Bucharest, June 6, 2025
Photo: romania-insider.com
The Romanian Orthodox Church has issued a statement condemning the Bucharest Pride March scheduled for June 7, the eve of Pentecost.
The Church considers the timing to be provocative and inappropriate, calling the event harmful to young people.
In Ukraine, KyivPride is also holding an event on the eve of Pentecost.
While reaffirming its theological position that homosexuality contradicts Orthodox teaching, the Patriarchate urges Orthodox believers to avoid provocations, offensive language, or violent behavior toward Pride participants. The statement calls on believers to intensify prayers for the Christian family during this period.
The statement reads in full:
The Romanian Patriarchate openly expresses its concern and disapproval regarding the upcoming Bucharest Pride March, scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2025, which coincides with the eve of the great feast of Pentecost (also known as Whitsun), a major celebration in the Orthodox Christian calendar.
We consider the scheduling of Bucharest Pride as defiantly juxtaposed to this sacred religious event, which holds profound meaning for all of Christianity.
Therefore, Bucharest Pride is a provocative and inappropriate act, especially in today’s context marked by secular ideologies and social tensions.
We urge all Orthodox believers to intensify their prayers for the Christian family, to refrain from responding to provocations from participants in the Bucharest Pride march, and to avoid offensive language or violent behaviour toward them—actions that contradict the conduct befitting a true member of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
For the Romanian Orthodox Church, such provocative manifestations are especially harmful to young people and innocent children.
Christian teaching, based on Holy Scripture and the writings of the Holy Fathers of the Church, considers homosexuality to be a sin, as it fundamentally contradicts the concept of family and marriage as the union between a man and a woman, an institution established by God, the Creator of the universe and of humanity (Genesis 2:24).
Bucharest Pride is a week-long event, held annually since 2004. Organized by ACCEPT, Romania’s largest LGBT rights organization, it receives government funding from the Ministry of Health and National Council for Combating Discrimination, plus support from private groups including the Open Society Institute and British Council. The festival includes “cultural” events like films, exhibitions, theater, and parties, alongside seminars on LGBT issues, culminating in a pride parade.
Last month, LGBT demonstrations and propaganda were banned in the Moldovan capital of Chișinău.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
