To mark the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord and Heroes’ Day, the bells of all Romanian Patriarchate churches will ring at 12:00 to commemorate Romanian heroes.
During the Divine Liturgy, heroes from all periods of Romanian history and from all regions of the country will be honoured, as will those who sacrificed their lives for the defence of the homeland and for national unity.
The commemoration of heroes on this day was established by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1920. This was later reaffirmed by synodal decisions in 1999 and 2001, when the day acquired the status of a national ecclesiastical feast.
According to Law No. 379/2003 concerning the status of memorials and war memorials, the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ was also designated as Heroes’ Day, a national holiday for the Romanian people.
Cathedral of the Heroes
In memory of the Romanian heroes who defended the country, the National Cathedral in Bucharest celebrates Heroes’ Day on Ascension Day. The cathedral’s second feast day celebrates Saint Andrew the Apostle, the patron saint of Romania.
In 2018, to honour the heroes, a register containing the names of all known Romanian heroes was placed at the base of the Holy Altar.
This register can be accessed and searched in a special section entitled ‘Their sacrifice bears their name’ on the Trinitas TV website.
This section contains 1,684 pages listing the names, surnames, ranks or professions, and the wars in which the heroes sacrificed themselves throughout the history of our nation.
In October 2025, the National Cathedral’s mosaic decoration was inaugurated by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Daniel of Romania.
Source: basilica.ro
Photo credit: Basilica.ro / Raluca Ene