Project “Joys from the Romanian heart” (2021)

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to you, the wonderful people, to the Romanian brothers in the UK, for the extraordinary efforts, for the special gifts, for all the love and dedication they have shown! The project, initiated by the Romanian Patriarchate, aimed at twinning parishes, was a good opportunity to get in touch with our brothers in the Diaspora, to get to know each other, to share our longing and love for nation, country, traditions, language, everything that means for all Romanians, everywhere. The moments spent together were unforgettable! Time and distance between us disappeared, we were as one, we had the feeling that we had known each other forever. I discovered warm people, with souls as big as heaven! You are extraordinary! We greet and embrace you, with much, much love! Members of Holy Archangels Parish (Brăila).

Between the thistles of Scotland and the thistles of Baragan there are over 3,000 km. Reduced to zero through children’s smiles and the joy of new acquaintances. On behalf of our children and those involved and who will continue to be involved, we thank you for the joys you have given us and for allowing us to make you happy too. Thank you for existing, for uniting in faith and we rejoice that we have Christ as our common denominator. We know that things will not stop here and as a famous movie ends: “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”. God help us, keep us in peace and give us all good things! (Dumitru Vasile) 

The project “The Church – the Family of Romanians Everywhere”, which aims to contribute to creating links or twinning between communities in Romania and those in the diaspora, has completed its first chapter: Romanians from Braila and Glasgow have met, become friends and now get to work! Fr. Victor and Fr. Mihai announced that they will make every Thursday the akathist of a patron saint of the diaspora to which they will mention their brothers from Glasgow. All participants in the project want to contribute, as far as they are able, to the extraordinarily rich philanthropic activity of the Holy Archangels parish and. Children from Braila and Glasgow are preparing for their first lessons of Romanian language. We have gathered some thoughts at the end of these meetings that we want to share with all of you because they best describe the impact of this project on all of us! 

“Thank God that He allowed us all to participate in such a great project of the Romanian Patriarchate. We felt from the first moment, that this twinning of our two Parishes would go straight to the heart. I was looking forward to our Zoom meeting the last few Sundays. We thank the parents who, day by day, together with the volunteers, earn a corner of heaven through such humanitarian projects. Also to the wonderful children, who made us laugh, cry, feel like children again! It will remain a memorable experience due to the professionalism shown by all those who made this beautiful meeting possible. A big thank you to all!” (Ana Mariana Galan, Glasgow)

“The moments spent with the Braila parish were a comfort for our soul, we felt so close to home and it seemed as if the longing for Romania diminished in those hours we spent with those back home! This project has gathered Romanian souls together!” (Nicoleta Iosif, Glasgow)

“Longing… It is so deeply embedded in our souls that only a breeze, a scent, a sound similar to home, and we are already there with our whole being… That’s it.. It cannot be extinguished. That’s the reality… Christ strengthens us, otherwise tomorrow morning at dawn I would fly! No one can take away our longing for the Country… She exists and abides eternally in us… because for all of us, those who were born in Romania, that’s where home is… many are the countries in the world, but only one is the homeland…” (Marina Kesler, Glasgow)

“The twinning with the church in Braila and the opportunity to meet the members of the parish and all their activities gave us emotional moments and the opportunity to meet our loved ones in a beautiful place. The church is our family, full of good people, blessed things, wonderful children, and lots of love! These Sundays were eagerly awaited with great enthusiasm, just like when we were waiting to go “Home” to Romania!” (Georgiana Amaicei, Glasgow)

“Thank you for all these feelings! It was a great joy for me to participate in such an event!” (Dorina Ciupală, Braila)

“We give thanks from the bottom of our hearts for this initiative of the Romanian Patriarchate to carry out this unique project because, through this wonderful event, we not only twinned with each other, but we, those from afar, got to know each other better, we smiled together and were pleasantly surprised in so many ways. We felt literally “moved” to the The Romanian village, with all that its beautiful traditions. We would never have met these true Romanians who not only did not forget about their native place, but also brought it here with all its beauties! We hope that this love of country, nation and ancestral land will be transmitted from father to son and carry on this tradition. At least my family and I were overwhelmed by these wonderful Romanians. Extraordinary ambition, wonderful and beautiful faith! We cannot help but bow to such people, true sowers of the gospel of Christ! May the good Lord reward their love in Christ the Lord and may their faith be multiplied!” (Marinela Datcu, Liverpool)

The project “Joys from the Romanian heart” at which I was present was a project, an activity, a meeting between two parishes with great souls, two parishes with strong souls, two parishes that grow their children anchored in the greatness and steadfastness of the values of the Romanian people and who look with confidence to the future.

The meetings in the virtual space united us, shortening the physical distance between us, achieving a great sense of spiritual closeness. This was achieved thanks to the people present, people with love for the holy, the spiritual, and last but not least, due to the presence of priestly fathers who guided us (as always), coordinated us, brought to light the best of us. Everything went perfectly, naturally, spontaneously, beautifully. Time compressed and I didn’t even realize when it had passed, sometimes three hours, sometimes four hours. We sighed, we were amused, we strengthened ourselves, we counseled, we received advice from Father Victor, Father Michael, Father George, we lifted our souls when Father Mark sang in ancient Greek the Hymn of the Mother of God. We consolidated and realized that together we are one big Orthodox family with love for God, with love for good deeds, with love for our fellow human beings. May God protect the Romanian Orthodox people and nation, priests and all servants of our churches.” Camelia Aurelia Cherciu, librarian

“It was emotional !! Congratulations on the effort and dedication with which you do everything. I thank God that through you I take part in this project with my heart!!” (Cătălina Pațelea, Brăila)

“This year, in the middle of the pandemic, when the territorial borders were closed, we suppressed physical distances and managed to open our soul to embrace with our hearts our Romanian brothers abroad, more precisely in Glasgow, Scotland.

The meeting itself was prepared at the “Saint Basil” social canteen in Brăila, where the children from the church met and joined their efforts, skills and enthusiasm to create the most original and representative gifts for our countrymen in Scotland. They managed to make with great care and craftsmanship, dolls costumed in the Romanian folk dress, Martisors, greeting cards, even an emblematic model for the theme of this project.

Great was the joy of having by our side, even through the computer screen, those who feel and live Romanian, although they are far from the ancient lands. During the three meetings, we managed to get to know each other, to share impressions from the cultural-missionary activities we participated in over time, as parishioners of the two parishes. It was a touching exchange of impressions and unique experiences, in the form of a lively dialogue that lifted the soul. The retrospective moments blended harmoniously with the other artistic moments prepared with great care and enthusiasm by the children of the two parishes. Thus, they had the opportunity to sing, to recite, to tell riddles in Romanian language, to present their literary creations, all bearing the mark of twinning, of communion, which was, in fact, the leitmotif of these online meetings.

I learned on this occasion that being Romanian abroad means a true mission of Christian apostolate, not easy at all. It involves in its depth a self-sacrifice for the people, for the language and faith in which you were born.

The contact with Romanians abroad gave us the opportunity to reflect on the values we have and live daily in the homeland, but of which we are often not aware. The ancestral Church, the Romanian people and the ancestral language best define the value of this people, which we have also found in the cordial messages transmitted by our friends in Glasgow who have become, over time, good ambassadors of Romania in European culture and civilization.

I believe that these moments spent in the company of Romanian brothers and sisters represented a true premise for twinning that will manifest itself in the future, by carrying out cultural-missionary and self-help projects that will aim to promote and support everything that is specific to Romanians, united by the Church, the one that truly represents the family of Romanians everywhere.” Tudosie Liliana, Romanian language teacher 

The week leading up to the last meeting was one of the most emotional for the parish of Glasgow. Fr. George, together with Fr. Deacon Ioan and Andrei Costin (the soul of this project!) distributed all the gifts to the children in less than a week, so that, by the last meeting, all the children in Glasgow had received the long-awaited gifts. Parents spoke of their children’s joy: 
 
“How much joy at home!!! Thanks a lot! The children are very excited about the gifts!” (Raluca Berhiu, Glasgow) 
 
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the surprise made by Denisa Maria. God help something beautiful come from tomorrow and congratulations on this wonderful project. We wish you good health!” (Cristina Coutun, Glasgow) 
 
“I want to say with great joy that the gifts for Sofia have arrived precisely in the Republic of Moldova, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! God help!” (Ilaria Negara, Glasgow) 
 
The meeting started with a prayer-song sung by two children from Brăila, “Lord, protect the Romanians!” which created from the beginning an atmosphere of mystery, of spiritual thrill. Then, Andrei Costin from Glasgow confessed that, although he had scheduled to make an announcement towards the end of the meeting, after this beginning, he decided to reveal the surprise that the community of Glasgow had prepared. He spoke of fulfilling mercy and that, in fact, we are the ones who seek mercy, according to the words of the Saviour: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!” That’s why, speaking on behalf of the Glasgow community, he announced that they wanted to start contributing, as far as we are able, to the extraordinarily rich philanthropic activity of the Holy Archangel parish, since we are now brothers. 
 
It was a heart-to-soul meeting in which the children took the initiative: they talked to each other, they all introduced themselves, they talked about their patron saints, they thanked the children of Braila for the gifts sent, they showed the drawings they made for those in Brăila. The children from Braila then surprised us, showing us some behind-the-scenes pictures in which we saw how they prepared their gifts with much love for the children of Glasgow to enjoy. 
 
Then Fr. Deacon John (Scottish) spoke in Romanian language, introducing the children to information about local Orthodox saints. The children of the two parishes presented their dedication and sang the troparia of the patron saints. And because we have twinned with a community protected by the Holy Archangels, the children also decided that praying to their guardian angel would be their common prayer, promising that from now on, not an evening will pass without saying this prayer for their new friends. 

The children sang in Romanian, English, Greek and Russian, told us poems and told us how they delighted others with their activities. A very emotional moment was when Fr. Mark, the Scottish priest, recited in Romanian together with a child from Brăila “What I wish for you, sweet Romania!” Children from both parishes competed to surprise each other. Some children from Glasgow and Braila surprised Fr. Mark and Fr. Ioan with songs in Scottish and Greek, and two little girls played the whistle. Maria Hrițcu from Brăila even composed a poem for the children of Glasgow. Both parishes prepared surprise photos in which others would recognize people from their own parish participating in activities in the twinned parish. A special moment experienced by children was when Fr. Mark, the parish priest of the Greek church in Glasgow, told riddles to the children of Brăila. There was no lack of patriotic songs and the screen was filled with Romanian flags waved by all children when Teodora Zamfirescu from Glasgow sang, with great longing “Bucovina, plai cu flori”.

As proof of the fact that these two parishes are twinned, there was also the surprise moment prepared by the four children of Father George for His Eminence Casian, Archbishop of the Lower Danube. They sang “Our Master and Bishop”, wished His Eminence Cassian all good things for St. John Cassian’s day and invited him to come and meet our parish.

A vmuch appreciated moment was the one dedicated to the Romanian village. Children sang folk songs, presented pictures from the activities dedicated to the Romanian village in which they participated. Amaica’s family from Glasgow impressed everyone present when they talked about how they managed to bring the Romanian village to Glasgow. Then, the children from Braila and Glasgow told us about traditional cabbage leaves, and those from Braila presented us with moments from the meeting organized on the occasion of Homage Year of the Romanian Village”. Daria and George from Glasgow told us how they impressed their Scottish schoolmates when they showed them traditional Romanian food. Even Fr. Christopher Wallace, a Scottish priest who converted to Orthodoxy and now serves under the Romanian Patriarchate, learned to make stuffed cabbage leaves and the children were very impressed to see him in a short film explaining how Romanian stuffed cabbage leaves are made.

The presentation of the ties between the two parishes was a heartfelt moment of the meeting, in which members of the two parishes joyfully discovered themselves in surprise pictures taken on various occasions when they had visited or participated in events organized by the twinned parish. The twinning model made by the children from Braila for the children from Glasgow impressed and excited all participants.

Joint activities were planned, in which all children of the two parishes are eager to participate. A joint Braila-Glasgow group was set up to get involved in the philanthropic actions carried out by Holy Archangels parish in Brăila. Braila County Library will get involved with Romanian teachers in Braila and Glasgow in  organizing online activities for the children of the two parishes. Already friends, they will keep in touch through various activities that will be organized in the future. They have already sent each other drawings showing longing and love for each other. It was also proposed to organize spiritual evenings for members of both parishes, and Fr. Victor and Fr. Mihai have announced that they will make every Thursday the akathist of a patron saint of the diaspora, at which they will mention their brothers in Glasgow.

At the end, those present reflected on the bond created through this project and shared what they learned from these meetings. Andrea Ross from Glasgow said: “How beautiful Orthodox Romanians are, such beautiful experiences, I don’t know how to explain this, but I always wondered what it would have been like if I had grown up in an Orthodox family, but now I think that emptiness in me or this lack was somehow filled with the feelings I have had for the past three Sundays. Now I feel that I am also part of a big Christian family in Romania, and I lived the childhood of the Orthodox child through the little children in Braila and Glasgow, through everything they, the little ones, did for us!” And Fr. Mark concluded: ”Holy Archangels flew to us from Braila, and those in Glasgow welcomed them with joy and embraced their brothers in Romania just like Simeon embraced Christ. Added together, we have all experienced a small miracle through God’s love. This beautiful initiative, especially during the pandemic, has sweetened the souls of people who long for their homeland and has given us all a foretaste of our heavenly homeland. Thank you all with all our hearts!” Fr. Mihai said that all the fatigue of the day disappeared by participating in this meeting, that four hours passed almost imperceptibly. In the end, it was very difficult for us to part: “Everything was so nice! Sorry it can’t last longer!! You are really people who enlighten other people!!”, said Catalina Pațelea from Brăila. The electronic card made by the children from Glasgow for their new friends from Braila added extra excitement to our meeting! All the children had messages in their hands in which they shared their love and longing for each other and promised themselves that they would do their best to see each other face to face!

With this last meeting, the project came to an end, but it opened the door to a lasting collaboration. Therefore, we pray that this link that has been created will not be broken, that it will remain open permanently. People discovered each other, themselves and their community, as Mrs. Elena Budea from the USA well observed: “Through this action you will be twinned with the Church of Holy Archangels, but I do not know if you realized that the greatest achievement is the twinning between you members of the parish, who contributed in great and small ways with so much love to the realization of this project. I was impressed by everything you accomplished in such a short time.” Fr Mihai said: “You gave us nectar tonight!” Gicuța Caragață from Brăila asked us to continue to be Romania’s messengers abroad because, as Fr. Victor exclaimed: “Orthodoxy is in good hands!”

We believe that all these meetings helped us to live in closer brotherhood, through that thing we have in common, Christ. We all felt that the Savior was in our midst, that the Kingdom of God is nothing else than what we experienced tonight, that there is no greater happiness than that of being together (as St. Basil the Great said). We all parted with the assurance voiced by Andrei Costin: ”the project “Joys from the Romanian heart” is just beginning, it is not ending!”

All participants awaited with excitement for the following Sunday when the Brailean parish introduced itself. At the beginning of the meeting, Fr. Victor again emphasized the purpose of our twinning: “To be twinned means to live something in common: our joys, fears, problems, etc. By God’s grace we still have people (and I mean you in Glasgow!) who struggle hard to preserve both Orthodox identity and orthopraxis—the spirit of orthodoxy lived, confessed, appropriated, proclaimed, the practical work of Orthodoxy. We are twinned to learn from each other, to remember each other, to share our feelings.”

It was a wonderful meeting that revealed to us only a fragment of the great work that the believers of Braila carry out under the guidance of Fr. Victor Țugui and Fr. Mihai Duca. We learned about the history of the parish, the long-awaited moment of consecration of the church, the notable guests who visited the church over time, the cultural and spiritual activities undertaken, the impressive philanthropic work carried out via the parish canteen “St. Vasile cel Mare”, the numerous projects and partnerships initiated, but especially about the extraordinarily beautiful activities organized with and for the children of the parish.

Fr. George summed up very inspiringly everything he saw during the presentation: “You talked about the Divine Liturgy, about what it is like to live Christ in the Divine Liturgy, and how Christ works after the Divine Liturgy in the life of the community. You are a living example to us. I liked it very much, I was speechless after these two meetings!” And Fr. Mark, the Scottish Orthodox priest, confessed excitedly in the sweet Romanian language: “I am speechless with admiration for the people of Brăila. I was touched to see your wonderful work, especially philanthropy. You are a great inspiration to all of us.” (Fr Mark)

The impressions sent after the meeting describe so well the atmosphere and bond that has already been created between the two parishes. “We have a lot to learn from your experience!” (Fr. Deacon Ioan Ross, Glasgow); “I was deeply impressed by the great family you created there, by the care you take of your children.” (Iulia Conduruță, Glasgow); “Very nice! I felt like I was part of their family! I felt at home, seriously!” (Nicoleta Iosif, Glasgow); “I was very moved by everything I saw because we miss our church, the dear and warm people we encountered, the warm embrace from this visit to Romania!” (Georgiana Amaicei, Glasgow); “It was super nice. I’m definitely going to go look for them, hopefully this year! They are all wonderful! Thanks so much for everything you’ve done! Honestly!” (Andrei Costin, Glasgow); “I was so excited, I wanted to say something at the end, but I had a lump in my throat!” (Mihaela Podaru, Glasgow); “At both meetings I couldn’t contain my crying, it was extraordinarily beautiful!” (Aurelia Văleanu, Glasgow); “So beautiful, thanks to God for everything! They left me speechless. They really soothed my heart!” (Simona Hapca, Dundee); “Congratulations to the moderators and to all participants! I think it was a successful activity that highlighted the specificity and spiritual beauty of our parish.” (Liliana Tudosie, Brăila)

The activities carried out in the parish of the Holy Archangels very much impressed those present: “Thank you, this is a great gift! And it’s wonderful that we learn from the parish of Holy Archangels, their community, and how many things they do together. May God help us grow as a community a little!” (Andrea Ross, Glasgow); “Very nice, a short history lesson at the beginning, wonderful! I was moved to tears by how they take care of children and the community. They really made me want even more to get to Brăila, although I was twice so close (in Ianca)”. (Raluca Berhiu)

Towards the end of the second meeting, as all participants were preparing to say goodbye, an insistent doorbell interrupted the Glasgow presenter’s closing speech! To everyone’s amazement, the meeting took a completely different turn! Instead of continuing to say goodbye, the children of Glasgow and Father George were invited to close their eyes because a surprise had been prepared for them! Children and parents from Braila enjoyed a knowing smile! The post office had come all the way from Brăila with a gift for the church in Glasgow (a big, very beautiful icon, with the Meeting of the Lord in The Temple, the patron saint of the church) and gift bags for all the children of the Romanian community in Glasgow! When they all opened their eyes, the wonder, joy and excitement was beautiful! The kids literally jumped up joy! Words cannot describe the beauty and excitement of these moments, the surprise (which only one family from the Glasgow community knew about) literally overwhelmed everyone present – both those who gave and those who received! Space no longer existed, they were all one heart, one thought, one breath! Fr. George promised to do everything possible to get all gifts to the children by next Sunday, when the final meeting was to take place!

That evening, certainly, all the children from Glasgow participating in the meeting fell asleep thinking about their new friends from Braila who overwhelmed them with their love and gently singing “Fluff, fluff, fluff, Globe of fluff you went, Fluff, fluff, fluff, Fly as high as possible!” (performed by a little girl from Brăila that evening). And the rest of us felt, as wonderfully described by Fr. Mark, that “tonight I drank from the springs of Orthodoxy.” This fairytale evening ended with a prayer in Greek to the Mother of God sung by Fr. Mark and some children from Brăila. 

Romanians in the diaspora received with great joy and gratitude the initiative of PF Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who dedicated 2021as the “The Year of Honage to the Pastoral Care of Romanians Outside Romania”. It is a great comfort to all of us to know that the Orthodox Church devotes a whole year to caring for those far away from their homeland. A newt event organized this year is the project “The Church – the Family of Romanians Everywhere”, which aims to contribute to creating links or twinning between communities in Romania with those in the diaspora. 

True twinning can only be achieved in the Church, where Christ is present and working, which is why twinning takes place between two parish communities. Our parish, “The Meeting of our Lord” in Glasgow, received with great joy the request for twinning from the parish of the Holy Archangels Church in Brăila, Romania. With warm enthusiasm, we all decided to meet on Zoom to get to know each other better, with each parish preparing several surprises for their new friends from across the ocean. Fr. Victor Tugui, the parish priest as the Holy Archangels parish spoke these beatiful words at opening of our meeting: “First of all, I want to confess to you my joy that you accepted not to be brothers, because we are already brothers, but to live closer brotherhood, everything we have in common, Christ”. 

All three meetings, although virtual, brought a much joy and warmth to the souls of the participants. Children and parents dressed in folk costumes, Romanian flags waving during the meetings and messages of love shared by children convey only a little of the atmosphere of joy and celebration in which we all took part. The two parish communities were joined by the ministering priests from the two parishes: Fr. Victor Țugui, parish priest of the “Holy Archangels” Church in Brăila, Fr. Mihai Duca, co-servant priest at this church, Fr. George Bliorțu, parish priest of the “Meeting of Our Lord” Church in Glasgow and missionary archpriest of Scotland, Fr. Marcel Oprisan (founder of the parish in Glasgow), Fr. Deacon Ioan Ross (Glasgow parish), Fr. Seraphim (Abbot of All Celtic Saints Abbey on the Isle of Mull) and Fr. Mark Mitchell, the parish priest of the Greek Church in Glasgow and friend of the Romanian parish in Glasgow. 

The project was eagerly awaited by the Glasgow community: “we can’t wait to be part of a beautiful and heartfelt project! Even with restrictions, we can adapt and reinvent!” (Georgiana Amaicei, Glasgow) “may God help (Doamne ajuta)! I can’t wait to meet new people.” (Nicoleta Iosif, Glasgow). The same feelings were shared by Fr. Victor Tugui, who, speaking on behalf of the community of St. Archangels, said: “We started from the desire to know you, to ask you to share your experience, because true confession is indeed required there. It is in that we are best understood and best seen, when one confesses Christ. It is there that one sees how the talents that the Saviour has given us can bear fruit.” 

The Brailean community asked us to share with them how we preserve the family, its identity, how we confess it in front of others, what it means to be Romanian, what it means to be Orthodox, how Orthodoxy manifests itself in the diaspora, how outsiders see us as Orthodox Christians. So, for the first meeting, we decided that we in Glasgow would introduce ourselves and journey together through time to better understand who we are today. 

And so, began a beautiful journey of two hours that passed as if it were 10 minutes, as those present testified. We remembered the beginnings of the parish, the joy we felt to have found an “oasis of hope” (Mihaela Podaru, Glasgow), the parish servants, its members and guests, our activities and especially the children of the parish who participated in so many beautiful events over time. Also, Mrs. Simona Hapca shared with those present a great achievement of the Romanian community in Dundee in which those in Glasgow were part: the purchase of the first Orthodox church in Scotland. In talking about our presence here, we have always remembered our homeland as well. That place where our loved ones, our ancestors, our grandparents, relatives, even our parents are. The longing can be very great when you are away from your homeland. Longing can sometimes mean pain, it means realizing that you lack something, that you lack closeness to your roots. 

We can say that this project was for us an extraordinary opportunity to find ourselves as a community in a very difficult period. This reflection and incursion into the past of the parish helped us to better understand our present, our presence in these lands and at the same time to look with confidence to the future. And we all agreed with Andrea Ross, that indeed, “what a great blessing it is to be part of such a beautiful church, with such beautiful people!” 

Fr. Marcel, who watched with tears in his eyes the whole presentation with Preoteasa Maria, confessed to us that it was a great privilege to have contributed to the establishment of this parish and that he carries in his soul and prayers all those in the community. Also, PS Ignatie, witness of our many pains and joys in these lands, told us after watching our meeting: “Wonderful!! How beautiful! I remember them all. It was very beautiful, you welcomed us with such great warmth!” (PS Ignatie) 

The positive impression of the participants in this first meeting confirmed this and made us, once again, glad that we had the opportunity to participate in this project. 

“Great! Although I am among the last to come to this community, I experienced a lot of pleasant emotions, thank you!” (Ana Maria Moldovan, Glasgow) 

Wonderful! I felt at home again, with loved ones! The longing for our church in Glasgow is growing! I cry every Sunday when we should be there!” (Nicoleta Iosif, Glasgow) 

“Thank you, such a beautiful Sunday, even like home, I can’t wait for the coming Sunday. Wonderful! You have made a nice gift to all of us in the community with this meeting! (Andrea Ross, Glasgow) 

“Thank you very much! It was impressive! I ended up with red eyes from crying!! (Mihaela Podaru, Glasgow) 

“Very beautiful and very touching!” (Raluca Berhiu, Glasgow) 

“Thank you so much!! It was so beautiful, what a wonderful family we all are in the Church!! (presb. Anna Bliorțu) 

May God help (Doamne ajuta)! Congratulations on yesterday evening’s event! Authentic and pleasantly presented! The whole activity was special. Thank you for everything! (Almășan Daniela, Brăila) 

“It was wonderful, like from soul to soul! Thank you for this meeting full of sensitivity and love! Thank you, Fathers! (Mirela Spatarescu, Brăila) 

“It was emotional !! Congratulations on the effort and dedication with which you do everything. I thank God that through you. I am happy to be part of this project which is so close to my heart!!” (Cătălina Pațelea, Brăila) 

All those present lived extraordinary moments and the participants were sad to part at the conclusion of the meeting. We all prayed that the thread of communication that opened at our first meeting would never close. Fr. George thanked “everyone who, through your effort and love. you have made the joy of living in Christ shine in as many hearts as possible. May the Lord remember you!” Fr. Victor confessed at the end of the meeting on behalf of those present: “We did not expect to see that there is such a mission, such an apostolate. I would like to be part of this parish, we have a lot to learn from you.” The meeting ended with a prayer of thanksgiving to the Mother of God who helped us meet such wonderful people!