Patriarch Daniel of Romania has issued a message on the occasion of the start of the new 2026-2027 school year, in which he emphasizes the importance of the Christian upbringing of children and young people, as well as the subject of Religious Education.
“Children and young people are gifts from God to the family, the Church, and the people,” states the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Patriarch Daniel notes that through their Christian upbringing, children can become “not only good citizens of their earthly homeland, but also citizens of the heavenly homeland,” while underlining the decisive role of family, Church, and school in shaping their character.
He makes particular reference to the subject of Religious Education, noting that it contributes to the development of students’ personal identity, to their acquaintance with the spiritual and cultural values of humanity, and to the cultivation of elements of applied ethics necessary for the spiritual health of both the individual and society.
At the same time, the Patriarch of Romania refers to the cooperation between parishes and schools and to the continuation of the Church’s effort to support children from families facing hardship, by offering them school bags, school supplies, and clothing.
Read below the Patriarch of Romania’s message:
At the start of the 2026-2027 school year, we bless the students and parents, the teachers and professors, urging them, with fatherly love, to cultivate the values of faith within the family, the Church, the school, and society, thus fulfilling the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:
“Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16).
Within the Christian family, faith is lived and passed on through prayer, as love for God, and through good works, as love for one’s fellow human being. Children and young people are gifts from God to the family, the Church, and the people.
Through their Christian upbringing, they can become not only good citizens of their earthly homeland, but also citizens of the heavenly homeland — that is, saints recorded in the Hagiology of the Orthodox Church, such as, for example, the eight saints who come from the family of Saint Basil the Great, Hierarch, or from the family of Saint Constantin Brâncoveanu.
Within the school, for a complete education of the student, it is especially important to draw on the distinctive pedagogical character of religious education. The subject of Religious Education contributes to the development of personal identity, to acquaintance with the spiritual and cultural values of humanity, and offers elements of applied ethics, necessary for the spiritual health of both the individual and the community.
For this reason, and in agreement with international educational texts, which emphasize the importance of cultivating values in school, the content of the school subject of Religious Education is not focused exclusively on the acquisition of knowledge, but also on the cultivation of skills and behaviors, attitudes, and values.
Based on the cooperation between parishes and schools, this school year the Church continues its tradition of supporting children from families facing hardship, by offering them school bags, school supplies, or clothing.
We pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Most Holy Theotokos, and to all the Saints to grant peace and joy, health and every help to all students, parents, teachers, and professors during the new 2026-2027 school year!
With great esteem and fatherly blessing,
† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Photo: basilica.ro
Source: basilica.ro
