28 April, 2019

Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians celebrate Easter.

Newsroom, 28.04.2019, 13:52

Easter. Orthodox Christians, who are
the majority in Romania, as well as the Greek-Catholic, celebrate Easter, the
resurrection of Christ. At midnight on Saturday, people went to church to
receive light from the priest and sing Christ is risen. People light their
candles from the Holy Light, which is brought from Jerusalem’s Church of the
Holy Sepulchre. In his Easter message, the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox
Church Daniel has urged people to bring joy and light to the souls of those who
are orphaned, sick, elderly, poor, in mourning or alone, by word and deed.
He said Romanians living abroad should not be forgotten either, urging
believers to pray for their health and redemption.

Easter messages. In an Easter video message posted on social media, president Klaus
Iohannis wished Romanians to enjoy peaceful holidays together with their loved
ones. Prime minister Viorica Dancila also wished Romanians a happy Easter, good
health and to enjoy the pleasant moments spent with their loved ones. She said
in a press release that Easter is a blessed time, full of faith and hope and
bringing us closer to the divinity that exists in people and giving us the
chance of a new beginning. May the holy day of Resurrection bring inner peace
and prosperity to all Romanians and fulfilment and recognition at home and
abroad to the Romanian army, said the defence minister Gabriel Les in his
Easter message.

Holidays. More than 22,000 police,
security and border forces, firefighters and paramedics have been mobilised in
Romania for the Easter and Labour Day holiday to oversee traffic and large
gatherings of people. Over 900 public events are held over this period,
attracting around 1 million people. The Romanian authorities are also working
with their counterparts in the neighbouring Hungary and Bulgaria at the busiest
border crossing points. The customs authorities in Romania and the Republic of
Moldova have agreed on a set of measures to speed up traffic across the common
border during the Easter holidays. This involves additional border administrative
staff, opening all border check point lanes and coordination with the regional
border police structures.

European elections. The campaign for
the European Parliament elections on the 26th of May began on
Saturday in Romania. This country is entitled to 33 seats in the European
Parliament, with the 33rd seat to be awarded however when the UK
formally leaves the European Union. 13 political parties and three independent
candidates are in the race. 441 polling stations have been set up abroad for the
Romanians in the diaspora, including 76 in Italy, 50 in Spain and 25 in
Germany. A referendum on the judiciary called by president Klaus Iohannis will also take place at the
same time as the elections for the European Parliament.

Spain elections. More than 36 million voters are taking part in parliamentary elections
in Spain. The government led by the socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez
called early elections after failing to secure the necessary support for the
budget. His cabinet had the shortest term in the last 40 years. Sánchez is
leading in opinion polls, but is unlikely to obtain absolute majority, which
means parties will seek to form a coalition. According to Radio Romania’s
correspondent in Madrid, 100,000 people under guardianship will be allowed to
vote following a change in electoral law. Another first is the candidacy of
Vox, a far-right party that has seen a rise in opinion polls.