The Life-Giving Spring Romanian Orthodox Parish in Long Valley, New Jersey, has announced the consecration date for its Maramureș-style wooden church built to honour the Centennial of Romania’s Great Union: May 1st. It is the first church in the US built in this style.
The foundation was blessed by Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas on the second Sunday after Easter, in 2018 – the Centennial Year of Romania’s Great Union.
The “Reunification of the Nation” Wooden Church should have been finished on December 1, 2018, for the 100-year anniversary of the Great Union. Yet work has been delayed by unpredicted difficulties. Parish Priest Ionuț Voicu, born in Romania, in Prahova county, declared for the Romanian media that work is progressing slowly, but predictably now.
“On this plot of land which saw Romanian children playing and Romanian adults dancing folk dances dressed in national costumes from all over Romania, a community was blessed. Two years ago, there was only a foundation rock. Now, the hope of our souls has risen. A new gate to heaven is ready to pass the prayers of those who devotedly come to it,” transmitted the parish priest in the community’s news bulletin.
He invited Romanians from the whole US East Coast to the consecration ceremony. The service will be officiated by His Eminence Nicolae, Metropolitan of the Americas.
The bell of the new church was donated by a Romanian family from New York. It carries the following inscription:
“We, the sons of the Romanian nation from all over the world, have the same origins, the same nature and a sole and unified language and culture.”
The Crăciun family (Laura, Liliana, Radu, Florica and Francisc) said they made the donation “with longing and love for Romania, to support the Romanian-American community from the New York/New Jersey area”.
The parish priest has distributed on Facebook a touching story about the mobilization of the Romanian community around this project.
A parishioner, Carmen Vasile Busch, says God “wanted to revive a community. He wanted the widow’s offering, a tenth from the children.”
The parish priest, “when he does not visit somebody for prayer and blessing, and when he is not officiating in the church, can be found on the building site, working together with the contractors who build the roof, which is being raised with huge efforts. Each member of the community contributes with all they can,” adds the Romanian parishioner.
“People coming from everywhere stop to take photos. It is a wonder of building. A few days ago I was there and one of the builders, an American, told me he suggests to all who stop for a photo to make a donation. The workers have also been inspired by this proiect,” concluded Carmen Busch.
The church is 32 meters high, 13 meters wide and 30 meters long. The iconostasis, the crosses, the icons and the furniture are being made by traditional artisans from the Romanian village of Bârsana, in the county of Maramureș.
The Life-Giving Spring Parish was established in 2011 and, since 2016, it has functioned at Long Valley, 132 California Rd., New Jersey 07853. The new wooden church is being built at the same location.
Photo credit: Facebook / Biserica Izvorul Tamaduirii New Jersey
