Coventry Parish, UK - the joy of being able to live my faith in family coordinates
by Dr. Arina Cirstea
7 years ago, when I left Romania to settle in Great Britain, I was firmly convinced that wherever I went, I would bring my faith with me. God is first and foremost in our hearts, I told myself, and cannot be limited to a particular country, or building, or community. At that time I had never left the country - in the long run - and I was not fully aware of the subtle way in which my way of perceiving and living the faith was irretrievably marked by the thought, rituals, and even the spiritual space of the Romanian Orthodox Church. I realized all this later, by accumulating different experiences, from discussions with other expatriates, from trying to explain my feeling of failure after participating in an Orthodox service officiated in Greek or, occasionally, English. Although faith always accompanied me, as I had hoped, and even deepened in some respects through more intense dialogue with other religious and non-religious perspectives, it remained essentially isolated from the experience of the communities in which I lived, inevitably incomplete, and as a result. more vulnerable than I had initially anticipated.
What I never dared to hope for was that, at first timidly and sporadically, but later more and more vigorously, the "home" church, which I missed without realizing it, was going to be right next to me. and here in my new home, Coventry, in the center of Great Britain. The Romanian community in this area, initially made up of a small number of young people who came to study at the two local universities, has gradually developed, currently reaching a composition as dynamic as it is varied. Through the efforts of Father Mihai-Răzvan Novacovschi, the founder of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Birmingham, and with the support of Metropolitan Joseph, the Romanian church has gradually made its presence felt in Coventry since 2010, culminating in the establishment of a mission in 2012. with the patron Saint Mironosiţă Veronica, under the care of Father Cornel Grecu.
On Saturday, July 12, 2014, the Romanian community in Coventry celebrated a special event, the accreditation of this mission with the full status of a parish. Romanians from the city Coventry, Warwickshire and West Midlands attended Holy Mass in Romanian and English by His Holiness Ignatie Mureşanul, surrounded by a council of priests; To the parish priest Cornel Grecu i Father Mihai Novacovschi and Archdeacon Paul Loghin from Birmingham Neighborhood, Deacon Gabriel Mandu from Oxford Parish and Deacon Andrei Dosoftei from Aberdeen Parish, Scotland, joined. In the speech of those present, it was emphasized that, like the birth of a child, the birth of this parish marks not only an end of the road but also a new beginning.
Undoubtedly, the event was primarily a recognition of the sustained effort made by Father Cornel Grecu to create a spiritual space, as authentic as possible Romanian, for the faithful of Coventry. Like many religious communities abroad, the Coventry Mission began its existence in a multifunctional "lending" space belonging to the Anglican Church of St Anne and All Saints. Over time, with the consent of the owners, this temporary space has been adapted, beautified, and enriched, among other things, with a traditionally painted iconostasis. At the same time, new members were added to the community of believers, who through their contribution enriched the life of the Mission. As His Holiness Ignatius mentioned in his speech, an important role in the success of this project belonged to Elder Geanina Grecu, who actively participated in the development of all missionary activities, also using her teaching experience to organize a Romanian school for children.
At the same time, this recognition is essentially a challenge, both for the parish priest and for each member, current or future, of the new parish. Beyond the administrative responsibilities and development opportunities it entails, the new status represents for all of us a spiritual gift, which we are invited to administer effectively, as a valuable talent. In his speech, His Holiness Ignatius drew attention to some implications of this invitation for the life of every believer. An essential role was assigned to active participation in the Holy Mass, through prayer, spiritual communion, and finally through Communion with the Holy Sacraments, followed by prayers of thanksgiving in personal name, but also, in the case of parents, on behalf of children. He also pointed out that the measure of this participation consists in the feeling of an inner transformation, with a direct impact on life inside and outside the church.
First of all, this transformation must lead to the deepening of our love for God, of our faith. Referring to the evangelical pericope read previously, His Holiness suggested that the woman affected by hemorrhage for 12 years is for us a model of faith, but also one of intelligence. Faith opened to this woman perspectives to which she would not otherwise have had access, and in the end "gave her the solution to her problem." Although through Holy Baptism, every Christian is endowed with this intelligence, its usefulness is reduced by the shortcomings of our faith, by the limited time we devote to the development of our personal relationship with God.
Secondly, the prelate continued, the inner metamorphosis must manifest itself in our relationship with others. Saint Myrrh Veronica, who in the Christian tradition is the keeper of the mahrama in the image of Christ, was presented as a model in this regard. Through her simple but compassionate gesture, the Saint was with the Savior at the most difficult time of His earthly life. Her contribution is recognized by impregnating the image of the Savior with the mahrama given to her. His Holiness presented to the faithful another tradition, less known, about the life of the saint. This tradition places Saint Veronica in the service of the Roman emperor Tiberius, in a time of crisis, when he fell ill with leprosy. The saint is presented using her mahrama sanctified by the touch of the Savior to cure the king of this incurable disease.
Like her, concluded His Holiness Ignatius, each of us is called to extend the "mahrama of our love and our prayer" to our fellow men, especially those of them who are alone, or troubled by physical or mental suffering. In support of this idea were quoted the words of Metropolitan Father Bartholomew Ananias, who in an interview stated: "My greatest sadness is that my parents died sad and alone." Consequently, it is our responsibility as Christians to show our love for those around us, to alleviate the effect of suffering of any kind, and especially loneliness, this disease so prevalent in contemporary society. It can thus be suggested that the newly established parish represents an ideal framework for the spiritual progress of each member, but also for the promotion of an atmosphere of Christian love and mutual help in the Romanian community.
I would like to end these lines with a personal note, as I began them. From my subjective perspective as a Romanian citizen settled abroad, the spiritual and social space of Coventry Parish brings me first of all the joy that I will be able to live my faith in family coordinates, and at the same time to create and maintain connections with other members of the local Romanian community. In addition, I am pleased to offer this opportunity to my little girl, who like other very young members of the parish, will grow up at the intersection of two European cultures, in a multiethnic and multi-religious environment. All these opportunities would have been inconceivable only a few years ago, and for this reason I consider the establishment of this parish a significant moment in the life of the Romanian community in Coventry, and implicitly in the life of the Romanian church outside the country.