Patriarch Daniel Urges Romanians Abroad to Return Home

OCP News Service – Basilica News – 05/10/2023

Bucharest-Romania: During a ceremony at the Patriarchal Cathedral marking the 16th anniversary as primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel noted the “unprecedented reality in the history of the Romanian people”: over 6 million Romanians have left Romania over the last 15-20 years.

His Beatitude stated that “this unprecedented situation is a challenge with, first of all, negative results, although sometimes there were also advantages of these experiences of Romanians, especially for those who studied abroad.”

“But the fact that now Romanians work for foreigners, and we bring foreigners to Romania to work on our construction sites, seems unnatural. Therefore, we wish health and salvation to all Romanians in the diaspora. Still, we want at least a part of them to return to the country and work for the Romanian people in Romania,” the Patriarch of Romania said on Sept. 30.

“We have the vocation to preserve the Romanian identity of faith and culture,” His Beatitude said from the altar of the Patriarchal Cathedral.

“Therefore, we believe that this work is essential for Romanian Orthodox families in the diaspora, and we are convinced that, together with the support that the state offers for Romanian Orthodox communities abroad, we will contribute more to strengthening Romanian identity and cooperation between Romanians.”

The Patriarch noted that “our Romanians outside the borders of the country are often also examples of solidarity; they send a large part of their hard-earned money to the country, and some Romanian Orthodox parishes in the diaspora help children from poor parishes in Romania every month, such as those in Vaslui or other parts of the country.”

“That’s why we must have special respect for Romanians everywhere, and we remember them in our prayers as if they were with us,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel added.

Source: Basilica News