ROYA held their annual winter camp “Tabăra de colinde'' at St. Dumitru Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Middletown, NY, from December 29th, 2022 to January 1st, 2023. The winter camp is one of the most anticipated events of our organization, partly due to the extended time spent together and the manner in which we pass to the new year. It was a blessing to spend the final days of the year together and to begin the new year in communal prayer with other young people, sharing in spiritual joy and singing carols.
We started the first day of camp with a warm meal and a couple introductory activities, which was followed by a conference via Zoom with Father Petru Neaga from Annunciation Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Cleveland, OH. Father Petru was recently appointed ROYA’s Spiritual Father, with the blessing of His Eminence, our Metropolitan Nicolae. Throughout the conference, Father Petru encouraged us to unite our lives with Christ and to be courageous in confessing all of our sins and in keeping our bodies and souls clean, in order to achieve our life’s goal of salvation. The conference was followed by Vespers, served by Father Ieremia, the abbot of the monastery, who is a beloved host and spiritual guide of ROYA youth. We ended the night by splitting up into small teams and building gingerbread houses. This activity brought out our creative side. One of the teams derailed from the standard gingerbread house construction and created the city of New York, complete with Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge. Another team drew the ROYA logo with frosting on the roof of their gingerbread house.
Our group began the second day of camp by attending Matins and Divine Liturgy, according to the monastery’s liturgical schedule. Right afterwards, we met with Father Hrisostom from Putna Monastery via Zoom. He spoke to us about the joy of the Nativity of the Lord, and the way that well-known Romanian carols relay this message in simple yet theologically rich terms. Father Hrisostom encouraged us to focus on our relationship with our neighbors and that providing joy to others is a path towards salvation. After spending a couple hours outdoors, playing team-building games, we gathered for another conference with Father Simion and His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicolae, on Zoom. Father Simion spoke to us and answered our questions about his experience working with NEPSIS (“Federația Frațiilor Nepsis din Mitropolia Ortodoxă Româna a Europei Occidentale și Meridionale”), an organization of Romanian Orthodox youth in Europe. Following the conference, we joined Father Ieremia and the brotherhood in the church for Vespers. After dinner, we gathered in the chapel and practiced the carols we were preparing to sing after Divine Liturgy on January 1st. Later that evening, our group prepared a tiramisu cake, to have as dessert for the following day. This was another fun team-building activity, as most participants helped in whichever way they could and the kitchen was filled with bustling energy.
We attended Matins and Divine Liturgy again on the third day. Afterwards, Father Ieremia spoke to us about the importance of the heart in our spiritual lives. Father Ieremia emphasized that only through our hearts can we get to know and truly feel our Lord Jesus Christ. We spent the rest of the day in anticipation of the New Year, preparing by practicing carols and confessing with Father Ieremia during free time. We spent the final hours leading up to the New Year through midnight together at Vigil, an Acathist to our Lord Jesus Christ, New Year’s prayers, and forgiveness hugs.
On Sunday, we partook in the Divine Liturgy wearing our “ii”. Divine Liturgy was immediately followed by our group’s caroling performance, “Vin Colindătorii”. Participants gathered in the church and sang a variety of carols together for an audience of monastery goers. After the official end of camp, a considerable number of our group were able to visit the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God, located at the Holy Synod of Bishops cathedral in Manhattan. With Metropolitan Nicholas’ - First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia - blessing, Father Ieremia led a few members of our youth group and faithful from the New York city area in prayer to the icon of the Mother of God. It was a beautiful and blessed way to begin the New Year.
ROYA wishes to extend heartfelt gratitude to the people who continuously support our events by volunteering their time and energy!
Teodora Gîrlonța and Diana Vancea
