The “Holy Resurrection” Parish, Vienna’s first Romanian Orthodox liturgical community, celebrated its 120th anniversary on Bright Tuesday with a ceremony attended by leaders from various Christian Churches.
Among those present were His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe; Metropolitan Arsenios of Austria (Ecumenical Patriarchate); Armenian Bishop Tiran Petrosyan; Coptic Bishop Anba Gabriel; Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Vienna Franz Scharl; and numerous officials.
The programme covered not only a historical overview but also reflections on the current and future state of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Austria.
Speakers included Metropolitan Serafim, Fr Nicolae Dura, Fr Emanuel Nuțu, adviser to the Archdiocese of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, and Fr Prof. Ioan Moga, parish priest of the Romanian Orthodox community “Saint Anthony the Great” in Vienna.
The Romanian Embassy in Austria was represented by Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Andrea Amza-Andraș.
Before the Tuesday event, a Te Deum service took place on Bright Monday at the “Saint Andrew the Apostle” Church in Vienna’s 11th district, where Metropolitan Serafim awarded Fr Nicolae Dura.
The Romanian Consulate in Vienna was represented by Minister-Counsellor Janette-Constanța Carabașu.
Patriarch Daniel’s message
Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued a message to mark the occasion, recalling the origins of the first Romanian Orthodox community in Vienna and congratulating the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful.
“This anniversary is not only an occasion of joy and gratitude for past clergy and faithful, but also a moment of reflection on the present and future responsibility to preserve and pass on the Orthodox faith, values and traditions to the next generations,” he said.
“The Romanian Orthodox community in Vienna remains a landmark of Romanian spirituality and culture, a place where prayer and Christian love are intertwined with pastoral and social work.”
History of the community
In an anniversary editorial, Fr. Nicolae Dura mentioned that Vienna still preserves a site marked by a cross-altar, established in 1683 by Prince Șerban Cantacuzino, where Romanian army priests held the Divine Liturgy during the siege of the imperial city.
In 1907, the Austrian Interior Ministry officially recognised the formation of the “Romanian Orthodox Imperial Jubilee Society for the building of a church and the establishment of a church community” in Vienna.
The parish and its chapel were dedicated under the German name Zur heiligen Auferstehung (“to the Holy Resurrection”). During the First World War, the community safeguarded the relics of Saint John the New of Suceava.
The first Romanian church in Vienna, painted in 1967 by Eugen Profeta, was described by Cardinal Franz König as “the Sistine Chapel of the Viennese Romanians.”
Today, there are 33 Romanian Orthodox parishes in Austria, served by 38 priests and one archdeacon. Of these, ten communities have their own churches.
Photo: Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe
