During the days of August 20 - 21, 2022, the Holy Brancoveanu Martyrs Mission in Fairfield, Connecticut, had the great joy of receiving the pastoral visit of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas on the occasion of their feast day.
On Saturday, August 20, 2022, the members of the Parish Council welcomed His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae with flowers, bread and salt, according to the ancient custom. The feast began with Vespers on Saturday evening officiated by His Eminence Nicolae with a sobor of priests, while the choir of the Mission gave the responses. The Vespers Service was preceded by a meeting of His Eminence Nicolae with members of the Parish Council and was followed by an agape meal.
On Sunday, August 21, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae celebrated the Divine Liturgy with a sobor of priests, in the spiritual beauty of the pew songs offered by the choir of our Mission. In his homily, His Eminence Nicolae read the Gospel of Matthew, from the 10th Sunday after Pentecost, which tells of the wonderful healing of the lunatic by our Savior Jesus Christ:
It is not God who is powerless, but we often have little faith, Christ Himself tells us, who reveals this mystery of faith in a conversation with the Apostles: "Why were we not able to bring him out?" (Matthew 17:19). The Savior tells them directly, "For your little faith; for if you have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). The reference to the mustard seed is not accidental, for there is a parable in the 13th chapter of Matthew's Gospel about this seed which Christ says is the smallest of seeds, but when it is planted in the ground it grows up to be greater than all plants, like a lofty tree, where the birds of the air can find a home. The smallest seed can grow into a tall tree. This little seed is our faith, faith that we receive at baptism as a seed that must be cultivated, the soil of our soul must be cultivated so that this seed may grow into a lofty tree; this tree is our abiding faith in God's healing power and His care for His creation.
At the end of the Liturgy, Father Mihai Faur briefly recalled the life and work of the Holy Brancoveanu Martyrs.
The Divine Liturgy was also attended by Protosinghellos Ieremia Berbec, Abbot of St. Dimitrie the New Monastery in Middletown, NY, Protosingheollos Vincentiu Temirov, Director of Spiritual Formation at St. Vladimir's School of Orthodox Theology in New York, and Fr. Adrian Budiga, Chaplain an Supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education and Associate Professor at the same Seminary in New York.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Nicolae installed Father Mihai Faur as parish priest of the Mission of the Holy Brancoveanu Martyrs Mission. Father Mihai Faur addressed a word of thanks to the fathers and to all the faithful who participated in large numbers in this Hierarchical Liturgy, as well as to all those who sacrificed themselves and worked with love for the feast day of the community of Fairfield. The service was followed, as always, by an agape meal.
For all this we can only give glory and thanks to God!
Pr. Paroh Mihai Faur
