During a special ceremony last Sunday, His Grace Bishop Mihail of Australia and New Zealand consecrated the altar of a new church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos that hosts the Romanian Orthodox community in Christchurch.

The events also marked the patronal feast of the parish church. In the diaspora, the patronal feasts of the parishes are usually celebrated on Sundays to allow the participation of the faithful scattered over much greater distances.

From a chronological point of view, Christchurch Parish is the third Romanian Orthodox parish in New Zealand. Geographically, it is located at the farthest distance from Romania, approximately 18,000 km away.

History of the parish

Christchurch Parish began in 2004. It lost its Maori Anglican Archdiocese-purchased church when the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes ravaged the city.

Two earthquake-damaged residences were available for purchase in 2013. The foundation of the previous church was dismantled, the chapel and social hall were set up, and the geological and structural studies of the earthquake-damaged structures were done in 2013 and 2014.

In 2015, after ten years of ministry in the South Island of New Zealand, priest Emanuel Crainic ended his ministry in New Zealand.

Priest Dan Grădinaru from Wellington was requested to serve South Island Christians in late 2017. During 2016-2018, Bishop Mihail helped set out one of the homes for the next priest and his family.

Also refurbished were the chapel’s facade, the kitchen, the hall next to the chapel for parish social events, social groups, and annexe rooms. Thus, municipal officials granted the home and parish functioning permits.

On September 30, 2018, His Grace Bishop Mihail appointed Father Dan Grădinaru to the South Island ministry as a permanent priest for Christchurch’s Dormition of the Theotokos parish.