This article originally appeared on VICE Romania
Romania is a pious country – about 81 percent of the population practices Orthodox Christianity. The Orthodox Church has so much power in Romania that the government is funding the construction of a €500 million (£418 million) Orthodox megacathedral. One Swedish politician criticised the move as being “pharaoh-esque” in one of the poorest countries of the EU.
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Though the construction is still incomplete, local religious leaders in Bucharest decided to hold a sermon last weekend on a huge stage in front of the church – to celebrate how far they’ve come and to collect even more financial support for its completion. The event was supported by local political leaders – who in the past have had help from the Church to get elected – and whole event was funded from the city’s cultural budget.
A lot of young people from Christian NGOs attended the sermon, many dressed up in traditional Romanian outfits. They prayed, celebrated and held debates – on the subject of the evil spread of homosexuality in the West, for example. Which was worrying to say the least, especially at an event sponsored by a city government in an EU member country, organised by one of the most influential churches in Eastern Europe.
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