Chișinău, October 13, 2026
Photo: mitropoliabasarabiei.md
Families, from small children to grandparents, filled the center of Chișinău on Sunday, October 11, many of them dressed in traditional costume, as more than 1,000 people took part in the Rooted in Tradition Family March. Priests walked alongside them, praying together as they went.
The Archdiocese of Chișinău of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s Metropolis of Bessarabia organized the event, held as part of the Year of Pastoral Care for the Christian Family in the Romanian Patriarchate, the Metropolis reports.
The procession began at the monument to Holy Voivode Stephen the Great. His Eminence Metropolitan Antonie of Chișinău and more than 100 priests and deacons offered prayers there alongside the faithful who’d come from towns and villages across the diocese.
Photo: mitropoliabasarabiei.md
They prayed for families, for love and harmony between spouses, for the raising of children and for peace in homes. They also prayed for people who are alone, widows and orphans, and those suffering from illness and hardship.
From the monument, the participants set off down Stephen the Great Boulevard, and other families joined them along the way. Young people in traditional dress led the column, carrying icons dedicated to the feast and to the Year of the Family. Metropolitan Antonie and the clergy followed, then parents and grandparents, and behind them the crowd of the faithful of all ages.
The march ended at the city hall, where a conference titled The Family: Between God’s Blessing and the Challenges of Society Today was held.
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