The Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church in Troy, Michigan has celebrated its feast day on the weekend of June 3-4, 2023. The feast day began on Saturday evening with the service of Vespers, which was served by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae. At the end of the Vespers service, the hierarch delivered a sermon, speaking about the Saints of the Orthodox calendar and the liturgical season, which should be at the center of our lives:
Since Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the foundation of the Church, the proof of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world are the Saints, whom we remember and who are listed in the Orthodox calendar. This commemoration of the Saints during the Church year and the adorning of the Church with the images of the Saints, is but a reminder of what we seek in the Church: the encounter with God from which holiness is born. The holiness of the Saints is proof of their encounter with God, it is proof of the work of grace in their lives.
The feast continued on Sunday morning with the Hierarchical Liturgy by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, assisted by Fr. Călin Barbolovici, the parish priest. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the ministers read the seven prayers of Vespers of the Holy Trinity.
In his sermon, Metropolitan Nicolae recalled the account of the event of Pentecost from the Book of Acts, highlighting the power with which the Apostles were transformed upon receiving the Holy Spirit, which resulted in the conviction of those who, listening to their words, received baptism, thereby confessing their faith that Jesus Christ is in fact the Messiah:
What happened at Pentecost happens at every baptism and at every Divine Liturgy, as soon as we send the Holy Spirit and say, "Upon us and upon these gifts." The bread and wine that represent us and this creation, for it is the fruit of the wheat and the calves and our effort that we bring to Christ and we ask for the sending of the Spirit so that these may become the Body and Blood of Christ with which we then partake and, by partaking, we become members of the Body of Christ, members of the Church. What happened at Pentecost happens at every Liturgy when the Church becomes a reality. After we have received Communion, after we carry Christ in our body, we understand what it means to say that we are members of the Body of Christ, that we are also Christs, that we who have prayed together, who have asked for the sending of the Spirit, have become the Church of Christ, and by this evidence of the existence of the Church, we know that we are on the path of our salvation, on the path of eternity.
At the end of his sermon, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae referred to the 20th anniversary of the first Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Metropolitan Cathedral "Saints Constantine and Helen" in Chicago, during which he ordained deacon Calin Barbolovici to the priesthood. Now, on the anniversary of 20 years of priestly ministry, His Eminence Nicolae awarded the Metropolitan Order "Saints Constantine and Helen" to Father Călin Barbolovici, an Order instituted on the occasion of the anniversary of this Cathedral in Chicago.
An agape meal concluded this beautiful celebration.
Fr. Călin Barbolovici
