On a quiet evening, Saint Demetrios the New Monastery in Middletown, NY was filled with the voices of young people from Canada and USA. Our spring retreat took place between May 24-27, 2024, and had the theme, "Saint Andrew the Apostle, Our Call to be Missionaries". The themed retreat was a wonderful opportunity to meet again and honor the connection between Romanian culture and history with Orthodoxy, starting from our Christian roots.
The camp began with Vespers and an Akathist to the Mother of God, served by Protosinghel Ieremia, the abbot of the monastery. We had the blessing and great joy to have fathers invited from Putna with us: Protos. Pavel Niga, Protos. Pavel Veniamin Mutuzac and the monk Ambrozie Gavrila. Listening to the parents of Putna ministering was a gift for all who were present for the services.
From the first evening, spiritual fellowship between the young people was evident even if 4 of the 22 had not participated in a ROYA camp until then. With great joy, I felt that the energy of the new members with the friendship and unity of those who have attended previously gave a new pulse to our organization. Thus, we have high hopes that ROYA will continue to grow with zeal, dedication, and Christian love in preserving our faith for generations to come.
Saturday began with the Divine Liturgy, followed by Holy Unction, and a Panakhida for Father Archimandrite Mitrofor Vasile Vasilache (1909-2003). Many believers came to pray for the Archimandrite's soul, so that the entire outer terrace was filled with tables for an agape meal.
On the same day, the ROYA youth enjoyed a day full of beautiful events in NYC. Starting with Central Park, we played frisbee, and ate famous New York pizza. In the afternoon, we went to "The Oculus", a train station built in a modern architectural style, within walking distance of the World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial. Not far from this place is a new Orthodox church, "St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine” which has images of firefighters, police officers and civilians related to the tragic event in New York on 9/11/2001. Our day continued with Wall Street, towards the Russian Cathedral "Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign", where we attended the vespers service and worshiped the original "Kursk Root" icon. As a corollary to our unique experience, the ROYA youth had the opportunity to speak with Vladyka Nicholas, the Eastern American Metropolitan of ROCOR, who was very pleased with our presence, and presented each of us with an icon from Kursk. We finished the day at Magnolia Bakery, after which we returned to the monastery, tired after the full day but all with smiles on our faces.
The next day was the 4th Sunday after Easter, of the Paralytic from Bethesda. Protos. Pavel spoke first about the Gospel passage, where Jesus says to the weak man, "From now on you must not sin." Protos. Pavel quoted the words of St. John Chrysostom, who tells us to keep the good habits we cultivated during Lent, when we took better care of our souls, going to confession and Holy Communion more often. Fasting was a preparation, and this state of preparation must not be forgotten. Our caution not to sin should remain. Father Paul defined sin as any act that does not respect the Lord's commandments. For the Lord said, "He who loves me will keep my commandments" (John 14:21). Protos. Paul also said that the one who sins moves away from God and man, because sin alienates us from those close to us. It is a shared responsibility to try to live as much as possible in obedience to what God has commanded us.
This word, and the grace that poured out upon us all during the service, was the foundation of another blessed day. After the Divine Liturgy, the young people served the meal, and enjoyed the beautiful day, playing frisbee on the grass and chatting under the terrace of the monastery. After some time to relax, we were blessed to listen to Fr. Ieremia for a conference on missionary work, speaking in particular about the spiritual preparation we must have in order to live a Christian life, namely how to form our hearts as a dwelling place for Christ, through prayer. Related to what Fr. Pavel told us not long before, Fr. Ieremia said, “the heart is like a telescope aimed at God. Sin obstructs our view of Him. Along with this, he spoke to us about humility. Taking the words from psalm 50, Father told us, "God cannot resist a broken and humble heart. This we should remember as a law from the Lord.”
Later, we attended Vespers, and chanted a Paraklesis to the Mother of God. After the evening meal, we had a presentation about Saint Andrew, the first-called Apostle, with a game to test what the participants learned. This activity helped the young people learn their Romanian Christian origins, namely what route St. Andrew took after the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and how he was crucified on the X-shaped cross in Patra, Greece, passing through the cave in what is now the village Ion Corvin and which was transformed into a monastery in Constanța county.
The evening ended by thanking God for these few but rich days, thanks to Mrs. Florina Radu, the former director of ROYA, who prepared all the food, and reminded us like a mother of the experiences of the past years with ROYA. God gave us so many gifts and joy in this camp that we now have the responsibility to share with people not only in our parishes, but wherever we go. Until the next camp, let us join together in prayer, to bring as many youth as possible to Christ, and to draw closer to Him.
With love in the Risen Christ,
Laura Ionescu
