An assembly of hierarchs officiated on Sunday the consecration service for the renewed church and restored mural paintings of the Annunciation Monastery in Rosiers, the first Romanian Orthodox monastic community in Western Europe.
The service was led by Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe, Archbishop Ioachim of Roman and Bacău, and Bishop Nectarie of Ireland and Iceland. The consecration included the blessing of the restored church and newly painted murals, completed in acrylic technique by a team of iconographers coordinated by artist Marian Hulașu.
In his sermon, Archbishop Ioachim reflected on Christ’s commandment to love one’s enemies, emphasising its spiritual depth:
“The commandment ‘Love your enemies’ seems easy when we hear it, but becomes difficult when we must live it. How can we love those who wrong us or take what we have earned honestly? Yet God asks us to love them as He loves us. To deepen this commandment is to understand that it is not the length of words that brings benefit, but their power to reach the heart.”
The Archbishop also expressed joy at reuniting with the Romanian community in Rosiers after 35 years, having shepherded it in its early beginnings:
“I rejoice that, after more than three decades, monastic life here follows the same rule and rhythm as in our monasteries at home.”
Founded in 1991, the Annunciation Monastery in Rosiers was the first Romanian Orthodox monastic establishment in the Western world. It was reorganised by Archbishop Ioachim during his doctoral studies in France, with the support of several Romanian families in the area.
Over the years, the monastery has become both a place of prayer and a symbol of unity and faith for Romanians living in the diaspora.
Photo: Archdiocese of Roman and Bacău
