Bucharest, June 18, 2025
Photo: stirileprotv.ro
The Romanian Orthodox Church has issued a statement expressing deep concern over the recent escalation of domestic violence cases in Romania. The Patriarchate condemns all forms of violence as incompatible with Christian teaching, emphasizing that abuse causes lasting physical and psychological trauma to victims.
The statement emphasizes that the Patriarchate regularly organizes domestic violence prevention courses across diocesan centers in Romania and Moldova, while directing priests to provide moral and material support to victims.
The full statement reads:
Following the escalation of domestic violence cases in Romanian society and the abominable crimes that occurred recently (Cosmopolis neighborhood, Ilfov County, and Lipănești locality, Prahova County), the Romanian Patriarchate expresses its deep concern regarding these phenomena, which severely affect human dignity and family unity.
Any manifestation of violence is incompatible with Christian teaching, and all forms of abuse wound not only the body but also the soul of the assaulted person, causing trauma that is difficult to heal in the long term.
Therefore, the Romanian Orthodox Church is not indifferent to these manifestations of hatred and violence. In this regard, the Romanian Patriarchate constantly organizes, at the level of diocesan centers throughout the country and in the Republic of Moldova, domestic violence prevention courses. Likewise, priests have the pastoral duty to offer moral and material support, to listen and encourage victims of domestic violence to seek help, and to facilitate efficient collaboration with qualified institutions for the protection of abused persons.
Let us pray for peace in families and offer concrete support, comfort, and hope to victims of domestic violence.
According to a study published by Eurostat in November 2024, Romania ranks fourth in the European ranking in terms of violence against women in the family or by their partner.
Two of the recent domestic violence cases that prompted the Romanian Patriarchate’s statement involved young women killed by former partners who had histories of abuse and harassment. In Lipănești, Prahova County, a 22-year-old woman was murdered on the street in front of her children by her ex-boyfriend, whom she had left due to his abusive behavior. Two weeks earlier in Cosmopolis, 23-year-old Teodora, who was six months pregnant, was shot in the chest and killed by a man she had previously been in a relationship with and who had been threatening and harassing her since 2021.
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