The first carol singers arrived at Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral of Chicago. His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae received the children from the Romanian and Sunday Schools of the Cathedral on Saturday, December 21st, 2019. Under the guidance of their teachers, children caroled about the star, magi and the shepherds. HE Nicolae thanked the children and the teachers and urged them to carry on the caroling to their families and friends imitating the angels of Bethlehem as it is said in the carol ”praise and sing and be jolly!”
On Sunday, December 22, 2019, HE Metropolitan Nicolae served the Divine Liturgy together with the clergy of the Cathedral. After the Liturgy HE Nicolae served the memorial service for the heroes who offered their lives in December 1989 for the freedom and dignity of the Romanian people. Then the hierarch explained the Gospel of the Savior's Genealogy showing God’s care which, from the promises made to Abraham, passing through the prophecies of the Old Testament, led mankind to receive the Savior at the fullness of time: "The fulfillment of the promise of the Lord is in the Incarnation of the Son of God from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Yes, Christ fulfilled the prophecies, he is of the royal line of David, he is human like us, but Christ is born of the Holy Spirit and of the womb of the Virgin, is God descended to earth to save us."
Then, HE Nicolae recalled the 30th anniversary of the sacrifice of the heroes who gave the Romanian people the freedom to express and live their faith and dignity to be counted again among the free peoples of the world: “The young people of December 1989 cried "We will die and be free" and "God is with us", showing that the fulfillment of the time had come for the Romanian people to find their salvation from the bondage of the communist regime. Honoring their memory is a duty and an invitation to reflect on how we value and use the freedom for which they have sacrificed themselves.”
After the liturgical program the children and youth presented the Christmas program. Over 100 children from the Romanian and Sunday Schools walked on the stage of the Cathedral’s social hall. Divided into 6 age groups, from 3 to 18 years old, children and youth brought the Good News of the Nativity of our Savior to the parents and faithful of the Cathedral. They welcomed Santa with the carol “Mos Craciun cu plete dalbe” who arrived again this year with lots of nice gifts.
The choir of Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral is ready for the annual carols concert on Christmas Eve. The repertory includes Romanian traditional and international carols. They have prepared intensely so they can offer the joy of receiving the Good News of the Nativity of Christ through carols to the Orthodox Romanians from Chicago land area. Christmas Eve is a special evening of the ecclesiastical year. That is why the Christmas Eve Carols concert of the Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral’s choir is such a long-waited event. After the concert that will take place in the church, the carolers will continue to spread the news of the glorious Nativity also to the houses of those who will call on them. The first stop will be at the eparchial residence where HE Metropolitan Nicolae will receive the carolers together with the Cathedral clergy.
