Christ has Ascended! This Memorial Day weekend, from May 26th to May 29th, ROYA held a Spring Retreat at St. Dumitru Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Middletown, NY. We were honored to partake in the activities that happened at the monastery throughout the weekend, including the preparation for the monastery’s feast day on Saturday as well as participating in the church services.
This retreat was different from any other retreat we have held, in many ways. Most notably, we were blessed with the presence of the Abbot of Putna Monastery, Archimandrite Melchisedec, along with three monks from the monastery: Fr. Iosif, Fr. Ștefan, and Dn. Agatanghel. Fr. Abbot Ieremia told the youth, “We are blessed to have our beloved Putna come to us.” Their presence, service, and edifying words transmitted the spirit of Putna to all that attended. They also graciously granted St. Dumitru Monastery a portion of the relics of St. Jacob of Putna, whose sweet fragrance and grace filled us with joy and peace. Thanks to the Mother of God, and prayers of the saints, we had tasted a bit of heaven on earth.
In addition to the presence of our guests from Putna Monastery, there was also a significant reunion of ROYA members from both Canada and America. Thirteen of the participants were from America, while the remaining twelve were from Canada. The union of the two groups brought a new spirit of life to ROYA. The new incoming youth from both Canada and America show a clear willingness and excitement to work together to bring more youth to the faith. His Eminence Nicolae, Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas spoke to the youth about our important role for future generations of Orthodox Christians. It is up to us to keep the faith and our Romanian culture alive. Because we are a minority, we must actively practice speaking our mother language to teach our children, and practice our faith ourselves through reading Scripture, praying, reading the lives of the Saints, and living a Christian life, not just while in the Church community, but also out in the world. Our responsibility is great, but through our reunion, we have hope to strengthen our faith by learning from one another to spread the light of Christ.
The entire weekend had so many blessings, one after the other. Those that arrived early to the retreat were able to witness the tonsuring of monk Sofian. For many of us, it was the first time we had witnessed this divine service. There was a certain inexplicable beauty, with candles lit in the darkness, and the gradual progression of Fr. Ieremia with monk Sofian from the Narthex to the gates of the Altar, just as the prodigal son returns to his father. With the arrival of Father Abbot Melchisedec from Putna, we venerated the relics of St. Jacob of Putna and were blessed to hear his homilies and receive spiritual advice throughout the weekend. Multiple times, he brought attention to the words of the services and hymns, and how we should each read Scripture more.
During the day, we spent our time at the monastery cleaning, serving food, and helping in any way that we could. Although it was a lot of work, these efforts unified us in a beautiful way, and serving our community made the fruits of our labor all the more fulfilling. By God’s grace, and through the service of the women and men who worked tirelessly in the kitchen, all the guests had delicious food to eat, and we enjoyed getting to know each other while working together.
Once the festivities of Saturday and Sunday were over, Fr. Ieremia invited us to travel to St. Tikhon’s monastery to venerate the Myrrh Streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God from Hawaii. It was as though this spontaneous visit was her response to all the grace that had happened that weekend. The Romanian community filled the chapel, and we were able to sing a few hymns to the Mother of God after the service ended, led by Fr. Iosif from Putna. Father Abbot Melchisedec anointed us with oil, and we received copies of the icon, which many of us anointed with myrrh streaming from the miraculous icon itself.
Sunday evening, we wrote letters to St. John Maximovich, since Fr. Abbot Melchisedec planned to visit his relics, along with Fr. Abbot Ieremia. To close the retreat, we went to a diner that we later realized was likely run by a member of the Orthodox Church, as we noticed icons behind the cashier’s stand. This weekend, we were truly watched over and protected by the grace of God, His Mother, and St. Jacob of Putna. We will always remember this retreat as one filled with grace. May God be merciful to us so that we can continue to meet again as one body in Christ. Glory to God for all things!
Laura Ionescu, 23 years old, California
