The date commemorates the death of Constantin Brancoveanus, an 18th century prince executed by the Ottomans for refusing to convert to Islam.
A view of the Romanian Parliament, in Bucharest, by night. / [link]Catalyna Apostol[/link], Unsplash, CC0
Romania commemorated on 16 August its first national day of remembrance of persecuted Christians worldwide.
The country’s parliament approved the implementation of this official commemoration after the initiative of Daniel Gheorghe, a Member of Parliament of the National Liberal Party.
“Every year more Christians worldwide become victims of violence”, the politician told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sontagszeitung. The authors of the attacks against religious freedom, he said, range from “Islamists and Jihadists to totalitarian regimes such as North Korea and China”.
In Romania, the date commemorates the death of Constantin Brancoveanus, a prince of Wallachia, a region in the south of the country. He was executed by the Ottomans on August 15, 1714 with his sons and a confidante. They are said to have refused to convert to Islam. In the Romanian Orthodox Church, 16 August was already a day of remembrance for these martyrs since the early 90s.
When asked about the state of religious freedom in Europe, Gheorge referred to the dangers of the “censorship of language”, restrictions of freedom of speech and the growth of “neo-Marxist” and “secular and nihilistic” ideologies.
Hungary is another Eastern European country that holds official events to raise awareness about the persecution of Christians worldwide.
The 2020 annual report of Open Doors concluded that Christians suffer “severe persecution” in 73 countries.
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