On the evening of The Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council Sunday, June 13, 2021, the hierarchs and priests of the Archdioceses of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, respectively of the United States of America participated, through an online platform, in a meeting moderated by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae. The current situations of the two dioceses in the Diaspora were presented and the challenges of today and tomorrow for the Romanian Orthodox communities in the face of secularization were analyzed.

After the opening prayer, His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim took the floor, briefly presenting the history of the Metropolia of Central and Northern Europe. The hierarch emphasized the new situation of the diocese, where the galloping increase in the number of Romanians requires the establishment of new parishes, but also the problem of the small number of places of worship and their own spaces, the precarious economic condition of the altar servants, and the need for catechesis of those who have recently arrived in the new host countries.

Next, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae presented the state of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, already more than four generations of believers, starting with those who arrived at the beginning of the twentieth century, then during the great world wars, overcoming the drama of communism in Romania, which led overseas to the creation of two different Romanian dioceses and reaching today's situation: the relative economic and logistical stability doubled by the danger of losing religious and national identity in a country of all possibilities. To better exemplify the current state of the parishes, Father John Downie of St. Michael's Parish in Southbridge, MA, one of the oldest parishes of the Metropolia (founded in 1924), presented the problems facing his own community: the decrease of the religiosity and of the orthodox conscience, seen concretely by the lack of confession, the precarious knowledge of the teaching of faith and the reserved attitude towards the new arrivals in the parish. Faced with this situation, the father intensified his catechesis and seeks to involve in the parish life both newcomers and young people.

His Grace Sofian, Vicar-Bishop of the Archdiocese of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, then gave a short presentation of the activity with the youth within the diocesan association ATORG and outlined the working directions of church ministers with young people: the mission to attract them to the Eucharistic community must to meet the demands of young people, using the means offered by the times we are in. They often evolve in ways parallel to those used by traditional education, and therefore they must be sought there in an attempt to attract them to the Church. One of the meeting points with young people is charity activity, because involvement in helping others is attractive among those looking for their own way in life. By participating in such actions, young people come to pray, to get closer to each other and to God. However, the hierarch also pointed out that the approach of young people to the Church is necessary to take place in the ecclesiastical spirit, without getting the priests to secularize for the sake of popularity, as today's society tends to do. In the activities carried out, the ministers must aim to familiarize young people with prayer and provide a meaning of their own in the church community: church chanting, as subdeacons, as participants in conferences debating current theological issues, through parish fraternities. To Bishop Sofian’s proposal for twinning between youth associations in America and Germany, HE Nicolae responded positively, recalling the experience of many young people in America during the summer pilgrimages to monasteries and volunteer camps in Romania, from where they return changed. After learning about the concrete life in Romania, coming into contact with a world other than the welfare of America, young people were able to better understand their heritage: family, parents, grandparents and how they lived in the Motherland, before starting a new life on another continent. His Eminence Nicolae then gave the floor to Father Daniel Ene, of the Holy Trinity Parish in Rochester, NY, Dean of the East Coast and Director of educational activities for children and youth. The adaptation of the church activity to the needs of the youth is something new in the diocese but in the meantime the activities for children and youth have diversified, after several years of implementing catechetical programs at the diocesan level, with the help of enthusiastic teachers. There are currently two educational platforms in the American Diocese: the first, following an analytical program over six years, still in development and adapted to three different age groups (4-7, 8-13 and 14-18 years), respectively the new red-religion educational platform from Cluj. To these are added the Religion Olympics and the summer camps by age groups, with the perspective of their development in smaller regions. In support of this project, the most important support was provided by the Association of Romanian Orthodox Ladies’ Auxiliary in America (AROLA). Next, Father Ștefan Drăgoi, from St. Mary's Parish in Norfolk, VA, recently settled in America, presented the joys and challenges of pastoral care in a new community, being appreciated for his missionary work by his hierarch. When asked by Father Aurel Sas about the practice of repeated communion without confession, as is the case in many Greek Orthodox communities in America, Metropolitan Serafim spoke to priests about the importance of the Sacrament of Confession, the development of a conscience of sinfulness and true repentance, main characteristics of the Orthodox ethos. The meeting ended near midnight, with the presentation of artistic moments from St. Dimitrios the New Monastery in Middletown, NY feast day that delighted the audience. Thanking all the priests for participating in this meeting, the three Romanian hierarchs from Diaspora expressed their desire to repeat these conferences through online platforms, for a better mutual knowledge, for the benefit of a more efficient pastoral care.