The Union of the Romanian Principalities
February 24, 1959
- the cornerstone for the formation of the modern Romanian State (1862) -
- the base for the Autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church (1885) -
Following the successful cultural evening of January 15, when the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada brought a pious homage to the national poet without a parallel Mihai Eminescu and to other classics of the Romanian literature, on the evening of January 24, our Diocese organized, on the same virtual platform, an event to commemorate the Union of the Romanian Principalities of January 24, 1859 under the same sovereign, Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
From East to West and from North to South, the parishes and missions of our Eparchy participated actively in the success of this evening of commemoration and honor of the patriots of the mid 19th century, who achieved the Union of the Principalities, which in turn facilitated other historical events in the glorious history of our nation: the formation of the first Romanian National State (1862) and the Autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church (1885) and the Independence from the Ottoman Empire (1877-1878).
After the opening prayer and the national anthems of Romania and Canada, our skilled moderator, Mrs. Carmen Ognean, invited His Grace Ioan Casian, Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, to address the participants. His Grace addressed a warm welcome to the participants and expressed his joy of being together again even in this virtual format. Then, he made an overview of the event commemorated and emphasized the other important historic milestones which the Union of the Principalities made possible: the formation of the Romanian National State and the Autocephaly of the Romania Orthodox Church (1885).
Then Mr. Vasile Maier of Calgary the lead performer of the Sunet Transilvan Band, interpreted two songs.
Fr. George Bazgan of Edmonton made the presentation: The Union of the Principalities and the role of the Romanian participants in the 1848 events. The evening continued with a series of patriotic poems by various classic authors and then, Fr. Nicolae Codrea of Windsor spoke about the Autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Church’s role in the Union of the Principalities.
Following a second series of poetry and song, Mrs. Carmen Ognean of Windsor made a short presentation of the great personality, Mihail Kogalniceanu.
His Grace Ioan Casian made the final remarks in which he first read texts from Archimandrites Melchisedec Stefanescu and Neophyte Scriban that showed the enthusiastic atmosphere of those times and one from Archimandrite Vasile Vasilachi with a reflection on the importance of celebrating these historical events as moments of communion over time between generations. Afterwards the hierarch thanked Mrs. Ognean and Mr. Athenagoras (NY) for the organization of the event, all presenters (Fr. Lucian Puscariu, Fr. Vasile Aileni, Fr. Emanuel Țencaliuc, byzantine chanters Mr. Valentin Botu and Mr. Tudor Dragomir, Mrs. Dana Bochiș PhD, Ms. Alexandra Geonea) and participants in a memorable evening of Romanian feeling, which brought some light into our souls during these pandemic times and gave us the opportunity to see each other and “join hands all those of a Romanian heart.”
Mr. Vasile Maier sang two more patriotic songs an closed the evening with Hora Unirii.
Fr. George Bazgan
