Two Romanian parishes in Georgia, USA, held memorial services on Sunday for math teacher Cristina Irimie, who tragically lost her life last week in the school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.
Father Nicolae Clempuș from St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Church in Dacula (Romanian Orthodox Church) and Father Nicolae Acsente from Sts. Constantine and Helen Romanian Orthodox Church in Lilburn (Orthodox Church in America) conducted the services.
Romanians from Dacula and Lilburn filled both churches, with many attendees wearing traditional Romanian clothing in memory of Irimie, a traditional dance instructor specializing in folk dances from Transylvania.
Media reports include accounts from students who say that the Romanian teacher died while protecting her students from the hail of bullets.
“These accounts are credible given her love for children,” Father Nicolae Clempuș, the priest from Dacula, told Fox 5 Atlanta. The cleric added that Irimie was an essential bridge between generations and a promoter of Romanian culture.
Fox 5 aired video footage from the Sunday services, and The New York Times published photos from the events.
She Gave Her Life Protecting Her Students
“She was fulfilled because she became a teacher, and that was her dream. She always wanted to teach children. She loved children very much. She didn’t have any children of her own, so she used to say that all her students were her children,” Father Nicolae Clempuș told Fox 5 TV.
“To be a math teacher in an American high school today, you have to be a special person, involved in your community and dedicated to your church. You have to be faithful, always smiling, joking, and laughing. You need to be a cheerful and optimistic person. To face evil head-on and give your life in front of your class, you have to be a hero and a role model by definition. Cristina Irimie was all of these. Taken too soon and too suddenly, she will remain in our memories forever. We pray for her husband, Dorin, and the entire grieving family,” wrote the Romanian priest from Dacula, Georgia, on Facebook.
“We will especially raise prayers for the soul of God’s servant, Cristina! We express our condolences to her family and the entire community,” Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas said in a message last Thursday. “We ask the Lord to pour out His mercy and bring comfort to all!”
Meanwhile, both Romanians and Americans have donated nearly $100,000 to cover Cristina’s funeral expenses and support her family.
Cristina Irimie’s body was expected to be returned to her family on Monday, and the funeral arrangements will be announced soon.
In the tragic Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia, two 14-year-old students who had just started high school, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and another math teacher, Richard Aspinwall, also lost their lives.
Photo: Facebook / George Acsente
