Romania is about 87 percent Orthodox. Most of our students were raised with this tradition. Many of them consider Orthodoxy their religion but they do not take it seriously. It is more of a cultural expectation. However, since this church is prevalent in the country, most people have some level of spiritual understanding.

The orthodox church is much like Russian orthodoxy and relies heavily on praying to dead saints for help. They pray to icons and relics and light candles for their dead relatives. They also pay the priests to pray for them. Several of my students have expressed frustration that their priests seem more interested in the money than in the spiritual nourishment. However, they are reluctant to look into other faiths because of the fear of social isolation.

There is an Orthodox church building on almost every corner in Bucharest and we have been inside several of them. They are very beautiful buildings. The central church for the Orthodox religion is in downtown Bucharest and I have visited it frequently. It is pictured here.