On Sunday, October 20, 2024, on a beautiful autumn day, the Romanian Orthodox community from the Romanian Orthodox Church of St. Mary, dedicated to the Protection of the Mother of God, in Dacula, Georgia, was preparing for a special visit. The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the Americas, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, came on a pastoral visit. Since the morning, the place of worship was beautifully decorated with flowers, and the ladies of the parish were intensively preparing for the Christian agape after the Holy Liturgy.
The hierarch was received in the morning by the council of ministering priests: Parish Priest Fr. Nicolae Clempuș- together with Fr. David Hudson and Fr. Teodor Regoș - retired priests serving at St. Mary's Church.
After the Divine Hierarchical Liturgy, in his sermon, Metropolitan Nicolae spoke to those present about the healing of the demon-possessed from the land of Gherghese reported by St. Evangelist Luke, which emphasizes the mission that Christ did on earth and our mission. In every encounter of Christ with demonized persons, there is a contrast between the man created in the image of God and the man who becomes possessed by the power of the evil one. The difference lies between the Light of grace on Adam's face and the darkness of man separated from God. Metropolitan Nicolae reminds us of the words of St. Nicolai Velimirovici who says that the evil one uses the human body to reach his soul, and once there, he empties it of all divine purity and beauty.
Christ comes to meet us to save us from evil. He steps into our healing and does not bypass us. We just have to receive Him and not drive Him out like the inhabitants of the land of the Gherghese who thought only of profit and material losses.
After the sermon, each believer came up for the final blessing and received from the hand of the Hierarch the special icon of the Homage Year 2024: Christ, the Doctor of our souls and bodies. This unique icon was painted for the occasion of the Homage Year 2024, of pastoring and caring for the sick.
After the feast, everyone was invited to an agape full of selected dishes prepared with great dedication by the ladies of the parish.
Fr. Nicolae Clempuș
