium in Podgorica, in Group 3 of League B. In the other match of the group, Finland drew 1 all in Helsinki with Bosnia. Romania will play the next match on June 7, in Zenica, with Bosnia-Herzegovina, also in the League of Nations. (LS)

5 June 2022
May 22, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The number of new Covid-19 cases in Romania on Saturday was 455, out of over 28,000 tests. In hospitals, the number of coronavirus patients is under 3,700, 623 of them in intensive care. Also, 59 COVID-related deaths were reported for the past 24 hours. The vaccine rollout continues, with several vaccination marathons scheduled this weekend in various cities. Drive-thru centres are also operational in several parts of the country. Since the end of December, nearly 7.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in Romania, with more than 3.1 million people receiving the booster dose as well.

PILGRIMAGE Thousands took part on Saturday in the traditional Catholic Whitsun pilgrimage in Şumuleu Ciuc, in central Romania. The organisers have taken measures to ensure the event complies with the Covid-19 safety rules. Hundreds of volunteers have been mobilized to this end, alongside hundreds of gendarmes, police, firefighters, mountain rescue workers and ambulances. Last year, the pilgrimage on Mount Şumuleu, which brought together over 100,000 people from around the world every year, was cancelled over the pandemic. In 2019, on June 1, Pope Francis travelled to Şumuleu Ciuc, where he held a service devoted to Mary, the Mother of God. The Şumuleu Ciuc pilgrimage dates back more than 450 years.

ECONOMY The Romanian finance minister Alexandru Nazare took part on Friday and Saturday in Lisbon in this years first physical meeting of the Economic and Financial Council (ECOFIN). Nazare announced in a Facebook post that on Saturday he had bilateral meetings with EU officials, including Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Paolo Gentiloni, and with his counterparts from Greece, Spain, Ireland and Italy, and discussed the state of European economies in the context of the pandemic and the implementation of the European Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. According to the Romanian official, the ECOFIN session began on Friday with talks on the structure of the economic and fiscal policies designed to facilitate the quick recovery of the European economies after the COVID-19 pandemic.

MOLDOVA In the Republic of Moldova the campaign for the July 11 snap elections has officially started. Political analysts say this would be a tough race between pro-European and pro-Russian parties. The pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, founded by the incumbent president of the country, Maia Sandu, promised a fair and clean campaign, to gain citizens trust. Their main opponent is the Socialists Party headed by the former president Igor Dodon, which forms a pro-Russian electoral bloc together with Vladimir Voronins Communists. Also running for seats in parliament is the party headed by the mayor of Bălţi town, Renato Usatyi, which aims to win over a chunk of the pro-Moscow electorate, and a party headed by Ilan Shor, the hideaway tycoon who lives in Israel after having been sentenced to 7 years in prison by a court of first instance, following the USD 1 billion bank fraud scandal.

PANDEMIC As of Monday Spain opens its borders to travelers from countries deemed safe, such as the UK, Austria, China, Israel and Japan, without healthcare restrictions, the Radio România corrspondent in Madrid reports. As of June 7 travellers who have completed a full vaccination scheme approved by the WHO or the European Medicines Agency will also be welcomed to the country. Austria has also revised entry conditions, with the new measures to be enforced as of the end of June. People travelling to Austria from countries for which travel alerts are not in place, Romania included, are exempt from self-isolation requirements. Entry into Austria is allowed for those who produce a vaccination certificate, a negative SARS-CoV-2 test or an anti-body test taken in the past 3 months. Tests are not required for children up to 10 years of age. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

22 May 2021
March 28, 2021 UPDATE

SERVICE Pope Francis delivered a religious service in the St.
Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Palm Sunday urging believers to stay close to those
in need and suffering. On Palm Sunday, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made his
triumphal entry in Jerusalem where he was welcomed by many with Palm branches.
Five days later He was crucified, died and came back to life again. In the past
years, on Palm Sunday, the day marking the beginning of the Holy Week before
Easter, tens of thousands used to take to the St. Peter’s Square with palm and
olive branches in hands for an outdoor religious service. This time, due to the
pandemic restrictions, only 120 believers were allowed to join the Pope and the
30 cardinals in the basilica. Italy is presently seeing a national quarantine
expected to end after Easter. The Vatican, a sovereign state in downtown Rome,
has applied similar restrictions. However, unlike one year ago, the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem remained open to visitors on the Catholic Palm Sunday
allowing believers to attend the service. This year, Catholic believers are
celebrating Easter on April 4th while the Orthodox, a majority in
Romania, are to celebrate Christ’s resurrection almost a month later, on May 2nd.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau and Marcelo Arevalo of
Salvador have qualified for the round of 16 of the Miami Open ATP Masters 1000,
a competition with over three million dollars in prize money. The two secured a
6-4, 6-3 win against Henri Kontinen of Finland and Edouard Roger Vasselin of
France. This new pair will be up against top-seeded Juan Sebastian Cabal and
Robert Farah in the eighth finals.

DST
Daylight Saving Time began in Romania on Saturday night when clocks were set
one hour forward and the difference between the local time and GMT became of
three hours. DST was first introduced in Romania back in 1932 but this might be
the last hour change as the European Parliament in 2019 voted in favour of
scrapping this measure inside the EU. Each member state is to decide whether to
keep implementing the DST or not. Countries willing to keep the summer hour
made the change last night, whereas those preferring the winter hour are to
make the final change in the last Sunday of October.

MEASURES A new series of measures aimed at fighting the Covid-19 pandemic came
into effect in Romania as of Sunday. The new measures include a weekend night
curfew starting at 20 hours in regions with an infection rate that exceeds four
per thousand. In these regions shops are to close down at 18 hours while in
areas with an infection rate over 7.5 per thousand, restrictions will be in
force during the entire week. According to the latest data published by the
authorities, over 44 hundred new infections have been reported in Romania in
the past 24 hours most of them in Bucharest. A year on from the onset of the
pandemic, 930 thousand infections have been reported in Romania with a death
toll over 23 thousand. The number of Romanians who got at least a dose of the
anti-Covid vaccine has exceeded 1,900,000. Half of them have also been given
the booster dose.

(bill)

28 March 2021
Catholic Easter Customs and Traditions in Romania

This year, Catholic Christians across the world celebrate Easter on April 21st. The date of the biggest Christian celebration of the year rarely coincides for the Catholic and Orthodox denominations. Since the big Schism of 1054, the two have usually been one week apart. This gap is explained by the fact that, since 1582, the Orthodox Church has used the Julian calendar, while the Catholics have divided the year in keeping with the Gregorian calendar. They say that, in the same year, Pope Gregory VIII discovered a two-week gap between the real time and the one set in keeping with Julius Caesars calendar, dating back to the year 46 BC. So, Catholic Easter does not have a fixed date, and it is calculated depending on the ecclesiastic full moon, based on tables drawn up by the Church, in direct relation with the spring equinox. Sabina Ispas, head of the ‘Constantin Brailoiu Ethnography and Folklore Institute, explains:

Sabina Ispas: “There were talks, and decisions were made to reverse the situation, but eventually the Ecumenical councils decided to recalculate the Easter date. Its a mobile date, because it is calculated in keeping with the phases of the moon. This is actually the old system used for the ancient Passover, the historical period in which the events related to the Christian Easter seem to have actually occurred. That is why Palm Sunday doesnt have a fixed date either. Generally speaking, there are some limits. What we are interested in is the maximum date, which is early May.

In certain parts of Romania, Transylvania and Banat in particular, the Roman–Catholic Easter is celebrated by the ethnic Germans and Hungarians in keeping with centuries-old traditions. Besides traditional dishes, such as painted eggs, lamb dishes, Easter cake and red wine, the Roman Catholics here have preserved other specific customs, as Delia Suiogan, an ethnologist with the North University of Baia Mare explains:

Delia Suiogan: “We have the candle, the Light that we get on Saturday at midnight. We also have the lamb, symbolizing the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This ritualistic gesture actually symbolizes the rebirth of man and his right to resurrection. The same is true for the egg, Christs tomb; through its symbolic capacity to symbolize food and the primary seed, the egg stands for peoples right to start over a new cycle and thus be part of the cosmic cycle.

For Easter, the Catholic Christians in Transylvania decorate fir-trees at the gates of unmarried girls, and sprinkle girls with water or perfume, just like in pre-Christian times. In Mures County, in central Romania, there are groups of boys who walk around and sprinkle the girls, and then, on the third day of Easter, its their turn to be given the same treatment. However, Easter becomes a solemn event during the religious service.

Delia Suiogan: “There is this custom, sprinkling, a ritual that the Orthodox believers in Transylvania have taken over too. As the different cultural specificities always influence the evolution of any civilization, a beautiful blend has taken shape. All the Catholic Christians in the traditional communities observe this custom, which has been introduced by ethnic Germans. On the first and second day of Easter, there is this sprinkling ritual that takes place. It originates in the pre-Christian period, when there was a ritual praising Ostera, the goddess of fertility and rebirth. So, on such celebration days, everybody had to be sprinkled with water, as a ritual of purification but also of fertility. In modern times, the Catholics sprinkle one another with perfume, making an extension from fertility towards spiritual rebirth, as perfume is viewed as annihilating the ugly, the rotten, and reinstating a state of order, by restoring cosmic harmony.

The Catholics were also the ones who, more recently, introduced chocolate figurines as Easter symbols. The chocolate bunnies and eggs given to children on Easter are also fertility allegories.

Delia Suiogan: “Another ritual, which is a Catholic tradition, is that of the Easter Bunny. These days, all shops are full of chocolate bunnies and eggs. This is another remnant of the ritual celebrating goddess Ostera. Legend has it that this goddess, while on a stroll in the fields, meets a bird with broken wings. Moved by this image, the goddess wants to help the bird stay alive. A divine voice tells her that, if she manages to turn it into an animal that needs not fly, then the bird will survive. So, the goddess turns her into a rabbit. What is interesting is that this rabbit keeps its ability to lay eggs. So, once a year, the bird-turned-rabbit offers painted eggs to the goddess, as a sign of rebirth into a different form, of the right to live again. They say that, ever since, eggs have been painted and are to be found in the grass, following the trails of the rabbit. So, here it is, the symbol of rebirth; the painting of the eggs is interpreted as a gift rewarding kindness.

The significance of the red eggs and of the other dishes on the Easter table, such as lamb dishes or Ester cakes, is related to the spirit of sacrifice. It also provides a guarantee for continuity to all those who believe in the miracle of resurrection.

(translated by: Mihaela Ignatescu)

20 April 2019
January 12, 2019 UPDATE

EU Romanias PM Viorica Dancila will be on a visit to Strasbourg on Monday and Tuesday. She will present to the European Parliament the priorities of the first Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union and have meetings with EU officials. On Friday, during talks with the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and with members of the College of EU Commissioners in Bucharest, Viorica Dancila emphasised that the Romanian presidency will seek to achieve consensus among Member States over the multi-annual financial framework, and is looking for “small, but reliable steps in this respect. According to the Romanian PM, the talks held on Friday between members of the Romanian Government and of the College of Commissioners were structured into 3 thematic sections and focused on EU priorities like the single market, the consolidation of the Economic and Monetary Union, migration, security and justice.

CHURCH Pope Francis, who will make a visit to mostly-Orthodox Romania between May 31st and June 2nd, will have a meeting with Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, a Romanian Patriarchy spokesman announced. He emphasised that the good relations between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church translate, among others, in the hospitality with which Romanian communities have been received in many countries, especially in Italy, where many Romanian parishes hold religious services in locations made available by the local Catholic communities. On Friday the Vatican and the Romanian Presidency confirmed the Popes visit to Romania. He will visit the capital city Bucharest, the cities of Iaşi (in the north-east) and Blaj (centre), as well as the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc (centre). Pope Francis is the second Pope to visit Romania, after John Paul II who was in 1999 the first head of the Catholic Church to visit a mostly Orthodox country since the East-West Schism of 1054.

PROCUREMENT Save Romania Union in opposition says the new scandal regarding the corvette procurement procedure proves that the Social Democratic Party in power in Romania is unable to complete at least one procurement contract without corruption suspicions. Save Romania Union believes this new standstill, concurrent with the attack against the armys Chief of Staff, whom the Defence Ministry seeks to replace, only destabilises NATOs eastern flanc and serves the interests of Russia, which seeks control over the Black Sea. Also in Opposition, the Peoples Movement Party says the Government has managed to compromise the army equipment procurement process as well as Romanias international commitments. The criticism comes after the Romanian Defence Ministry announced having suspended the purchase of 4 multi-role corvettes worth 1.6 billion euros. A news release issued by the Ministry says the Prosecutors Office has been notified of reasonable suspicions regarding the lawfulness of the procedure, liable to affect the national security interests. The bid should have been completed last year, but it was postponed several times already. The Defence Minister Gabriel Leş said the Prosecutors Office was only notified with respect to this case in order to make sure the security and lawfulness of the procurement procedure are guaranteed.

PASSPORTS The new Romanian electronic passports, to be issued as of this week, will be virtually impossible to forge, said the head of the Directorate General for Passports Mirel Toancă on Saturday. He said each page of the new documents includes a stylised image of a well-known Romanian historic or tourist site, such as the Danube Delta, the Scărişoara Cave or Sighişoara medieval citadel. The fees for the issue of the new passports remain unchanged, and the ones valid at present will remain in use. Simple electronic passports are valid for 10 years, and temporary ones are valid 1 year.

MACEDONIA Greeces PM Alexis Tsipras congratulated his Macedonian counterpart, Zoran Zaev, after a historic vote in Skopje to rename the country “The Republic of North Macedonia. Zoran Zaev won by a narrow margin the 2-thirds of the parliamentary votes needed for this goal, with the nationalists in Opposition boycotting the meeting. This is the last but one major obstacle to the settlement of a decade-long dispute with Greece over the name “Macedonia, which Athens claims for the north of Greece. According to the BBC, the next step is the ratification of the agreement by the Greek Parliament, paving the way for Macedonias prospective accession to the EU and NATO.

PARIS Two firemen and a Spanish tourist died and over 40 people were injured on Saturday morning in a blast caused by an accidental gas leak in a building downtown Paris, AFP announced quoting sources from the Prosecutors Office. Previous reports mentioned 4 deaths. In other news, fresh clashes took place in the French capital between police and the “yellow vests in the 9th weekend of protests. A nation-wide debate designed to calm down the protesters is to be organised as of Tuesday. The movement started out as a protest against the rise in fuel prices, but later grew into a campaign targeting the entire fiscal and social policy of the French government.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

12 January 2019
January 12, 2019

EU Romanias PM Viorica Dancila will be on a visit to Strasbourg on Monday and Tuesday. She will present to the European Parliament the priorities of the first Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union and have meetings with EU officials. On Friday, during talks with the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and with members of the College of EU Commissioners in Bucharest, Viorica Dancila emphasised that the Romanian presidency will seek to achieve consensus among Member States over the multi-annual financial framework, and is looking for “small, but reliable steps in this respect. According to the Romanian PM, the talks held on Friday between members of the Romanian Government and of the College of Commissioners were structured into 3 thematic sections and focused on EU priorities like the single market, the consolidation of the Economic and Monetary Union, migration, security and justice.

CHURCH Pope Francis, who will make a visit to mostly-Orthodox Romania between May 31st and June 2nd, will have a meeting with Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, a Romanian Patriarchy spokesman announced. He emphasised that the good relations between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church translate, among others, in the hospitality with which Romanian communities have been received in many countries, especially in Italy, where many Romanian parishes hold religious services in locations made available by the local Catholic communities. On Friday the Vatican and the Romanian Presidency confirmed the Popes visit to Romania. He will visit the capital city Bucharest, the cities of Iaşi (in the north-east) and Blaj (centre), as well as the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc (centre). Pope Francis is the second Pope to visit Romania, after John Paul II who was in 1999 the first head of the Catholic Church to visit a mostly Orthodox country since the East-West Schism of 1054.

MEASLES 36 new measles cases have been confirmed in 8 counties in Romania over the past week, according to data from the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control, posted on the website of the National Institute for Public Health. Most cases have been reported in counties Teleorman (south), Sălaj (north), Maramureş (north), Neamţ (east) and Prahova (south). The total number of measles cases confirmed in Romania so far is 15,600, with 59 deaths also reported. The most frequently affected are non-vaccinated children.

DEFENCE The Romanian Defence Ministry has suspended the procurement procedure for 4 multirole corvettes worth 1.6 billion euro. The head of the Armaments Department, Andrei Ignat, has notified the Military Prosecutors Office with respect to the corvette procurement operation, based on reasonable suspicions regarding the lawfulness of the procedure, likely to affect national security interests. The bid, which should have been completed last year, has been postponed several times. Competing for the contract are 3 major international companies: Damen, from the Netherlands, Fincantieri of Italy and Naval Group from France.

PASSPORTS The new Romanian electronic passports, to be issued as of this week, will be virtually impossible to forge, said the head of the Directorate General for Passports Mirel Toancă on Saturday. He said each page of the new documents includes a stylised image of a well-known Romanian historic or tourist site, such as the Danube Delta, the Scărişoara Cave or Sighişoara medieval citadel. The fees for the issue of the new passports remain unchanged, and the ones valid at present will remain in use. Simple electronic passports are valid for 10 years, and temporary ones are valid 1 year.

WEATHER Europe continues to be ravaged by massive snowfalls and freezing temperatures. In the south-east of Germany, 4 regions initiated emergency plans after several days of continuing snowfalls. Several flights have been cancelled in Munich and Frankfurt, and traffic was disrupted on several roads. Schools have been closed. Major problems are also reported in Austria, where Innsbruck authorities advised people to stay indoors to avoid prospective avalanches. In Hungary, authorities have issued a code yellow alert for snow storms in the north-east of the country and a code red warning for freezing temperatures. Around 20 people have died in Europe in the past week because of the extreme weather conditions.

MACEDONIA Greeces PM Alexis Tsipras congratulated his Macedonian counterpart, Zoran Zaev, after a historic vote in Skopje to rename the country “The Republic of North Macedonia. Zoran Zaev won by a narrow margin the 2-thirds of the parliamentary votes needed for this goal, with the nationalists in Opposition boycotting the meeting. This is the last but one major obstacle to the settlement of a decade-long dispute with Greece over the name “Macedonia, which Athens claims for the north of Greece. According to the BBC, the next step is the ratification of the agreement by the Greek Parliament, paving the way for Macedonias prospective accession to the EU and NATO.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

12 January 2019
The Evangelical Church in Bistrita

First documented in 1241, the city of Bistrita, in central Romania, actually started to develop a century earlier when the first German settlers, also known as Transylvanian Saxons, had arrived in the area. Bistrita was built after the model of the medieval cities in Western Europe to later grow into one the main seven Saxon-inhabited cities of Siebenburgen, as Transylvania was called back in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Like most of Transylvanias medieval burgs, Bistrita developed around a church, which was Catholic at first then turned into a Reformed one. Here is historian Vasile Duda with more on the issue.

Vasile Duda: “The church, a Roman-Catholic one at first had St. Nicholas as its patron. Upon the Reformation in 1543 it was turned into the Evangelical church we see today. Its history includes several construction stages, beginning with the Gothic style, which is still visible today, with a series of architectural elements reminiscent of the style before the 14th century. The church has also seen a series of reconstruction stages but initially it was built as a basilica with one central and two lateral naves as well as two steeples on its western side. In late 15th century, the church was more imposing and through its masonry elements belonged more to the Gothic style. Around 1560, an Italian stonemason called Petru Italus of Lugano added it a series of architectural elements specific to Renaissance. The final result was a Gothic structure with properly assimilated Renaissance elements.

A distinctive element of the church in Bistrita is its 76 meter high steeple, which is believed to be the highest in Transylvania.

Vasile Duda: “There is also an interesting legend recalling the rivalry with other medieval burgs in Transylvania, particularly with Sibiu, which wanted a higher steeple for their church. One of these legends has it that when the authorities of Medias started the construction of their church, those from Bistrita came and secretly cut their reel measuring tape so that they could not build a taller steeple. And that is true: the tower in Bistrita is taller than the ones in Sibiu and Medias. Even the famous Clock Tower in Timisoara is not much taller than that. Even the Black Church in Brasov, the tallest medieval church in Transylvania, doesn’t have a taller steeple than the one in Bistrita.

What makes the Evangelical Church unique is not just its steeple, but also the furnishings, a few centuries old:

Vasile Duda: “One memorable piece, a downright landmark, is the so called Master Anton’s Pew, which was made in 1508, signed by the latter. Another signature on the bench, dating back to 1516, was that of a master Johannes Begler. He wrote there himself: ‘Johannes Begler fecit’. It is a beautiful Renaissance pew, with insertions and carvings. It is spectacular because it is similar with furniture made in France. It shows us the ties between these distant regions were fairly close through workshops and monasteries.

In addition to the furnishings, the banners of the guilds in the church are another important piece of the heritage. It is true that they were replaced in 1852, but the traditional symbols were preserved, as well as the pews of the guilds, depending on their weight within the community, with the most important being closer to the altar. The Evangelical Church in Bistrita, recently renovated after the fire in 2008 that destroyed the steeples, the bells, as well as the clock, has made a comeback as a major tourism and cultural objective, as well as a symbol of the city.

(translated by: Daniel Bilt, Calin Cotoiu)

28 July 2018