The saints are depicted on the bronze doors providingaccess to the new Orthodox Cathedral in Bucharest.Welcoming believers on the front doors are the icons ofthe Saviour Jesus Christ and His Most Holy Mother.On the right and left of the main entrance, the doorshave the depictions of the 12 Holy Apostles.Next to the Mother of God, one can observe the icon ofSaint Andrew the First-Called since he is the Patron Saintof Romania and also of the National Cathedral.The assembly of Saints depicted on the cathedral’s doorsalso includes over 20 saintly persons from Romania and7 Dacian Saints.In a speech delivered in 2017, Patriarch Daniel said thatas a gift for the devotion of the Romanian people theNational Cathedral belongs to ‘the Romanian Saints of alltimes and places throughout this country.’Please find on our website the list of the Cathedral’sGuardian Saints.The largest mosaic depicting the More Spacious than theHeavens Icon of the Mother of God was applied lastmonth on the half-dome that stands above the altar ofthe National Cathedral in Bucharest.National Cathedral in numbers:■ Foundation stone was laid and blessed on Nov.29, 2007■ First Divine Liturgy celebrated on the Cathedral’sfront steps on Sept. 4, 2016■ The church is 95% complete■ The consecration ceremony was officiated onNov. 25, 2018Although yet unfinished, Romania’s National Cathedralhas become a tourist attraction and stands as the largestmonument ever built honouring all time heroes who diedfor national and religious freedom in Romania.

”For this reason, we accepted the proposal

of the Catholic sidePatriarch Daniel, in his

welcome address to the pope,thanked for the for the support

that constantly given to theRomanian Orthodox believers

in Italy and in other countries,‘where the Roman Catholic

Church made available to theRomanian Orthodox

communities 426 places ofworship, 306 in Italy and 120

in other Western Europeancountries.’

“For this reason, weaccepted the proposal of the

Catholic side to offer YourHoliness and the CatholicChristians present here in

this Cathedral theopportunity to say the

prayer Our Father in theLatin language and to sing

several Catholic paschalsongs.”

“This attitude is a sign ofgratitude for the liturgicalspaces offered by Catholiccommunities to Romanian

Orthodox parishes in WesternEurope.”

This financial help wassymbolically integrated by theRomanian Patriarchate as part

of the total cost of 500,000euros for purchasing the bells

of the National Cathedral.

Who are the Holy Guardians of the Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral?Like the watchmen who stand guard at the gates of acity, over 50 Saints supervise with their intercessionsthe Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral.

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His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel presented the pope with amosaic icon depicting Saint Andrew the First-Called, who isconsidered the Patron Saint of Romania and of theNational Cathedral. After reciting the Our Father in Latinand singing Catholic Easter songs, Patriarch Daniel led the congregation in praying theLord’s Prayer in Romanian.While exiting the Cathedral, Pope Francis bade farewell from the crowd addressing themthe paschal greeting Christ is risen in Romanian: Hristos a înviat! Ü

Following his meetingwith Patriarch Daniel andthe Permanent Synod ofthe Romanian OrthodoxChurch on Fridayafternoon, Pope Francisdrove to the NationalCathedral in Bucharestwhere he was welcomedby thousands.

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We’re turning 11.The youngest member of the Basilica MediaCentre was born on Monday, June 16, 2008,with the clear mission to fulfill ‘the vocationof the Church to convey the good news ofChrist’s salvation to the world.’At the beginning, we operated as a newsaggregator website collecting informationfrom all the dioceses of the RomanianPatriarchate, with minimal interventions onthe text’s form or content.Later, Basilica.ro followed the trends ofonline journalism and focused on thequality and the aspect of the articles madepublic. There were three major websitechanges (2010, 2012, 2016).In October 2015 we entered the socialmedia. In 2016, together with the releaseof the current version of our website, wewent through a rebranding process, gainingour own visual identity. At the same time,the original motto – ‘The good news sharedto all’ – was synthesized in ‘The Good toKnow’.Currently, our editorial strategy aimsto cover a wide range of topics relevant tothe Romanian public and not only. Socialactions of the dioceses, major religiousevents in the country and abroad,exhortations and messages of hierarchs aresupplemented with other themes of publicinterest, cultural events, art, tourism,ecology and even sports.The Basilica.ro team seeks to take intoaccount both the life of the clergy andparishes, as well as the stances andinitiatives of the Orthodox laity. Thehierarchical sermons and theologicalconferences are interwoven in our news

feed with good examples of priests indifferent communities, but also theopinions of public personalities, youth

activities etc. Following the motto ‘TheGood to Know’, we have recently joined theconcept of solution-oriented journalism,offering good practices in the Church oranswers to various societal issues.Orthodox mission in the Diaspora, theevents in the sister Orthodox Churches,Pan-Orthodox or ecumenical meetings alsorepresent topics to be duly taken intoconsideration by any informed Christian,who is present and active in the life of theChurch. Approximately 10% of articles areavailable in English, thus allowing theBasilica News Agency to be followed andcited by the main Orthodox press agenciesand not only Orthodox.Our newer projects include the Basilica.roNewsletter (in Romanian), the Good toKnow online Magazine, “The Portrait of theRomanian Village” Photo Exhibition.From the forthcoming projects, we canreveal the fact that we want to develop newexhibitions and other activities involvingphotography, as well as a series of videointerviews.The entire activity of the Basilica NewsAgency is carried out by a team of youngjournalists: four editors, two photographersand a coordinator.The Basilica News Agency operates with theblessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Danieland is financially supported by thePatriarchal Administration, the PrintingHouse of the Romanian Patriarchate, theBasilica Travel Agency and variousdonations.All services provided by theBasilica News Agency of the RomanianPatriarchate may be used by individuals orinstitutions free of charge for non-commercial purposes, with the explicitindication of the source.

”A missionary work to transmit the love ofthe Most Holy Trinity to the world

The Patriarch of Romania on Whit Mondaypointed out the important missionary activityof the Basilica Media Centre during a meetingwith the Patriarchate’s journalists held at thePatriarchal Palace.During the meeting at Europa Christiana Hall,Patriarch Daniel noted that ‘it was a blessedchoice’ to name the radio and TV stations

after the Holy Trinity – Trinitas.‘We always have in the Holy Trinity thesource and the model of perfect love,’ thepatriarch noted.‘Man fulfils his purpose when living in theimage of the Holy Trinity, because he wascreated in the image of the Holy Trinity andwas called to the likeness of the Holy Trinity.’

Northern Europe BishopMacarie congratulates BasilicaNews Agency: We mustcommunicate truth and good

His Grace Bishop Macarie of NorthernEurope conveyed a message of

congratulation to the Basilica NewsAgency on its 11th anniversary, notingthe ‘the difficult, but necessary and

blessed task’ carried out by Basilica.ro.He said that the Romanian

Patriarchate’s News Agency has thetask ‘to create an alternative

environment in contemporary media,’which ‘seems to be increasingly

reduced to the function of amplifier ofpassions, lies, evil andmisinterpretation’.

‘We congratulate you for this holy, missionary work to transmit the love of the Most HolyTrinity to the world and to illumine people to find the purpose of their lives’

‘I appreciate and congratulate the Basilica NewsAgency on its 11th anniversary, because it is partof a conscious effort to mark this difference, to

create an alternative environment incontemporary media. It is a difficult, but

necessary and blessed task.I pray to the Compassionate Lord to bless thestaff of the Basilica News Agency and to

increase their good work!’ Ü

His Eminence MetropolitanNicolae Condrea laid the

foundation stone for a newchurch dedicated to one of

the most belovedRomanian Saints,

Venerable John Jacob (theNew Chosebite) of Neamt,

on June 17, 2019.Thefoundation stone laying

ceremony was led by HisEminence Metropolitan

Nicolae of America on WhitMonday. Ü

Photos depicting the Portrait of the Romanian Village go on display in the US

AUSTRIAAn increasing number

of students attend Orthodox Religious

Education

Romanian Metropolitan lays

foundation stone fornew church dedicated

to St John Jacob

June 16, 2019 | Several photos of people living in Romania’svillages have gone on display for the first time at the HolyTrinity Romanian Orthodox Parish in Troy, Michigan.The Basilica.ro exhibition was opened on Sunday, June 16,2019 with the help of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of theAmericas on the patronal feast of the Troy parish.Titled ‘ThePortrait of the Romanian Village’, the exhibition was presentedduring an artistic show performed by the children from theSunday School.Together with the portraits of Romanian peasants, other folkart objects were displayed to remind Romanians of their roots.In the context of the Solemn Year of the Romanian Village inthe Romanian Patriarchate, the Basilica News Agency openedits first photography exhibition under the name of ‘The Portraitof the Romanian Village’ during a ceremony held at the Palaceof the Patriarchate on February 27, 2019 in the presence of HisBeatitude Patriarch Daniel. Ü

In Austria, an increasingnumber of students are

attending OrthodoxReligion in school,

katholisch.de reports.In the school year

2018/19, there werearound 13,600 students at

almost 1,000 locations. A year before (2017/18),

there were 12,682students at 912 locations.

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Metropolitan Nicolae Condrea:UPROOTED FROM NATIVELAND, ROMANIANS INAMERICA ARE LOOKING FOR SPIRITUAL ROOTS INCHRIST’S CHURCH‘Uprooted from their native land, Romaniansin America are looking for spiritual roots inthe Church of Christ,’ the RomanianOrthodox Metropolitan of the Americas,Nicolae Condrea, said in an exclusiveinterview with Basilica.ro.

Not many are those whoconfess that they did notgo to church in Romania orwent only seldom, whotherefore did not have areligious life, but who,once they arrived in

America, seek a spiritualbalance for themselves

and their family.

This balance can only befound in the Church.

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae Condrea,who has been close to Orthodox Romanians inAmerica for over 17 years, spoke in theBasilica.ro interview about how the mission inthe diaspora differs from the ecclesial realityin Romania.He stressed that building the Church in thesoul is a priority, especially because ‘being aChristian in today’s America, living yourOrthodox Christian faith is a challenge thatwe must understand, assume and struggle toovercome.’Metropolitan Nicolae expressed his hope thatthis year’s events evoking the Romanianvillage will be ‘an occasion for a return toorigins, to remember village traditions andcustoms, which are rooted in the spiritualityof the Romanian people.’The fundamentaldifference between our mission in thediaspora and the one at home is that it refersto this search for the lost Romanian Orthodoxfar from the Church and the nation. We werecalled by God to seek them, therefore wehave to learn what pastoral means areneeded to accomplish this mission. Ü

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Three Year Anniversary of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox ChurchThree years ago,primates and hierarchsof ten local OrthodoxChurches gathered onthe island of Crete for theHoly and Great Council ofthe Orthodox Church, along-awaited meeting ofOrthodox bishops.The Council took placefrom June 16 to June 26,2016, at the OrthodoxAcademy of Crete underthe chairmanship of HisHoliness EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew.

The hierarchs of the Romanian OrthodoxChurch participated in the works of theCouncil under the guidance of HisBeatitude Patriarch Daniel.The Holy and Great Council of Crete didnot formulate new dogmas or canons, nor

did it bring about changes in the liturgicallife. The hierarchs who participated in theCouncil addressed some of the topicalissues and sought solutions to theproblems that the contemporary manfaces. Ü

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Patriarch of Romania consecrates St Spyridon Metropolitan Cathedral in BucharestHis Beatitude PatriarchDaniel of Romania onWhit Monday, June 17,consecrated StSpyridon’sMetropolitan Cathedralin Bucharest followingextensive restorationworks. Following theconsecration service,the Patriarch offereddistinctions to thosewho supported therestoration works.

The consecration and the festal DivineLiturgy were attended by the personnel ofthe Patriarchate’s Basilica Media Centre,since the feast of the Holy Trinity is

considered a patronal feast of themedia centre. St Spyridon ‘the New’Church functions as Cathedral for

the Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobrudjaand as a patriarchal chapel.Built between 1852-1858 and firstconsecrated in 1860, the Church hasmaintained its original architecture for149 years. A particle of the relics of StSpyridon is enshrined in the church. Ü

The largest mosaic depictingthe More Spacious than theHeavens Icon of the Mother ofGod was applied on the half-

dome that stands above the altarof the National Cathedral inBucharest on Tuesday, May 7,2019. The Panagia Platytera tonouranon measures 16 meters

high and was created by a teamof artists coordinated by

iconographer Daniel Codrescu.Ü

A priest’s heartfelt message of support to parents who arereluctant to take their children to church goes viralWhen Adelaide-based Greek Orthodoxpriest, Father Michael Psaromatis,posted a heartfelt message to hisparishioners last Friday letting themknow that he is fully supportive andperfectly aware of their struggles andefforts to bring their children to church,he never anticipated that withinminutes parishioners from all overAustralia would take to social media toexpress their gratitude towards histhoughtful gesture.“I am aware when you become red-faced, breaking out into sweats whenyour children start fidgeting andfussing inside the church, and I wantyou to know, that I have so muchrespect and admiration on how much

you try to keep them quiet and calm during thechurch service,” wrote father Michael, aged 34,and one of the youngest, most forward-thinkingpriests in Adelaide.“I admire how you prepared you are when youcome in, how hard you try and chase themdown the aisle to nullify their noise andmovements and I want you to know that I alsofeel your pain when I see those heads that turnin your direction and the eyes that roll,indicating a shameful dismay at the fact that you cannot keep your children undercontrol and quiet when all you are doing istrying to participate in the Liturgy and hear thesermon.” Ü

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“Please ignore people’s eyesrolling and heads turningwhen your children are‘playing up’ inside the house ofGod. I want you to know thatthey are always welcome.”

‘The Good to Know’ is the online magazine of the Basilica NewsAgency.This project initially started in 2017 was named ‘The Basilicamonthly review,’ and was published at the beginning of every monthuntil its rebranding this year.This periodical will be published online only, being available in PDFformat for downloading or reading. Every issue will be published onthe Issuu platform for a more engaging and interactive reading experience.Containing a summary of the religious events in the entire Orthodoxworld, ‘The Good to Know’ online magazine can be freely printedout and distributed for more thorough information and spiritualbenefit.The magazine features a selection of articles that invite our readersto peruse the full content of our website, each article being con-nected to the information on the basilica.ro website through a back-link. ‘The Good to Know’ online magazine will be published both inRomanian and English.Don’t forget to communicate the Good to Know to others!

CommunicatingThe Good to

Know