Five years ago, at the initiative of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, with the blessing of the parish priest, Fr. John Rallis, of the parish of St. John the Baptist, the administration of the Guardian Angel Orthodox Day School added Romanian to the school’s Foreign Languages program, alongside Greek and Russian. The mission of this school is to provide children with a Christian-Orthodox education, by planting the Christian virtues that lead to the discovery of the image of God in themselves and in those around them.
From the very beginning, the Romanian language program has enjoyed special support, both from the school and from the parents. Children enrolled in this program are between three and fourteen years old. Language is an important dimension of the identity of a people and the objectives of the Romanian language classes and of the activities organized on different occasions are the promotion, learning and deepening of the Romanian language, culture, and Romanian spiritual values.
The school organizes celebrations in the three language programs and such events are eagerly awaited by all students and teachers, as we have the chance to learn and discover the cultural identity of other Christian Orthodox peoples.
On December 1, it is the turn of Romanian children to make their history and traditions known. The celebration of Romania's National Day took place on November 30, the day starting with the Divine Liturgy. The over forty children participating in the event were coordinated by the Romanian language teachers, Preoteasa Sanda Cărbune and Alina Vance.
The celebration was opened by HE Metropolitan Nicolae, who made it known to those present that we are blessed to celebrate Romania’s Day on the day of St. Andrew the Apostle, the patron saint of Romania and the Romanian Orthodox Church. After a beautiful prayer, the children sang the National Anthem.
Those present (re) discovered through literary works and brief stories, moments of the reign of Stephen the Great, canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church, with the name of the Right-believing Voivode and Saint Stephen the Great and celebrated on July 2.
The first scene was “The Mother of Stephen the Great,” followed by the dialogue between Stephen the Great and the Venerable Father Daniil the Hermit, the ruler’s counselor and spiritual father, as illustrated by Dimitrie Bolintineanu in the poem Daniil Sihastrul. The children prepared the scene of Stephen the Great and Vrâncioaia to show the love that the people had for the great ruler. The frequent messages of the Turkish sultans were not forgotten either, the last scene highlighting the qualities of a skillful diplomat of Stephen.
A special moment appreciated by everyone was the folk dance Ciuleandra prepared by children with a lot of dedication and the wishes of “Many Years” transmitted by the youngest Romanians. The celebration ended with a patriotic song, We are Romanians, and the word of the principal, Mrs Maria Kroll.
The celebration brought a sense of unity and admiration for everything that represents national identity: language, literature, history, traditions, and faith. The children received many congratulations for their work. One of the Romanian girls told the teacher that she liked the event so much that she would like to celebrate Romania’s National Day every day.
Praising God for everything, we thank His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae for the establishment of the Romanian language program in the Chicago area and for the unconditional support he offers to this program.
Alina Vance,
Romanian Language Teacher
Guardian Angel Orthodox Day School
