FEAST DAY – Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians in Romania on
\nSunday celebrated the Baptism of the Christ, the feast day commemorating the
\nbaptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. The feast day marks
\nthe end of the Christmas celebration period. Roman-Catholic Christians in
\nRomania celebrated the Epiphany, the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus
\nChrist. Christian Churches observing the Julian Calendar celebrate Christmas on
\nJanuary 7. The Patriarchy of Constantinople decided in early 20th
\ncentury to switch from the old Julian Calendar to a revised Gregorian calendar,
\nwhich provides for a 13-day gap between the two. Many citizens from the
\nRepublic of Moldova chose to spend Christmas in the Old Julian Calendar in
\nRomania.<\/p>\n
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CONCERTS – The Romanian
\nSymphony Orchestra is on a tour to the United States until January 16. During
\nthis period it will hold seven concerts, in Florida, Palm Beach, Miami, Fort
\nMyers, Detroit and New Jersey. The final concert will be at Lincoln Center in
\nNew York, with famous trumpet player Wynton Marsalis as special guest. The
\nRomanian Symphony Orchestra is made up of valuable former members of the National
\nYouth Orchestra. The tour organizers are the Tinerimea Romana National Art
\nCenter and the Romanian Cultural Institute. <\/p>\n
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BENEFITS – The Romanian Foreign Ministry expressed concern
\nregarding Austria’s decision to slash the benefits for children of EU citizens
\nworking in Austria, adding that the measure goes against principles underlying
\ncommunity legislation. The benefits were cut starting January 1 to the
\ncorresponding amount in the countries of origin, in the case the children
\nremained at home. The measure does not apply to any children currently residing
\nin Austria. Bucharest claims EU membership compels all states to ensure fair,
\nbalanced and unbiased treatment for all European citizens. Several ministries
\nin Romania have criticized the move, and the Minister for Romanians Worldwide
\nsaid Romania would approach the topic as president of the Council of the
\nEuropean Union. <\/p>\n
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UKRAINIAN CHURCH – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of
\nConstantinople on Sunday handed the decree granting independence to the Ukrainian
\nOrthodox Church to its leader, Metropolitan Yepifaniy. The decree opens
\nthe way for Ukraine’s Orthodox Church to be recognized by other branches of
\northodoxy and other churches. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on December
\n15 announced the setup of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church after a
\nhistoric decision of the Reunification Council of Orthodox Bishops in Kiev.
\nEarlier in 2018 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople recognized
\nan independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine, revoking a 332-year-old decree
\nplacing the Ukrainian Church under the authority of the Patriarchy of Moscow.
\nIn turn, the Russian Orthodox Church announced the severance of ties with the
\nPatriarchy of Constantinople. News agencies note the escalating religious tension
\nmarks a new episode in the political, cultural and social rupture between Kiev
\nand Moscow following the 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the
\nRussian Federation and the armed conflict between the Ukrainian forces and
\npro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. <\/p>\n
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TALKS – US President Donald Trump announced new discussions on
\nSunday aimed at putting an end to the dispute that has blocked the US
\nGovernment for two weeks now. A meeting between White House officials and
\nmembers of the Democratic Party on Saturday ended without any positive results.
\nNews agencies recall President Trump has conditioned the signing of legislation
\nthat could unblock the government’s activity on the building of the wall on the
\nMexican border. Trump says the wall is the best way to stop the flow of drugs
\nand crime from Central and Southern America. The Democrats disagree and are now
\nusing their majoirty in the House of Representatives to block the funding of
\nthe wall, pending the Federal Government resuming its activity. <\/p>\n
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(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[34356,33689,34355,34358,34357],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-102476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-child-benefits","tag-feast-day","tag-national-symphony-orchestra","tag-talks-in-washington","tag-ukrainian-church"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n