With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, ROYA presented the Heritage Month project during the month of July. Since we were unable to travel to the places we’ve grown to love, the idea behind this project was to dive into our Romanian heritage by means of increased activity on ROYA’s Facebook and Instagram and Zoom meetings.
The project was complex, involving many young adults. Volunteers were organized into two teams, Team Rearview and Team Headlights.
Team Rearview had the task of finding pictures and recordings from previous years Heritage Trips, media that demonstrated the ROYA spirit, developed by the members’ experience in Romania. They shared memories, by posting on social media, that accumulated from visiting the places rich in spirituality and tradition.
Team Headlights sought to teach us about our Romanian Heritage by means of the many spiritual fathers, scientists, cultural people, and folk tales. Fr. Hrisostom especially helped us with his explanation of Romanian proverbs, recording a video for each proverb. These proverbs softened our hearts, allowing us to appreciate the ancestral wisdom of the Romanian people.
Every week we focused on one specific region of Romania. Thus, we “traveled” virtually through the following: 1) Bucovina and Moldova, 2) Muntenia and Oltenia, 3) Maramureș, and finally 4) Transylvania. All weekly activities, discussions, and social media content were tied to that week’s region.
Besides the active social media presence, ROYA sought to organize events in which the youth could meet virtually. Each week, activities began with a folklore workshop on Saturday, led by TVR journalist Roxana Popușoi from Bucharest. She presented the regional music, folk dress, and traditions in a discussion format where participants were free to pitch in what they knew. Activities continued with a spiritual conference on Sunday, held by a priest from Romania. Thus, even though we were unable to visit Putna or Oașa Monastery, or Valea Plopului, we were able to obtain spiritual nourishment, listening to the priests that we had grown to love over the years: Fr. Hrisostom, Fr. Pantelimon, Fr. Ieremia, and Fr. Nicolae Tănase. Following the conference, we saw one another again on Tuesday evenings, in presentations organized by one or two ROYA members, called “tour guides”. These were discussions done in a way to present the historical and cultural traditions, as well as the tour guides’ experiences, of a specific region. Every week ended with a communal Akathist to a Romanian saint, where thankfully our bishops participated as well.
We thank His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae and His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian for their presence during the project and for their guidance. We thank Father Atanasie especially for his support throughout the project. We thank Roxana for the enthusiasm with which she led the folk discussions. We thank all ROYA volunteers who worked hard to support this initiative, through leading this project, through creating the beautiful art pieces for social media, and through their presence and participation. This project proved to be a way for many young adults to learn about the history and traditions of our people. It is clear that we, ROYA, still long for our dear Romania, but we thank God and all Romanian saints for preserving our longing to revisit her as soon as possible.
Pompiliu Gârlonța