A show on Romanian national television interviewed His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas about the activities and way of life of the Romanian diaspora in the United States and Canada.

Metropolitan Nicolae recalled that the first Romanian Orthodox communities in America began to emerge between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The inaugural Romanian parish was founded in Eugenia, Canada, in 1902. Conversely, the first parish established by Romanians in the United States of America occurred in Cleveland in 1904.

“With the establishment of numerous parishes in the United States and Canada by 1929, the missionary Romanian Orthodox diocese was established to serve the Romanian community in America,” His Eminence noted.

Mission of the Metropolis

According to His Eminence, the fundamental objective of his metropolis is to carry out “pastoral and missionary labour, to establish new parishes, and to structure each parish in accordance with stringent criteria – the provision of a church and a conscientious priest who is accessible to his congregation.”

“In addition to maintaining a liturgical calendar, organising a parish entails overseeing an educational initiative catering to the needs of children, adolescents, and adults, as well as providing social and philanthropic support.”

“We try to take care of all these aspects,” according to the metropolitan, including “mission, education, philanthropy, inter-Orthodox dialogue and dialogue with other Christians.”

Parish life over the ocean

Metropolitan Nicolae emphasised that the structures of parishes in the United States and Canada are “vastly different.”

“We have parishes that are one hundred years old or older.” In recent years or after 1990, numerous parishes were established to meet the demands of our pastoral and missionary interests.

These necessities, according to the Romanian Metropolitan in the Americas, “indicate a highly complicated situation.”

“The United States and Canada collectively represent two continents, not one. The distances are considerably vast. Coordinating a mission in a region where 15–20 families are present, and additional families are required to travel considerable distances to unite a congregation presents a formidable challenge.

Caring for young people

In addition, Metropolitan Nicolae elaborated on the metropolis’ concern for youth as demonstrated through catechetical and formative initiatives.

“Without a doubt, educating children and adolescents is the subsequent concern. Our education department has been developing English and Romanian programmes for congregations for the past two decades.”

“The outcomes of these pedagogical endeavours are evident in the Olympiads that we coordinate at both the parish and metropolitan levels, specifically in our metropolitan centres.”

“There are also the youth and children’s camps. Each July, a group of young people from our youth organisation, ROYA, rediscovers the motherland and gains an appreciation for what charitable assistance in Romania entails.” This has been the case for many years.

“Everyone in America owns a bicycle, computer, and automobile.” “This is not the case in Romania; therefore, they have a greater appreciation for what it means to be a Christian,” His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae continued.

The interview was conducted during Metropolitan Nicolae’s visit to Romania in February for the working session of the Holy Synod.

Photography courtesy of Facebook / Putna Monastery

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