Patriarch Daniel, primate of the Rumanian Orthodox Church, sent a message yesterday for the celebrations for the laying of the first stone of the Rumanian Orthodox Church of “Santa Trinità e San Nicola” in Bari. In the message, the Patriarch calls the Church “the first gate to heaven for Rumanians in Italy” and thanked all the people who contributed “to the decision of designing and building this first Rumanian Orthodox Church in Italy”: the authorities, the church architects, the benefactors who gave the funds for the building, and the whole parish community. The church that will be built – the Patriarch writes – “will be factual evidence of the faith and dignity of Orthodox Rumanians in Italy”. Yesterday, in Bari, the religious celebration for the laying of the first stone ended with the signature of the agreement between the ecclesial and civilian authorities (Rumanian and Italian). The agreement was signed on two leather scrolls, one of which, wrapped in a steel cylinder, was placed under the altar of the future church.

© SIR - sept 21 2009