Romanians worldwide are celebrating the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate through various events. One such event took place in mid-June in Lima, the capital of the Republic of Peru.
The event, titled “Un Siglo de Patriarcado, un Legado de Fe. La Iglesia Ortodoxa Rumana a través de la Historia” (“A Century of Patriarchate, a Legacy of Faith. The Romanian Orthodox Church Through History”), was organized by the Metropolis of the Americas in collaboration with the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Peru.
The meeting was opened by Alexandru-Mihai Dumitru, the Romanian Consul in Lima, who highlighted the historical importance of the Patriarchate’s centennial and the Romanian state’s commitment to supporting Romanian spiritual values in the diaspora.
Father Daniel Ene, diocesan vicar of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States of America, offered a profound historical perspective on the proclamation of the Romanian Patriarchate in 1925, emphasizing that it is the only such process in the Orthodox world that emerged from the desire of the people, not from administrative or political initiatives.
During the event, the vicar presented the American Metropolitan Cross to Her Excellency Camelia Ion-Radu, the Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Peru.
“This distinction—the highest awarded by the Metropolis of the Americas to a layperson—recognizes outstanding diplomatic work, as well as a defining role in the consolidation and unification of Romanian communities in Peru and Bolivia, and in opening missionary paths in Ecuador,” noted the Metropolis of the Americas.
Exhibition on the Romanian Patriarchate Centennial
The event continued with the inauguration of a documentary photography exhibition, composed of rare images, many shown for the first time, illustrating a century of ecclesiastical life in Romania.
Archimandrite Policarp Chițulescu, director of the Library of the Holy Synod, made the exhibition possible.
Monsignor Giuseppe Quirighetti, representing the Apostolic Nunciature in Peru; Athanasios Kafkalidis, Consul of Greece; Marco Antonio Santivañez, Minister in the Peruvian Diplomatic Service; and Elard Alberto Escala Sánchez-Barreto, former Ambassador of the Republic of Peru to Romania, attended the event.
During the gathering, held between June 11 and 13, several officials expressed a desire for Lima to become the host of a future Romanian Orthodox parish, the Metropolis noted.
Photo: mitropolia.us
