The central governing bodies of the Romanian Orthodox Church met on Wednesday at the Patriarchal Palace in Bucharest to review the Church’s activities for the year 2024.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel presided over the annual meetings of the National Church Council and the National Church Assembly.
“We still carry the joy of yesterday’s celebration of the Romanian Patriarchate Centennial, to which we now add today’s joy of presenting the activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church for 2024,” Patriarch Daniel stated at the session’s opening.
His Beatitude provided a summary of the reports from all dioceses, covering pastoral-liturgical, administrative, cultural-missionary, and social-charitable activities.
€73 Million Invested in Philanthropy
The Church reported that nearly €73 million was spent on social and charitable activities across the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2024.
This amount includes:
- Funding for 867 social institutions and services, benefiting over 363,000 people last year.
- Over €4 million in aid for disaster victims.
“This figure does not include the numerous charitable activities carried out by parishes and monasteries for the benefit of the sick, elderly, children, and the poor, which were not quantified financially and, therefore, were not systematically reported to diocesan centres,” Patriarch Daniel noted.
For comparison, the Church invested over €60 million in philanthropy in 2023 and €69 million in 2022.
“At the conclusion of this summary report on the activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2024, we extend our special appreciation for the spiritual and material efforts of all those who worked directly or supported the Church in its missionary, cultural, and social-philanthropic work,” the Patriarch stated.
“We express our gratitude and appreciation to all those who assist our Church—clergy and lay faithful, central and local authorities, sponsors, and volunteers.”
Church Art and Restoration, Diaspora Sacraments
The report also highlighted that in 2024, 599 church art and restoration projects were underway 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 full report is available online.
Centennial Meeting and Holy Synod Session
On the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Church’s central governing bodies held a solemn session to reflect on the key moments and achievements of the Romanian Orthodox Church over the past 100 years.
On Wednesday evening, the Holy Synod is scheduled to begin this year’s first working session at the Patriarchal Palace.
Source and photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca-Emanuela Ene
