August 16 | Romanian Patriarchate welcomes declaration of National Day of Awareness of Violence against Christians

The Romanian Patriarchate appreciates the introduction of the National Day of Remembrance of the Brâncoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians on August 16 and it announces that the commemoration will be marked next Sunday in all the Romanian churches.

This year, the new national day of remembrance coincides with the Sunday of the Romanian Migrants.

The full text of the press release issued by the Romanian Patriarchate’s Press Office:

The National Day of Remembrance of the Brâncoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians

Since the most numerous martyrs for the faith in the world continue to be Christians, the Romanian Patriarchate expresses appreciation on the proclamation by Romania’s Parliament of the National Day of Remembrance of the Brâncoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians on August 16.

For the first time in Romania, this commemoration will be held in all the churches on August 16, which this year coincides with the Sunday of the Romanian Migrants, proclaimed in 2009 by the Romanian Patriarchate and celebrated on the first Sunday after the Dormition of the Mother of God.

The Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs exemplarily illustrated martyrdom as the ultimate proof of love for Christ in the history of the Romanian Christianity. That is why the proclamation of a national commemoration day for their martyrdom should be for us an opportunity to become more aware of today’s violence against Christians. This violence takes different forms of persecution today, from the Christphobia of the new ideologies to the filmed executions of those whose only guilt is that of being Christian.

In this context, the Romanian Patriarchate advocates for the memorial recovery of Christian martyrdom and for the protection and promotion of religious freedom as a fundamental right of every human person.

Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate

Eight Christians are killed for their faith daily in the world, according to data published by Open Doors, a global network of Christian NGOs. Between November 2018 and October 2019, this organization documented over 260 million cases of persecution against Christians.

Sunday, August 16, Bucharest’s St George the New Church, which was founded by St Constantine Brâncoveanu, will be illuminated in red, together with other landmark buildings of the Romanian capital city, in order to mark the day.

Photo credit: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu (fresco from the New St George Church in Bucharest)

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