The newly-established Romanian Orthodox parish in Dubai celebrated its patronal feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos for the first time. Father Alexandru Truşcan was presented as parish priest of the Romanian community. The delegate of the Romanian Patriarch at the events held in Dubai between September 7-11, 2021, was Protosyncellus Iachint Vardianu from Radu Vodă Monastery in Bucharest.

Patronal feast

The services were held in the church of the Patriarchate of Antioch in Jebel Ali.

The festal Vespers were attended by His Grace Bishop Gregorios of the United Arab Emirates (Antioch Patriarchate). Father Alexandru Truşcan was installed as rector of the parish at the end of the Vespers service.

The Divine Liturgy on the feast day was presided over by Bishop Gregorios.

The hierarch congratulated Father Alexandru and encouraged him in the new mission entrusted to him.

Attendees included Romania’s Consul General to Dubai Nicoleta Teodorovici, Romanian diplomats, and members of the Romanian community.

Reception at the Consulate

To honour the establishment of the Romanian Orthodox Parish, the Consulate of Romania in Dubai offered a reception on Sept. 11.

“We thanked the members of the Initiative Committee for the establishment of the parish, who were involved in starting the project to have a Romanian church in the Emirates,” Fr. Alexandru Truşcan said.

Father Iachint Vardianu conveyed the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and urged the faithful “to get involved with the same enthusiasm so that the project of the Romanian Church in Dubai becomes a dream come true, unto the glory of God and to the unity of the Romanian community in the Emirates.”

The Romanian parish in Dubai was established earlier this summer. The Patriarchate of Antioch announced in a press release that “this unique joint initiative was proposed by the Patriarchate of Romania to serve the spiritual needs of the many Romanian Orthodox Christians living in Dubai, which is part of the territory of the Patriarchate of Antioch.”

The communiqué emphasized, in the words of Patriarch Daniel, that this new parish “will strengthen even more both the centuries-old relationship between our two sister Orthodox Churches and the Orthodox presence and witness in this part of the world.”