Saturday, November 10, 2018 was a great celebration day for the Orthodox Romanians in Chicago. At Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral, the Centennial of Great Romania was celebrated only a few weeks before December the 1st.
The program of the feast began with the Divine Liturgy officiated by HE Metropolitan Nicolae, clergy of the Cathedral and Orthodox priests in the Chicago area. The Te-Deum service followed the Divine Liturgy as a thanksgiving to God for the overflowing gifts upon the Romanian people from all around the world in the 100 years since the achievement of Great Romania. In the sermon at the end of the service, HE Nicolae spoke of the holy gift of the Christian faith evident in the history of the Romanian people, of the unity of faith and nation that is celebrated by all those who are still sons of the Romanian people, even spread throughout the world. HE Nicolae then spoke about the contribution of the Orthodox and Greek Catholic clergy of Transylvania to the achievement of the Romanian Union in one state, overcoming the profound trouble caused between brothers in the XVIII century through forced conversion to union with Rome. HE Nicolae reminded us with sadness that this example of unity is not yet followed in America where Orthodox Romanians are still divided into two jurisdictions without any good reason, even without the opportunity to celebrate together the Centennial of Great Romania.
The second part of the celebration was a festive program prepared by the children and youth from Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral and the Nativity of the Lord parish. At the opening of the program, His Excellency Mr. Tiberiu Trifan, General Consul of Romania in Chicago, spoke about the significance of this celebration, expressing the joy of attending the event. Father John Ioniţă, from the St. George the New Parish in Schererville, Indiana followed, with an interesting presentation about the participation of the Romanians from his local village Țânțari, Brasov County, to the event of the Great Union.
The children's group program from the Nativity Church of Chicago on the theme of Hora Unirii delighted the audience, and the sketch "The Romanian Provinces" presented by the children of Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral produced many appreciations for the efforts of the children. Like on every feast, the Armonia Choir Group of the Cathedral brought us joy through the mastery of the interpretation of some musical pieces from the Romanian folk repertoire. The surprise of the program was the group of dancers of the Cathedral, a group recently established. The joy of the popular dance presented by young people and the cheerfulness of the children adorned the celebration of the Great Romania Centennial in Chicago.
The celebration was enriched also by an exhibition of documents and photographs of the 1918 Great Union event, and a presentation of the exhibits of the "Little Workshop" of the Romanian Language School of Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral. For this beautiful feast it is proper to thank God and to ask Him to bless the Orthodox Romanian people everywhere in the world.
