Welfare and charity in the Romanian Orthodox Church

Immediately after 1990, the Romanian Orthodox Church founded the section "Church and Society", responsible for the Church’s social and charitable initiatives, as well as a social welfare office. At the same time, departments of theology and social welfare were created in the faculties of Orthodox theology, so as to ensure, within a few years, the presence of trained personnel necessary for the further development of the Church’s charity work.
The foundations for charitable activities (diaconate) in the patriarchal administration were laid in 1993 and focused on the development of certain programmes ("Emergency assistance for poor families", "Indirect aid for poor children or families with several children", "Family and social neglect: causes, effects, remedies" etc.). The Romanian Orthodox Church also organised numerous conferences, focused on the development and effectiveness of the Church’s social activities.
The activity of the social welfare office of the Romanian Orthodox Church is determined by a regulation governing the organisation and operation of the social welfare system of the Romanian Orthodox Church, approved by the Holy Synod on a provisional basis in 1997 (Resolution no. 3336 of May 1997) and on a permanent basis in 2001 (resolution no. 245 of February 2001). This regulation also encompasses chaplains in hospitals, prisons and military institutions.
At the local level, since 1999, offices have been put in place to coordinate the welfare activities of the Orthodox Church, staffed by priest-counsellors in welfare. The goal of this organisation is to implement a system of charitable assistance that is well-articulated and organised and supported by a network of professional social workers in conjunction with the traditional institutional structures of the Church (bishoprics, deaneries, parishes). It should also be connected as much to the system of religious assistance in state institutions as to autonomous associations and foundations of Orthodox character created after 1989. The system was fully established with its inclusion in the new statute on the organisation and functioning of the Romanian Orthodox Church which came into force in 2008.
In 2003, many people benefited from the welfare and charity programmes of the Romanian Orthodox Church: 55,900 children, 44,500 elderly people, 51,800 families or students on low incomes, jobseekers, released prisoners, the handicapped or homeless. The creation of many religious organisations and foundations whose primary purpose is the development of missionary, cultural and philanthropic activities also proves the ROC’s interest in an active involvement in society. As a result, over 60 such associations participated in the "National Conference of NGOs working with the blessing of the Romanian Orthodox Church" (3-5 September 2002).