This year on the church's feast day, the community of the Romanian Orthodox Church of the Life Giving Spring in Long Valley, NJ, also celebrated two years since the consecration of the wooden church. The Life Giving Spring is a feast dedicated to the Mother of God, which refers to the healing of a blind man by Byzantine Emperor Leon I (457-474), who was told by the Mother of God to take the blind man to wash him with water from a spring near Constantinople. Over time, the water from this spring cured many diseases and healed various wounds and sufferings. Through the miracle of the Life Giving Spring, the Theotokos shows herself to us as a source of hope and healing of our body and soul.
Like the Spring of the Theotokos, our community is meant to be an unfailing source of Orthodox faith, hope and healing for those who miss the places where they grew up. In this spirit, the traditional wooden church in the Maramureșean style, whose construction began in 2017 at the initiative of former parish priest Ionuț Voicu, is a symbol of the continuity of the Romanian motherland and our ancestral traditions in the new North American lands.
On this occasion, the faithful enjoyed the presence of His Eminence Nicolae, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Americas, who wanted to be with us for the great celebration. His Eminence's visit began on the afternoon of Saturday, May 11, when Metropolitan Nicolae met with members of the Parish Council to discuss the current activities and needs of the parish. The meeting was followed by Vespers served by Metropolitan Nicolae together with Parish Priest Roman Galben.
Sunday, May 12th, was a day full of spiritual charge, where our community had the opportunity to listen to the wise words and advice of His Eminence Nicolae at the Divine Liturgy of the 2nd Sunday after Easter or St. Thomas Sunday. In his words at the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence Nicolae reminded us of what it means to be truly Christian and urged us to encounter Christ in the Church, to be his faithful disciples and apostles and to listen to his word, for the reward of salvation of the soul is a source of unending joy (cf. 1 Peter 1:8-9).
Afterwards followed the installation ceremony of the new parish priest, Fr. Roman Galben, during which he was handed the Holy Gospel and the Holy Cross, the symbols of the priest's service in the parish as preacher of the Word of God and the celebrant of the Holy Sacraments. His Eminence Nicolae urged him to lead us with wisdom and humility on the path of salvation and the faithful to receive him with love and accompany him on the path to the Kingdom of God. A word of thanks followed from the new parish priest Roman Galben, in which he thanked God for the help he received in his ministry, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae for the trust he placed in him by appointing him to the parish of the Life Giving Spring, his family and all the faithful present for the beautiful welcome to the community.
Next, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae presented distinctions to two members of the community, originally from the historical land of Fǎgǎraș, and conferred by His Eminence Metropolitan Dr. Laurențiu Streza, Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Ardeal: to Adrian Nițu-Solomon, the "Mitropolit Ioan Mențianu" order, and to Gheorghina Comșulea, the "Anastasia Șaguna" order for women, for their unselfish love for the Church of Christ.
The feast of the feast day ended with a fraternal meal organized in honor of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae in the social hall of the church and prepared with great love by the ladies of the parish. His Eminence Nicolae's visit was an occasion of great joy and confession of our Orthodox Christian faith. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for the support he has given to our community over the years and ask him to keep us in His Eminence's prayers.
Liliana Crăciun
