The works of the 83rd Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States of America took place this year in a special setting, specific to the pandemic period we are going through, the participation of clergy and delegates from each parish being exclusive by audio-visual means, but in a formal setting, by their presence in the parish churches from where they attended and participated in the works of the Congress.
On Wednesday, September 2nd, the Archdiocesan Council of the Archdiocese met in a virtual meeting, preparing in detail the Agenda of the Congress, and approving the documents to be sent to priests and delegates. On the agenda of the Archdiocesan Council were other administrative and pastoral-missionary topics.
The first day of the Virtual Congress was on Friday, September 4th, 2020, starting at 2PM EDT on the zoom.us portal. Due to the extraordinary way of organizing this year's Congress, the mandates of the participants from each parish were received, studied and validated by a Credential Commission, thus establishing the presence of all parishes, missions and monasteries of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States of America.
The prayer of invocation of the Holy Spirit and blessing of the Congress, performed by His Eminence Nicolae, Archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States of America and Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, marked the beginning of the 83rd Congress. The prayer was followed by the words of welcome of His Eminence to the priests and delegates of the Archdiocese. His Eminence emphasized the extraordinary character of this Congress and the fact that, although we are going through a difficult and uncertain period, we must adapt to these times and live in hope in God, finding solutions to bring us closer to each other and to be together, even if not physically, at least virtually being partakers of the joy of reunion. Special guest was also His Grace Ioan Casian, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, who addressed everyone, expressing his joy to be with them in prayer and care for the work of the Archdiocese of the USA.
After the roll call it was noticed that out of 35 parishes and monasteries in the USA all were present through priest and / or delegates, also that both parishes in South America (Holy Emperors of Caracas, Venezuela and St. Andrew of Buenos Aires, Argentina) were present as well as the AROLA and ROYA organizations. Out of a total of 45 priests and deacons of the Archdiocese, only 2 were missing, and out of a total of 71 lay delegates with official mandates from the parishes, only 5 were missing, thus having a total of 109 participants (priests and delegates), HE Nicolae declares the Congress valid constituted. The report of the Credential commission was presented by Fr. Ștefan Drăgoi. Following the approval of the Congress Agenda and the validation of the two secretaries in the person of Fr. Daniel Ene and Fr. Nicholas Apostola, the following motion was introduced: In consideration of the special situation of the 83rd Congress, and the constraints place on delegate participation because of the COVID 19 Pandemic, and of its virtual nature, the Archdiocesan Council is recommending to the Congress to EXTEND THE MANDATE of the persons currently serving on the Archdiocesan Council and the Archdiocesan and Metropolitan Consistory for another two year term/ or until next in person ordinary Congress. Therefore, Father Nicholas Apostola, as administrative vicar, PROPOSED to the 83rd Congress the adoption of this motion. The motion was accepted by a vote. The Minutes of the 2018 Congress were then presented, which, having no correction or addition, was received in the form presented.
An important moment of the Agenda was the Activity report of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae. The report included the pastoral-missionary activity of the last two years with an emphasis on the visits to the parishes on the occasion of the feasts and other occasions. It is observed the active and real involvement of His Eminence in the daily life of our parishes by knowing the problems and discussions with the members of the Parish Councils. The report was received with admiration and hope in strengthening the work of our Archdiocese and strengthened by the voice of gratitude and thanks of priests and delegates to His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae for the extraordinary way he pastored in these times of pandemic.
Then followed the Report of the Department of Education for Children and Youth, introduced by Father Dean Daniel Ene and Mrs. Mirela Manga of Troy MI. The report was based on Victor Hugo's words: "Every child we train is a man we win." The first part of the report highlighted the difficulty caused by the COVID 19 pandemic and its implications for the educational work of our parishes and the commission in general. The transition to online lessons was a challenge for all the actors involved, especially for those who support the work of the Parish Schools in our Metropolia. The second part of the report was structured in 3 parts. 1) Parish Schools, where it was highlighted that, since the last Congress, the number of Schools has increased from 37 to 45. In the United States we have 22 parishes, out of a total of 35 parishes, which carry out school activity, having a number of 518 students; 2) Religion Olympics: the report talks in detail about the organization of the 10th edition of the 2019 Olympics, but also about the fact that, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the 11th edition of the 2020 Olympics was canceled. 3) The summer camps, which take place every year at the Protection of the Mother of God Monastery in Allegan MI and are in the care of Father Atanasie Popescu, could have been organized traditionally, face to face, only in 2019. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the summer camp of 2020 was organized virtually for children aged 7 to 14 years in two weekends in July. He also mentioned in the power-point presentation about the project "With Creanga on the streets of the village" carried out in 2019. Received with great joy, the report of the Commission for Education ended with the urge to priests and delegates to support the activity of the parochial and Romanian schools.
Father Vasile Mureșan introduced the Report of the Publications Department. Editorial and technical aspects related to the Almanac and Credința Magazine were highlighted, which are the main components of the Department. At the end of 2018, the album "Pages of history of Romanian Orthodoxy in America" was completed. The book marked the events of the enthronement in Chicago and Montreal in 2017, as well as the previous ones in Bucharest in the fall of 2016. The report also highlights the fact that work is underway on the second edition of the brochures "Holy Baptism" and "Holy Matrimony” in Romanian and English. Work also began on "The Romanian-English Bilingual Molitfelnic for the use of the priests of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas" and on the publication of a Register of Services for parishes. The register will comprise 3 parts: Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals and will have 400 pages.
Then followed the ROYA Report introduced by the young Pompiliu Gîrlonța from Sacramento CA, vice-president of ROYA. Looking back on these two years, ROYA has organized seven camps, Facebook Live conferences, and several fundraising activities on various occasions. Among the events organized were the 2018 and 2019 ROYA Congresses, the 2018-2019 winter camp, and Heritage Month in 2020. Mention was made of the visit of Archdeacon Sorin Mihalache in September 2019. Discussions covered topics such as "What is divine grace and how it we acquire" and "How to Become a Healing Presence. "
The last part of the first day of the Virtual Congress ended with the presentation entitled "10 keys for an efficient management of the church" by Father Dean Daniel Ene. In the plenary of the Congress there was a short presentation of the material already sent electronically to all participants, emphasizing the need for such an approach in the secularized world in which we live. The power-point presentation highlighted in points the 10 keys offered and their practicality in the organizational and administrative work that has ramifications in everything a church does. The presentation was followed by discussions in four groups. The group discussions reinforced the need to maintain a careful administration for the smooth running of our churches.
The first day of the Congress ended with a prayer to the Mother of God.
The next day, Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the Congress began at 1PM EDT with the opening prayer and again with the roll call of the participants. The first item on the agenda was the presentation of "Beyond Youth: Whole Family Ministry," by Nick Lionas, an assistant to Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit. As in the previous day, the short presentation made in plenary was followed by discussion groups. The importance of youth ministry in the work of the church and the ways of fulfilling it in the context of the family were discussed. Immediately after the general presentation followed the word of blessing and greeting to the Congress of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Detroit who came live for a few minutes.
The focus of the discussions on the second day of the Congress was the Inspection Report of the parishes presented by the Deans Daniel Ene and Călin Barbolovici. Two reports were presented to the plenary: Analysis of the annual reports sent by the parishes as well as the General Report of the inspections. The conclusions of the reports and the recommendations for a better functioning of the parishes of the Archdiocese were highlighted. The discussion of these reports made the transition to the need and strengthening of the Mission Fund of the Archdiocese. From this Fund are supported the parish of Sts. Constantine and Helen of Caracas and St. Mary's Parish in Norfolk VA, as well as the new All Saints Mission in San Fernando Valley, CA. During the Congress a video made by Father Antonio Garcia about the Romanian church in Caracas was presented. A short report was also received from Argentina by Mr. Sergiu Ionescu, president of the St. Andrew's Orthodox Christian Association in Buenos Aires.
After a short brake, the Virtual Congress resumed its Financial Reports. Mr. Viorel Moroșan presented the financial reports of revenues and expenses for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 (January - July). The reporting was both general and on the contribution of the parishes. After hearing the audit report presented by Mr. Alexandru Șuba of Cleveland OH, the reports were received by unanimous vote. The budget for 2021-2022 was then discussed, which was also approved by vote in the form presented.
The AROLA Report was also an important point in this last part of the Congress. Mrs. Claudia Aileni, president of AROLA, presented the rich activity, social and educational programs that the organization supported in the period 2018-2020. Countless social and philanthropic activities and their beneficiaries were part of the beautiful power point presentation. Reference was also made to the AROLA conference to be organized virtually on 19 and 20 September 2020.
The last report was of the St. Paraskeva Association presented by Mrs. Mariana Cuceu. The St. Paraskeva Charity, organized in connection with Sts. Constantine and Helen in Chicago, continued its activity, especially through actions to help some orphanages in Romania. In 2018 and 2019 this association strengthened its activity with an impressive budget. The association's projects included: supporting the St. Onufrie Orphanage in Floresti, Cluj for the construction of two of the four houses designed to receive 80 orphans; scholarships for children from the Varlaam School in Iași; "St. Nicholas boots" for children's shoes from Moldova; financial support for the Settlement from Mărcuș Monastery, Covasna County, the Settlements from Găgești, Râșca, Glodeanu, Valea Plopului, the Center for Paralyzed Children from Giurgiu, etc.
Father Daniel Ene, Diocesan Secretary, then read the official messages to: His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, His Grace Ioan Casian, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel and His Grace Andrei of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, His Excellency, US President Donald J. Trump; and a letter to all governors where our Archdiocese has parishes.
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae expressed his final thoughts talking about the mission of the Archdiocese in these times of trial and thanking the organizers and participants in the Congress.
Rev. Fr. Daniel Ene
Archdiocesan Secretary
