Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church welcomed on Tuesday Marija Kapitanovic, the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Bucharest.
"During the meeting, the role and the importance of keeping the Christian values were highlighted, a role in this regard having both the Croatian Christian community of Romania and the Romanian Orthodox community of Zagreb, as well as Croatia's small communities of Istro-Romanians," according to a release sent to AGERPRES by the Department for Church and Inter-Religious Relations and Romanian Ecclesiastical Communities Abroad of the Romanian Patriarchy.
Marija Kapitanovic showed that there are approximately 5,000 Croatian ethnics living in Romania, organised in an old community, dating back to the 16th - 17th centuries, which are well integrated in the Romanian society and keep their identity of Croatian language and culture.
Patriarch Daniel underscored that there is a special ethnic diversity in western Romania which enables the cultural exchanges and creates opportunities to promote skills and characteristics belonging to each community, in harmony, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. "In this regard, the cultural and linguistic communities must be respected, protected and encouraged," the High Hierarch pointed out. AGERPRES
