Parliament Chapel

Orthodox deputies and senators will, from today, have a place inside the Parliament where they can pray, get in touch with God and maybe even confess to a priest when they feel a heavy conscience because of the votes cast in committee meetings or plenary session, or because of the open words that in the last four years the leaders of the opposition and the leaders of the government threw at each other.

According to a press release sent to the Editor, at the initiative of the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfred-Robert Simonis, the Permanent Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies approved the allocation of a space in the Parliament Palace for the establishment of an Orthodox chapel. The initiative joins the other events that prepare the Centenary Year of the Romanian Patriarchy and represents the expression of the close connection of the parliamentarians with the Romanian Orthodoxy. The place of worship is to be a space of prayer, silence and celebration of religious services for those who work in the Parliament Palace.

The consecration ceremony of the politicians' chapel is to be officiated today, from 5 p.m., by the Blessed Father Daniel, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the place of worship will be patronized by Saint Andrew the Apostle. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the president of the Senate - Nicolae Ciucă and the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies - Alfred Simonis are expected to attend the event, as well as members of the Government, parliamentarians and representatives of central institutions and some religious cults. The chapel will be under the canonical and administrative jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Bucharest.

We do not understand the role of this chapel inside the House of the People, bearing in mind that in the immediate vicinity is the Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation - it is true, a church monument still under construction - but in the courtyard of which there is a small wooden church where several priests serve.

However, taking into account that today the chapel will be put into operation, we remember that there are also many deputies and senators in the Parliament who are of the Greek-Catholic, Catholic, Calvinist or Protestant rite, or of the Mosaic religion, and we are curious if and they will benefit from a place to commune with divinity. Of course, the existence of only the Orthodox chapel resembles discrimination.