Patriarch Daniel urges support for Romanian families abroad on Migrants’ Sunday

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church has called for stronger spiritual and family ties with Romanians living abroad, saying Orthodox parishes in the diaspora have become places where migrants can preserve their faith, language and cultural identity. In a message for the Sunday of Romanian Migrants, observed this year on 16 August, the Patriarch said the Church remembers in prayer those who have left Romania temporarily or permanently, as well as families separated by migration, children who remain at home and parents awaiting the return of their sons and daughters. “Romanian Orthodox parishes outside Romania have become true spiritual homes, places where the Orthodox faith, the Romanian language and Romanian traditions are preserved and passed on to children and young people,” Patriarch Daniel said. “In church, Romanians living abroad feel at home.” The Romanian Orthodox Church has observed the Sunday of Romanian Migrants on the first Sunday after the Dormition of the Mother of God since 2009, building on an initiative launched three years earlier in the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina. Romanians living abroad feel at home in church Every year, on the first Sunday after the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Romanian Orthodox Church observes the Sunday of Romanian Migrants, a day of prayer and communion with all the sons and daughters of our nation who are living far from their homeland. This Sunday was established by a decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2009, continuing an initiative launched in 2006 in the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina as an expression of pastoral care for the millions of Romanians who live and work outside Romania. The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has proclaimed 2026 as the Solemn Year of the Pastoral Care of the Christian Family and the Commemorative Year of the Holy Women in the Calendar (Myrrh-bearers, Martyrs, Nuns, Wives and Mothers). The Church has a duty to support and strengthen the Christian family, providing pastoral guidance and spiritual support throughout every stage of family life: the Christian education of children, the preparation of young people for marriage, overcoming the difficulties of life, and strengthening the bonds of love among family members. We live at a time when the institution of the family, both in Romania and in the diaspora, faces numerous challenges. In this context, the role of the family in the Church and in society requires deeper understanding and appreciation. The Church remembers in prayer all her sons and daughters who, for various reasons or because of difficult circumstances in life, have left their native places to settle, temporarily or permanently, in another country. Thus, the Church prays for families separated by distance, for children who have remained at home, for parents awaiting the return of their sons and daughters, and for all those who carry in their hearts a longing for home and for the Church in which they were baptised. Holy Scripture shows us that the experience of displacement, wandering or exile is also present in the history of salvation. The Patriarch Abraham answered God’s call by setting out for an unknown land. Joseph, the son of the Righteous Jacob, lived far from his family home, while the chosen people experienced the pain of exile on several occasions. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, while still a child, was compelled by circumstances to flee into exile in Egypt together with His Mother, the Virgin Mary, and the Righteous Joseph. The Church therefore looks with love and responsibility upon all those who live far from their homeland, knowing that God is close to every person living among strangers. Romanians who have settled in the diaspora wish to feel that they have not been forgotten, that they remain part of the same spiritual family of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and that the prayers of those at home accompany them always and everywhere. Romanian Orthodox parishes outside Romania have become true spiritual homes, places where the Orthodox faith, the Romanian language and Romanian traditions are preserved and passed on to children and young people. They bear witness to the fact that, in church, Romanians living abroad feel at home. The pastoral, liturgical, philanthropic, and cultural work of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the diaspora promotes family unity, the Romanian language, the Orthodox Christian faith, and Romanian culture, in dialogue with the spiritual and cultural values of the countries where Romanians live. Therefore, we desire that Romanian families in the diaspora should bear and raise faithful, diligent, and generous people who cherish Romanian spirituality and promote friendship among peoples. On this day of prayer, we entrust all Romanian migrants to the protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, and we ask all those who have remained in Romania to keep alive their spiritual bond with their loved ones who have settled abroad. Let us remember them in prayer, welcome them all with love when they return home, and give thanks to God for the witness of their faith and Christian love in many countries throughout the world. On this Sunday of Romanian Migrants, we pray to the Most Holy Trinity, the Mother of God and all the saints to grant Romanians living outside Romania peace and good health, joy and hope, steadfastness in the Orthodox faith and fraternal communion. With great esteem and paternal blessing, † Daniel Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Photo: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu