In Romania, which has an Orthodox
majority, pilgrimages to various monasteries around the country are commonplace
on this occasion. Numerous Orthodox believers gathered around the Nicula
Monastery in Cluj, north-western Romania, while Greek-Catholics attended the
religious service at the St. Mary s Sisters Church in Cluj-Napoca.
Thousands of believers of various
denominations gathered at the Maria Radna Basilica in Arad, western Romania,
where the religious service was offered in several languages, Hungarian,
Romanian, German and Croatian. And because St. Mary is also known as the patron
saint of sailors, on August 15th Romania also celebrates its Navy
Day, with a series of religious and military ceremonies in its ports and cities
at the Black Sea and the Danube. The Navy Day was marked on Sunday in the
Military Port of Constanta, on the Black Sea coast through an anniversary
ceremony, which was also attended by the country s president Klaus Iohannis.