After nine years of sustained efforts, Romanians in South Carolina took part on Sunday in the consecration of the Church of St Gregory the Theologian in Easley, the only Romanian parish in this U.S. state.
The consecration service was led by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas, together with Assistant Bishop Damaschin of Dorna from the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți, alongside a group of priests and deacons. During the service, Athanasios McClain was instituted as a reader.
In recognition of the community’s sacrifice and dedication, Metropolitan Nicolae presented the parish with an icon of Jesus Christ and awarded the parish priest, Fr Bogdan Cojoleancă, the Order of “Saints Constantine and Helena” for his missionary and pastoral work among Romanians in the area.
At the Metropolitan’s invitation, believers venerated the Holy Altar, kissing the Holy Table, the Gospel Book and the Holy Cross, and received icon cards depicting St Gregory the Theologian.
A living relationship with God
Assistant Bishop Damaschin of Dorna interpreted the Gospel passage on the healing of the ten lepers, stressing the importance of gratitude and a living relationship with God and one’s neighbour.
“Good person, do not forget your friends, neither in good times nor in bad. Through those around you, you draw near to God; and if you despise or forget them, you separate yourself from Him,” the bishop said.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Nicolae highlighted the meaning of consecrating a church, describing the rite as “a call to a spiritual pilgrimage, from outside the world into the church”, culminating in the Eucharistic encounter with Christ and foreshadowing believers’ entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Brief history
The Romanian Orthodox Mission of St Gregory the Theologian in the Greenville area of South Carolina was established on 26 August 2017 for Romanian Orthodox faithful in the region.
The community moved to its current liturgical space in Easley in December 2020, and since October 2023, its pastoral life has been coordinated by Fr Bogdan Cojoleancă, a former director of the Theological Seminary in Suceava.
In the summer of 2024, renovation, structural strengthening and interior beautification works began inside the church.
Photo: Archdiocese of Suceava and Radauti
