Religions in Romania

What is religion ? Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics and a philosophy of life.

Religion There is no state religion in Romania. However, an overwhelming majority of the country's citizens are Christian Orthodox %

Other Christian denominations include: - Roman Catholicism (4.7%) - Calvinism (3.7%) -Pentecostal denominations (1.5%) -Romanian Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%). There are also Jewish people and atheists.

Symbols of Religions from Romania

The Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman Catholic Cross The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a usually three-dimensional representation of Jesus' body) and to the more general family of cross symbols.

The Calvinist (Huguenot) Cross The symbolism of the Huguenot cross is particularly rich. The cross, as an eminent symbol of the Christian faith, represents not only the death of Christ but also victory over death and impiety. The elements of the Huguenot cross mirrored those of the cross of the 1578 Order of the Holy Spirit, the senior chivalric order of France by precedence.

Pentecostal Symbols Key Pentecostal symbols: fire, doves, and water - are all associated with the Holy Spirit, who, as the main spiritual catalyst for Pentecostals, is the most visible expression of Pentecostal faith.

Churches A building of Orthodox worship is composed of the following parts listed in order from outside to inside: porch the narthex nave the side apses the altar temple veil

The main elements of a church

The Narthex The narthex is the entrance of the church. On it’s walls you can find painted the Ecumenical Councils.

The Nave The nave is the middle side of the church where the people stay to pray. Here you can find the icons with Jesus Christ.

The Altar The altar is the Eastern side of the church. The walls are painted with pictures of saints like Vasile the Great, Ioan The Baptist or events such as The birth of God or The Holy Communion.

Romanian churches In Romania there are 184 churches, from which 119 are made of wood.

The Monastery of Vorone Vorone is a monastery in Romania, located in the town of Gura Humorului, Moldavia. Often known as the "Sistine Chapel of the East", the frescoes at Vorone feature an intense shade of blue known in Romania as "Vorone blue“.

Corbii de Piatra Monastery Corbii de Piatra Monastery (Stone Ravens Monastery) was restored in 1512 by nun Magdalina during the reign of Neagoe Basarab Voivode ( ). In the documents there is no information about when it was built for the first time. The church is delved in stone.

The Cathedral of Curtea de Arge The Cathedral was built by Neagoe Basarab in 1512.It has a fascinating story. The master builder, Manole, was unable to finish the walls of the building so he suggested that they should follow the ancient custom of placing a living woman into the foundations. In the end, Manole was forced to sacrifice his own wife.

Characteristics: it resembles a very large and elaborate mausoleum. it is oblong in shape in the centre rises a dome fronted by two smaller cupolas the windows are mere slits. its legends have inspired many Romanian poets

BONUS ! The Happy Cemetery The Happy Cemetery dates back to 1935 and contains about 800 headstones. The Happy Cemetery in Sapanta, also called "The Folk Art Museum", is a fresco of community life, unique in the world, where the dead are celebrated with humorous poems recalling their lives.

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