On Sunday, January 22, 2023, His Eminence Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of the United States and Metropolitan of the Americas, was present among the faithful at St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church (Protection of the Mother of God) in Dacula, Georgia. Our hierarch's missionary visit began on Saturday evening with Vespers, which he served with Fr. Nicolae Clempuș, the parish priest, Fr. George Acsente from Sts. Constantine and Helen Church, and Fr. Theodor Regoș, a retired priest who is serving in our church. After Vespers, Metropolitan Nicolae offered a sermon in which he spoke to the faithful about all the ascetic saints celebrated in January, about their retirement from the world and their voluntary isolation in their respective cells, for prayer, about the struggle with thoughts and temptations that come in solitude. Metropolitan Nicolae urged the faithful present to find moments of retreat in his/her own cell (room) to pray and spend a few moments with Christ alone. These moments are edifying and strengthen us in our daily struggle with sin and the hectic world we live in.
The next day, Sunday, Metropolitan Nicolae was welcomed at the church by Fr. Nicolae Clempuș and Fr. Theodor Regoș, with whom he celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Mr. Cătălin Ghenea, the consul from the General Consulate of Romania in Miami participated with us in the Divine Liturgy. These were uplifting moments for the Romanian faithful from the Atlanta area who attended the service in large numbers.
In his sermon, Metropolitan Nicolae spoke about the tax collector Zacchaeus and how Christ's presence changed his life:
Today's Holy Gospel should be an exhortation to each of us to investigate what our chances are of meeting God. The visual encounter of the blind man and Zacchaeus in Jericho brought them salvation. When the eyes of the man – blind from birth – were opened, the first face he saw was that of Christ, God Incarnate, and so he received salvation of soul along with healing from blindness. Like Zacchaeus, he saw Christ, he met God and this joy of encounter changed his life... May we also take courage to raise our eyes toward the icon and meet Christ, and may the encounter have the importance of the one between Christ and Zacchaeus.
After the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence led the priests, cantors and all the faithful in a beautiful procession to the new parish building which will contain the social hall and a parish school. With icons, prayers and hymns, the group of faithful and priests together with their Hierarch reached the red ribbon marking the main entrance to the building. After His Eminence Nicolae and Consul Cătălin Ghenea officially cut the inaugural ribbon, the two were welcomed with bread and salt according to the old Romanian tradition by Claudiu Dima, President of the ROYA Youth Organization and Katerina Clempuș, a first-year university student in the state of Georgia.
This was followed by the consecration of the new building, which took place with a large participation of our church's parishioners. During the agape meal, prepared and served with great dedication by our volunteer ladies, those present were able to enjoy a classical music program performed by some talented young people from the community.
Fr. Nicolae Clempuș read out the list of donors and benefactors who gave their little for the Church and the Lord's work in the world. Particularly mentioned was Mrs. Carmen Stan, an architect who worked pro-bono on the construction project but who passed away during the construction period. Mrs. Carmen Stan's mother was present at our celebration, and she was presented with the Gramatas of Founder and Benefactor. This same distinction was present to two members of the parish council: George Dudu and Ionel Soran, who also passed into eternity during the construction.
At the end of our event, Consul Cătălin Ghenea spoke to those present about the consular services they can benefit from and about the Itinerant Consulates that will be organized in the Atlanta area.
Metropolitan Nicolae congratulated the parish priest together with the parishioners of St. Mary's Church for the beautiful achievement and pointed out that each one of us becomes a missionary of Christ in the world, that through us Christ works and through us many other people have the chance of salvation.
The Romanian community of St. Mary's Church in Dacula, Georgia, which is placed under the protection of the Mother of God, experienced with emotion a historic day and enjoyed special guests at the end of a very important chapter of its existence on American soil.
Fr. Nicolae Clempuș
