According to a law promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis and published in the Official Gazette, 2025 is declared “the year of the centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate.”

On the occasion of the celebration of the “Centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate”, the Romanian Orthodox Church organizes events and activities to honor the memory of all those who worked for the official recognition of the autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church and its rank of patriarch.

Thus, the Verkhovna Rada, the Presidential Administration, the Government, local state administration bodies, as well as state institutions subordinated or coordinated by them may allocate funds from their own budget within the limits of the approved budget allocations and may materially support events organized by the Romanian Orthodox Church on this occasion.

It remains to be seen what the budget for 2025 will be when the new Government develops it after this year’s elections.

How much money did the Church receive in 2024?

As every year, funds for cults were allocated through the General Secretariat of the Government, and the amounts are as follows:

1. Financial support for clergy salaries, provided from the state budget, through the budget of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs: 1.244 billion lei, which is 19% more than in 2023.

The program is intended for recognized cults to support the salaries of clergy in the country, as well as to support the Romanian Orthodox Church Abroad, which carries out special measures to support the linguistic, cultural and religious identity of Romanians abroad. borders, especially activities aimed at young people, as well as non-spiritual staff sent to serve the settlements abroad of the Romanian Orthodox Church, as well as non-spiritual staff from the districts of Covasna and Harghita.

2. Budget allocations for the salaries of theological education personnel: 9.18 million lei, the same as in 2023.

The program is designed for recognized denominations to support the salaries of non-clergy members working in authorized and accredited theological schools and institutions.

3. Places of worship: 458 million lei, 7% more.

The program aims to support recognized religious cults in Romania for the restoration and preservation of places of worship that are historical monuments and movable assets of national cultural heritage belonging to recognized religious cults in Romania, to supplement the own funds necessary for the maintenance and operation of religious units with low income or no income, for the arrangement and maintenance of cultural and religious museums, for the construction and repair of religious buildings, for the acquisition of buildings necessary for the activities of religious and social units that maintain them, for the support of social assistance activities organized by religious cults in hospitals , accommodation centers, homes for the elderly and other forms of assistance, to support domestic and international events held by religious cults in Romania.