His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, was present in the community of the Romanian Orthodox Parish „Life-Giving Fountain” in Long Valley, New Jersey, on March 26-27, 2022 (Sunday of the Holy Cross).
His Eminence presided over the meeting of the Parish Council on March 26, during which details were established regarding the events related to the consecration of the Maramures-style wooden church, built by the parish members, under the guidance of Parish Priest Ionuț Voicu. In this context, HE Nicolae visited the construction site of the wooden church together with the parish priest and the vice-president of the parish council, Bogdan Krintea. In the evening, His Eminence concelebrated Great Vespers together with the parish priest and Father Constantin Magdalena, a temporary serving priest at the Romanian Orthodox Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The pastoral visit continued the next day when HE Nicolae concelebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the parish priest. The chanting was done by the parish children’s choir, led by Leonard Milea. In his sermon addressed to the faithful present, His Eminence spoke about the significance of the veneration of the Holy Cross in the middle of Lent:
It is said in the Synaxarion that just as the tree of life was planted in the middle of Heaven, so is the veneration of the Holy Cross placed in the middle of the Lent. If Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and by not fasting, he lost heaven, we, by fasting and abstinence may become worthy to taste the new tree of life which is Jesus Christ. So, let us fast and then partake in the Body and Blood of the Savior. The Fathers add another reason to this veneration of the Holy Cross in the middle of Lent which, calendrically, is the following Wednesday, namely, that of strengthening believers on the way to Lent through a spiritual meditation on what the cross means in our lives, what sacrifice means in our life, well-knowing that this sacrifice that we fulfill in fasting has a purpose: it leads us to the Resurrection, to the feast of the Resurrection at the end of Lent, but also to our resurrection, of those who believed in Him.
The hierarch and the faithful present then participated in an agape organized by the Ladies’ Auxiliary Association of the parish.
His Eminence thanked the parish priest and the faithful for the love and sacrifice with which they supported the construction of the wooden church, urging them to show the same love in the near future, so that the construction and beautification of the wooden church may be completed on time and with much benefit. The parish priest thanked His Eminence for his presence among the parish community and for the help that he has granted to this project along the course of time.
The consecration service of the place of worship will be celebrated by His Eminence Nicolae, who will be joined by other bishops and priests on May 1, 2022. More information about the wooden church built in Long Valley, New Jersey is available here: https://www.woodenchurchnj.com.
Alexandru Popovici
