The chapel in the Parliament is ready and will be consecrated today by Patriarch Daniel: “A sacred space and a closer connection of parliamentarians to Romanian Orthodoxy”

On Monday, Patriarch Daniel consecrates the chapel inside the Parliament premises, which would be “a space of prayer, silence and celebration of religious services” for those who carry out their activities in the Parliament Palace. The chapel layout was approved just two weeks ago.

The chapel is located on level P, in the area of ​​the official entrance C1, it will be dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle and will be under the canonical and administrative jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Bucharest.

According to the Chamber of Deputies, a consecration ceremony of the chapel in the Parliament will be officiated on Monday, from 17.00, by Patriarch Daniel.

“After the consecration of the chapel, the Blessed Father Daniel, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, the president of the Senate, Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă, and the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfred-Robert Simonis, will give speeches. Members of the Romanian Government, parliamentarians, as well as leaders of central institutions and religious cults are invited to participate in the event”, the Chamber of Deputies reported.

How is the creation of an Orthodox chapel within the Chamber of Deputies motivated

The place of worship would be “a place of prayer, silence and celebration of religious services for those who work in the Palace of the Parliament”.

The leadership of the Parliament approved the arrangement of this chapel just two weeks ago, at the request of the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, PSD deputy Alfred Simonis.

In his request, the deputy says that next year the Romanian Orthodox Church will celebrate the 140th anniversary of the recognition of its autocephaly and the 100th anniversary of its elevation to the rank of Patriarchate, and last month the Parliament adopted the bill regarding the declaration of the year 2025 as the “Centenary Year of the Romanian Patriarchate”.

“Considering the good collaboration between the Chamber of Deputies and the Romanian Orthodox Church, taking into account the fact that places of worship are important symbols of spiritual expression and community involvement, with a primary role, I propose that you agree to the allocation of a space within Chamber of Deputies to serve as an Orthodox chapel and to be a meeting place and celebration of religious events for parliamentarians, employees and guests. Thus, I ask you to empower the General Secretariat to identify such a space and to carry out the necessary steps so that on March 25, with the support of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Chapel of the Chamber of Deputies will be consecrated, which will be identified as a sacred space and a closer connection of the parliamentarians to the Romanian orthodoxy”, it is stated in the request of the deputy Alfred Simonis.