The Romanian Orthodox Church will support a series of marches in support of traditional family values that will take place this spring all over Romania, the Holy Synod decided on Thursday.

The event, called “March for Life 2017 - Help the mother and the baby. They depend on you” will be organized nationwide on March 25, when the Annunciation is also celebrated.

“Through this event, the values of the traditional Christian family will be declared in all the dioceses of the Romanian Patriarchy,” according to a statement from the Romanian Patriarchy.

Update: The Romanian Patriarchy's press office made several clarifications related to the big march, on Friday. The Holy Synod's decision was to bless and support the march, but the events have various organizers in different cities. The first such marches were organized by the Pro Vita association.

The Orthodox Church's march comes as a referendum is expected to be organized in Romania on changing the way family is defined in Romania's constitution. Several organizations advocating for the values of the traditional family raised some 3 million signatures last year to have the Constitution changed in order to define family as made of a man and a woman instead of two spouses.

The Holy Synod also called to “prayer, dialogue and social-responsibility to overcome the state of conflict in today’s society.” Moreover, during the Thursday meeting, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church also referred to the migration, urging parents who work abroad to take their children with them or to come back home to their children, “as they suffer especially because of the lack of physical and emotional presence of their parents.”

The Holy Synod also approved enhanced measures that would make sure that the religious ceremonies take place in a peaceful manner.

Romanian SocDem leader wants referendums on traditional family and politicians’ immunity

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Basilica.ro)