On the occasion of the conference “Romanian Tradition and Continuity: 100 Years of the Romanian Patriarchate, 70 Years of Antibiotice Iași,” Patriarch Daniel of Romania emphasized the need for closer collaboration between science and spirituality in the mission of healing and caring for people.
Reflecting on the Church’s long-standing commitment to both spiritual and physical health, the Patriarch praised the work of Antibiotice S.A. Iași, a leading Romanian pharmaceutical company celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. He highlighted the two-decade-long partnership between the Church and the company as a model for constructive cooperation.
“We must work together for the health of the soul and the body of the people to whom we belong,” the Patriarch said.
He noted that this cooperation reflects the Church’s mission to care for the whole human person — body and soul — created in the image of God, and recalled that Jesus Christ Himself healed the sick and taught that those who are ill need a physician.
The message also drew attention to the factory’s founding year, 1955, which coincided with the canonization of several Romanian saints and the nationwide veneration of Saint Paraskeva of Iași, linking spiritual and medical milestones in Romania’s history.
Please find below Patriarch Daniel’s full message:
Tradition and Continuity in Serving Human Health
With a two-millennia-old Christian tradition, the Romanian Orthodox Church continues to fulfil its sanctifying and serving mission today, now in its centennial year as a Patriarchate within the communion of universal Orthodoxy.
The sanctifying and healing vocation of the Church, nurtured over the centuries as testimony, service, and life in the spirit of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, embraces the whole human being, created in the image of God — both body and soul. The Holy Apostle Paul speaks with hope from the perspective of eternity regarding the temporary condition of man in the world: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory… For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 4:16–5:1)
From a spiritual perspective, the priority in a Christian’s life is communion in love with the eternally living God, and this communion includes care for the health and sanctification of the body as a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Therefore, recognizing the many healings performed by Jesus Christ — both bodily and spiritual — and recalling the truth He said that “those who are sick need a physician” (Mark 2:14), the Church has always stood near those who suffer. Spiritual means of spiritual and physical healing have always been woven together with the medical knowledge and methods of each era.
Faithful to the true teachings of the faith and its charitable and educational traditions, the Romanian Orthodox Church is now developing its own network of social and medical institutions while remaining open to cooperation and partnership with state institutions and NGOs focused on healthcare.
More than two decades have passed since the Church established a solid collaboration with Antibiotice S.A. Iași, fostering the connection between science and spirituality in the service of people. Coincidentally, this renowned pharmaceutical company is celebrating 70 years in 2025.
The year 1955, when the Iași factory was founded, is also of spiritual significance for our Church, being the year of the proclamation of the canonization of several Romanian saints and the nationwide extension of the devotion to Saint Paraskeva of Iași, the protectress of Moldavia.
The achievements of multiple generations of experts and workers at Antibiotice S.A. Iași — attained with dedication, perseverance, and creativity — are recognized nationally and internationally for their positive impact on healing and health recovery.
The conference “Romanian Tradition and Continuity: 100 Years of the Romanian Patriarchate, 70 Years of Antibiotice Iași” gathers today clergy and experts from the medical and pharmaceutical fields. Through this event, we witness once more the importance of working together for the physical and spiritual well-being of our people.
We warmly congratulate Mr. Ioan Nani, Director of Antibiotice S.A. Iași, and all his colleagues in this year of reflection and celebration. We pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Healer of souls and bodies, to grant all of you health, creativity, and strength for continued accomplishments in the noble mission of pharmaceutical research and production under the guiding principle of “science and soul.”
† DANIEL
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca Ene
Source: basilica.ro
