Romanian churches and landmark buildings were illluminated in red on the evening of August 16 to mark the first National Day of Remembrance of the Brancoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians.
To show the Romanians’ awareness regarding violence and persecution against Christians, which continues even today in the world, buildings from Romania’s capital city and throughout the country were illuminated in red.
The law proclaiming August 16 as “National Day of Remembrance of the Brancoveanu Martyrs and of Awareness of Violence against Christians” was ratified by Romania’s President on July 16.
The day of August 16 was chosen to coincide with the feast of the Holy Brâncoveanu Martyrs, commemorated by the Romanian Orthodox Church on this day. They symbolize the Romanians fight for independence, affirmed through their cultural and religious Christian ethos.
The aim of the national day is to inform the public, including young people, about the role of Christianity in the history of Romania and of the nature and extent of anti-Christian persecution, which continues to these days.
The Romanian Patriarchate has welcomed the proclaiming of this national day of remembrance and has advocated for “the memorial recovery of Christian martyrdom and for the protection and promotion of religious freedom as a fundamental right of every human person”.
According to Open Doors, a global Christian NGO network, eight Christians are killed for their faith across the Globe daily.
Open Doors has also reported 260 million persecuted Christians between November 1st, 2018 and October 31st, 2019.
Photo courtesy of Presidency.ro (article opening)