The 4th Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada
Between June 17-19, 2022, "Saint Stephen the Great" and "Saint Nectarius of Aegina" Romanian Orthodox Parish in Oshawa, Ontario, hosted the 4th Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. The congress was organized in a hybrid form. Priests and delegations from the Eastern and Central Deaneries were present in person, and the Western Deanery participated online through the Zoom platform.
On Friday, June 17, in the afternoon, during the pastoral conference of priests, Rev. Fr. Prof. Dr. Patriciu Vlaicu, from Belgium, gave a lecture on “The importance of good ordinance and spiritual routines for the canonicity of pastoral ministry.” This was appreciated by those present, and at the end it was followed by a question-and-answer session.
The day of June 18 began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, surrounded by the priests of the diocese present at the congress. At the end, a Tedeum service was performed. Afterwards the hierarch pronounced the prayer for the opening of the 4th Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. This was followed by a lecture by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Germany, Central and Europe, entitled “Lord, teach us to pray: the hesychastic prayer or the prayer made with the mind united with the heart.” This was held through the Zoom platform.
Before the congress began, His Eminence Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Americas, greeted HG Bishop Ioan Casian, as well as the priests and delegations of the parishes participating in the congress. Subsequently, the nominal appeal and the approval of the Congress Agenda were made. The congress secretariat, as well as the accreditation, proposals, and appointment committees of the diocesan assembly, were also approved and voted on. The entire audience approved the Minutes of the 2020 Congress.
Next, HG Bishop Ioan Casian presented a rich activity report of the last two years. At the same time, the activity reports of Rev. Fr. George Bâzgan, the administrative vicar of the diocese and of the archpriests George Chișcă, Mircea Panciuk and Viorel Țencaliuc were presented. The participants in the congress also listened to the reports of AROLA (Ladies’ Auxiliary Organisation) and ROYA (Youth Organisation). Mrs. Carmen Ognean, from the “Saint George” and “Saint Andrew the apostle” Cathedral in Windsor, Ontario, presented the beautiful report of all the camps and events dedicated to young people and children in the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. The finance department then presented the financial report for the period 2020-2022, as well as the forecast financial plan for the period 2022–2024.
HG Bishop Ioan Casian presented the project of the Center for Cultural-Theological and Catechetical Formation of Saint Maximus the Confessor, much appreciated by those present for its importance in the continuous formation of clergy in the diocese, but also for the encouragement of the new religious vocation here in Canada. The members of the Diocesan Council, the Metropolitan Consistory and the Diocesan Consistory were also elected for the next term.
Rev. Fr. George Bâzgan read out official messages from the 4th Congress of Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada addressed to His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, to His Eminence the Metropolitan Nicolae, as well as to the federal, provincial and local Canadian authorities. At the same time, it was established by those present, at the proposal of Rev. Fr. Corneliu Iuliu Dragomir, that the next congress in 2024 be hosted by “Saint Nicholas” and “Holy Prophet Elijah” Parish of Surrey (Vancouver), British Columbia.
On Sunday, June 19, 2022, in a festive atmosphere, the hierarch of Canada, surrounded by the priests of the parishes of the diocese presents at the congress, officiated the Divine Liturgy. At the appropriate moment, the hierarch ordained subdeacon Marian Costinel Iacobuț as deacon on behalf of “St. Stephen the Great” and “St. Nectarius of Aegina” Parish in Oshawa, Ontario.
Speaking about the significance of the first Sunday of All Saints, the hierarch stated: “Here we are on this blessed Sunday, the first after the great feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the moment of the founding of the Christian Church, entitled of All Saints. It is so called because the gift of the Holy Spirit which the Apostles received at Pentecost and which flows over generations and generations more than 2000 years after this event, is the founding and the renewal of the Church. Many times, the Holy Apostle Paul, in his epistles, when addressing certain Christian communities, uses this expression to the saints of Corinth, to the saints of Rome. What did this expression mean to the Holy Apostle Paul to the saints? It was addressed to the members of the churches or communities who had believed in the Savior Jesus Christ and who lived a Christian life. They shared the Holy Sacraments, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, the Last Supper, left to them by the Savior. Of course, if we read these epistles, we will see that these communities had their sins, the Corinthians who were ruled by various sins, the Romans had other problems. Yet the Holy Apostle Paul calls them all saints not because they were holy as we conceive it today to be already in the blessed life of the Kingdom of Heaven, but in a different sense, that is to share in the grace of baptism which gives the forgiveness of sins. This means that all who partake of God's grace through baptism, their sins are forgiven, and try with all their strength to live a Christian life from that moment. I made this reference because today is the Sunday of all the saints, that is, we mention all the saints of the Church, known and unknown. Although we see the multitude of saints in our calendars, we must know that there are many more saints than we find in the calendars and synaxarion. Over time, many people have lived on this earth whom we do not know, but who have had a godly, Christian life. We will encounter them in the Kingdom of Heaven in the light of God.”
Next, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian spoke about the work of the 4th Congress of the Romanian Diocese of Canada: “This day concludes an event that lasted a day and a half, in which every two years we reunite together as a community, as persons responsible for our communities, the bishop, the priests, the deacons, together with the representatives delegated by communities to discuss, analyze the situation of the parish communities, identify possible measures and means by which to improve, reorganize, where appropriate, or redirect the action to improve our mission here in Canada, because our purpose as a Church is the mission, the preaching of the gospel of Christ. We must talk about God and strive to spread the Christian faith, because without God nothing can be accomplished. During these days, there were talks on the spiritual theme proposed by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding prayer, both personal and community. In this sense, two virtual conferences were held and then followed the work of the congress which made an analysis of the activities of the last two years, by presenting the reports, both mine and the administrative vicar, the archpriests and other institutions and departments. In the end, as we do every time, as a culmination of these days, we celebrated with great joy the Divine Liturgy, which cannot be surpassed by any other event, because it represents an anticipated experience of the Kingdom of God.”
At the end of the service, the hierarch awarded, as a token of appreciation, several diplomas of merit for the beautiful and fruitful activity within the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada to several clergy and laity. Mrs. Oana Raluca Gherghe, Consul General of Romania in Toronto, also participated in Sunday's festive events. The day ended with a festive agape enjoyed by all present.
(notes by Fr. Nicolae Codrea, diocesan secretary)
