The Romanian Patriarchate believes that the announcement of January 6 – Epiphany and January 7 – the Cathedral of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist as non-working holidays is an opportunity for those who wish to participate in religious ceremonies on these days.

• Two new free days from 2024: January 6 and 7 / Law, in the Official Gazette

“Taking into account the religious significance of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, as well as the practical consequences of this religious holiday, the Romanian Patriarchate appealed to the heads of the two chambers of the parliament with a request to declare January 6 as an official day off, in which work is prohibited. The introduction of this day as an official day off, on which no work is carried out, is an approach in which those who wish to participate in religious ceremonies on this day will have all the conditions to do so,” the office said in a statement. The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, transmitted on Monday and quoted by Agerpres.

The BOR notes that in several European states, mainly Orthodox or Catholic, such as Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain or Sweden, January 6 was included in non-working official holidays, precisely because its religious significance.

Closely related to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, according to the BOR, the commemoration of the one who performed the Baptism of the Lord, the holy prophet John the Baptist on January 7, according to the statistics of the Ministry of the Interior, approximately 2,002,000 Romanians celebrate their birthday, with John being the most common by name in Romania.

On the other hand, the quoted source notes, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021 in Romania, 642,149 citizens of Moldova were registered as residents of Romania.

“They are joined by other citizens of Moldova who visit our country on the occasion of major religious holidays, such as Christmas. Since Moldovan citizens follow the old-style calendar, Christmas is celebrated by them every year on January 7. Christmas is also celebrated on this day by believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Vicariate, worship services of the Romanian Orthodox Church, as well as believers of the Serbian Orthodox Episcopate of Timisoara and the Old Orthodox Church in Romania, officially recognized religious cults in Romania, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 489/2006 reissued. In this context, given the religious importance of January 7, the Romanian Patriarchate has also requested to declare it an official non-working day off,” said the BOR press release.

The cited source also reports that predominantly Orthodox countries in Europe, such as Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine, have established January 7 as a non-working day off.

The Patriarchate “with joy” welcomes the publication in the “Official Monitor” of the legal norms according to which the days of January 6 – Baptism of the Lord – Epiphany and January 7 – the Cathedral of the Holy Prophet John the Forerunner became legal holidays in Ukraine. which is not working, and thanks to members of the Parliament and the President of Romania, who considered his arguments “reasonable” and “beneficial” for the Romanian family and society.​