Romania: Timisoara European Capital of Culture for 2023. The events of the Christian Churches. Ecumenical festival for young people

Timișoara, a multiethnic, multicultural and multiconfessional Romanian city, is a European Capital of Culture for 2023. And 17 February 2023 marked the start of the official programme of events involving the Churches during this special year. According to a statement addressed to SIR news agency by the press office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Timișoara, on 1-7 May, the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Reformed and Evangelical Churches will be holding the Ecumenical Youth Fest: an ecumenical festival aimed at young people under the motto “Walking together in the light of Christ”. The event will include round tables, moments of prayer, evening entertainment, and various workshops offered by the Gen Verde group from Italy. In addition, there will be an ecumenical conference from 4 to 8 May on the past and present history of the Banat region, to which the city of Timișoara belongs; between 29 July and 3 August, there will be a European Colloquium of Parishes; and on 16-18 November, at the invitation of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Timișoara, Mgr. Iosif Csaba Pal, the city will host the meeting “Together for Europe”, with about 250 people expected to attend from Romania and abroad. Furthermore, for the whole year of 2023, there will be concerts of sacred music in various churches throughout the city. And because churches are part of the cultural identity of the city, two of the four commemorative stamps issued by the Romanian Post Office feature the Orthodox Cathedral and the Catholic Cathedral of Timișoara.
Cristina Grigore