April 7, 2018

Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers observe Holy Saturday

Newsroom, 07.04.2018, 13:56

HOLY SATURDAY — Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers today observe Holy Saturday or Black Saturday, the day the world prepares for the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. This is the final day of the Holy Week just before Easter. It takes place right after Good Friday and marks the day Jesus’ body was placed into his tomb after dying on the cross. Holy Saturday is also the day of the Easter Vigil, when Christians all across the world will wait in the late evening hours for the resurrection of Christ. Liturgically, Holy Saturday only lasts till 6pm or dusk, after which the Easter Vigil takes over and the Easter days start. In Jerusalem today the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is performing the ritual of the Holy Fire. The Orthodox ritual of the Holy Fire has been performed in Jerusalem every Easter, with a flame miraculously appearing at the darkened tomb of Jesus to symbolise the Resurrection. The miracle occurs every year at the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem, on the Orthodox Easter Saturday. A delegation of the Romanian Patriarchy is in Jerusalem and will bring the holy fire to Romania. The Holy Saturday midnight service will be held in churches across the country, and will start with the ritual of sharing the Holy Fire, a symbol of the spiritual light that Jesus Christ shed over the world through His Resurrection.

SECURITY MEASURES – Over 50,000 employees of the Romanian Interior Ministry have been mobilised to maintain public order, safety and security across the country at Easter. Gendarme and police troops will be chiefly deployed around churches and other religious institutions. 250 thousand people are expected to attend more than 700 public events that will take place in Romania in the next four days. Traffic police, equipped with more than 300 traffic radars and backed by helicopters, will be monitoring traffic on Romania’s motorways during the Easter days.

HOLIDAY – Many Romanians have chosen to spend Easter away from home this year but in regions in the country where Easter traditions are still observed. Over 90% of the hotels and guest houses on the Prahova Valley are booked. Tourists are mostly interested in the resorts of Sinaia and Azuga, as winter sports can still be practices there. Bukovia is another region highly appreciated by tourists, especially the villages that are close to monasteries such as Sucevita, Gura Humorului and Putna. Tourists appreciate guesthouses in Bukovina because Easter traditions have been preserved unaltered there and also for the hosts’ hospitality.

ROMA DAY — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has today conveyed a message on the occasion of the International Roma Day. Iohannis has said that “it’s important to understand the traditions, values, aspirations and needs of the Roma community, in order to find solutions that should have a concrete contribution to the Roma minority members’ social inclusion, while continuing to preserve their cultural identity”. Iohannis has also said that this year, when the 1918 Great Union centennial is celebrated, the contribution of the Roma to our society’s history and diversity must be emphasised. Celebrated every year on April 8th, the International Roma Day is aimed at promoting the community’s cultural values and at signalling the problems facing it.

OECD – Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Friday in Paris that his countrys accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a way to stimulate domestic reforms. He also said that Romania’s joining OECD would be a natural evolution for this country, after having joined NATO and the EU. The statement was part of a speech that Teodor Melescanu delivered at the OECD meeting dedicated to Romania. Melescanu also held talks with the Organisations’ Secretary General Angel Gurria and with permanent representatives of the member states.

MARCH – The “Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi” Institute for the Romanians abroad, an institution subordinated to the Ministry for the Romanians Abroad jointly with the Lauder-Reut Educational Complex will be staging a March of Holocaust survivors dubbed “Let’s learn together’, in Poland, over April 9-13. The event, which has an educational character and is aimed at teaching students a dramatic episode in history, involves the participation of young people from 52 countries. The Romanian delegation includes students from Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

FLU – Flu made another victim in Romania on Friday, this time a 71- year old man from the county of Bihor. He had not been vaccinated against the flu virus and was also suffering from other diseases. The death toll is 122 out of almost 17 hundred confirmed flu cases. Nevertheless, the number of respiratory conditions is on the decrease in Romania. Only 78 thousand cases have been reported in the past week across the country, by 20% less than the week before.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan, WTA’s 90th seed, has qualified to the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, after defeating American Danielle Collins, no. 53 in the world, in two sets, 6-2, 6-4. Ana Bogdan will next be up against the competition’s favourite, Garbinie Muguruza, no. 3 in the world.

HANDBALL – The Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest defeated on Friday in Bucharest the French team Metz, 34-21, in the first round of the Champions League quarter finals. Also on Friday, Vardar Skopje of Macedonia defeated FC Midtjylland of Denmark 24-23. We recall that CSM Bucharest won the Champions League in 2016. (Translated by Elena Enache)