From March 1st-5th, 2024, Fr. Daniel Ene visited us as a delegate of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae and with the consent of His Eminence Bishop John, Bishop of Caracas and South America of the Russian Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). During his visit, Rev. Fr. Daniel Ene celebrated Sunday Liturgy in the Orthodox Church of St. Silouan the Athonite in Concepción together with the parish priest of this church, Rev. Fr. Dean Alex Aedo Vilugrón.
On Saturday, we also celebrated the baptism of little Parascheva, granddaughter of the Romanian emigrant Don Juan Esteban Ciorbă, who emigrated to Chile in the middle of the last century and who baptized his first granddaughter in the presence of a Romanian priest and served in a bilingual service. He concluded his migration process by reuniting with the culture, the people, the Church and the soul of his ancestors.
Father Daniel also met with youth, catechumens, and newly baptized people who have embraced Orthodoxy. He also met with the Parish Council, and the community was very pleased with his teaching and fatherly love. The Romanian community appreciated Father Ene’s special efforts to travel such a long distance to bring Romanians the joy and blessing of their native language, combined with Romanian spirituality and culture. We thank Mrs. Simona Teiuș, a Romanian who has been living in Chile for more than 30 years, for her collaboration and for welcoming and hosting Father Daniel Ene.
The Orthodox Church of St. Silouan the Athonite is an Orthodox community under the ecclesiastical protection of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, which was built on land donated by the Palestinian Arab community, and its construction was carried out with the help of the Presidency of the Republic of Chile as a special contribution in the year of the great earthquake in Concepción, starting its work in 2010. This work was completed with contributions from benefactors and the work of the entire local community. Today, this Church is going through a process of search, prayer, and reflection in search of a greater Orthodox identity, within the reach of our people and a better projection in missionary development.
Father Daniel's missionary journey ended with a visit to the city of Valdivia, some 600 kilometers south of the city of Concepción, where there is an Orthodox community under the protection of St. Nectarios, but which does not yet have a physical building and services are held in outbuildings provided by other churches or in the homes of the faithful. There he was welcomed by a Romanian collaborator, Mrs. Iuliana Gheorghe, in whose house a blessing service was held for pupils and teachers for the beginning of the school year in this country.
Finally, we are grateful for this opportunity to welcome Father Daniel in our midst, it was a blessing from God for our Orthodox community, and we ask God to continue to bless him in his life and in the service of the Orthodox mission in South America.
Iuliana Gheorghe
