I had great expectations heading into the 2017 ROYA Mission Trip. Having heard of the marvels ROYA had worked in the past, this was to be expected. Nevertheless, these great expectations, though well-intended, were fundamentally misguided in the following sense: I saw ROYA as an external force, an entity in and of itself, when in reality, as we learned from Fr. Hrisostom at Putna, there is no distinction to be made between ROYA and its members. In this sense, ROYA models itself after the Church; though It has the Holy Spirit as Its primary agent, it is powerless if we, as members of the Body of Christ, do not act as His hands and feet on this earth. God is not an elitist. He works through the everyday man and dwells in the hearts of all who open themselves to receive His Holy Spirit. In much the same way, ROYA would be nothing were it not for the devotion and willful servitude of its members. And so, day by day, we found ourselves growing spiritually, serving as enactors of change for the better under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Philosophy aside, I can truly say that the Mission Trip was more than just a worthwhile experience; it was a life-changing one!

What better way, then, to begin such a trip than at an International Youth Camp at Oașa Monastery? It is for good reason that it has been dubbed “mănăstirea tinerilor” (the monastery of the youth); it took us little time to settle down, and even less to feel truly at home. From the moment we arrived, we were immersed in the unique monastic experience Oașa had to offer, from our modest lodgings to the hospitality of the Brothers. Certainly, its modest appearance did not compare with the majesty of Putna. But rather than being a detriment, this worked to its advantage; what it lacked in grandeur it more than made up for in spiritual charm. Every day followed a rigorous schedule, instilling within us a spiritual discipline seldom found in the world. In fact, one would assume that such a strict regimen would yield a stern, straight-faced lot of monks, but this could not have been further from the truth. Fr. Pantelimon smiled unceasingly. Fr. Sava, famously converted from Roman Catholicism after years of soul-searching in his native United States, would playfully poke me and even once greeted me with a “Sup man?” Fr. Iosif was so gentle that he could only laugh when someone stepped on the dill growing in the garden, where many others would have lost their cool. After my confession, Fr. Ioan twice embraced me so firmly I didn’t want to let go. That was the thing with the monks at Oașa; they were so full of Christ’s love that they made it seem as though we were their best friends after having known us only for a matter of days.

Beginning with the Midnight Office (miezonoptica) and ending with the Divine Liturgy, the liturgical services spanned five hours, from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. With the main church under construction the services were performed in the adjoining chapel, but this was no matter. In the end, it was the communion of brothers and sisters in Christ come together for communal worship that made the services so special: “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mat. 18:20). It goes without saying that there were certainly more than just two or three of us!

After a short breakfast break, we would go on to do our obediences: menial physical tasks given to us by the monks. Fr. Pantelimon was telling us how important these were for keeping us in touch with reality, because in the comfort of our homes, with the world at our fingertips, there is a grave danger of overestimating our capabilities. Physical labor corrects this by making our own limitations known to us, thus humbling us. For this reason, the obediences – as mundane and thankless as they might have seemed – were in fact a great blessing. In the evenings, we were blessed to participate in conferences with a variety of speakers, each imparting upon us wisdom that left us yearning for more. Each conference could fill entire books with the wisdom that was shared; such was their depth! Perhaps one of the most noteworthy and universally applicable takeaways from these conferences came from former Abbot Fr. Iustin, who suggested that we ought not to leave Oașa with the fruits of our trip while leaving behind the tree, meaning we should leave not only with the spirit of peace we had acquired there, but also with the good deeds founded in Christ’s love that we had developed during our stay. To the outsider the rigors of such a lifestyle might seem unforgiving, and though it was indeed physically exhausting, we left spiritually refreshed. May our gracious God grant that we should return to this great spiritual haven!

Heeding the advice of Fr. Iustin, we would go on to the Pro Vita Orphanage at Valea Plopului, where the dynamic noticeably shifted from one of spiritual struggle and self-discovery to one of lighthearted festivity, like the transition from fast to feast. After a jam-packed ten days at Oașa, many of which only allowed for about four hours of sleep a night, the less intense schedule at the orphanage provided a welcome change for the group. Fr. Hrisostom of Putna taught us that God’s love for us is contagious, not learned. His love for us spills over in equal measure, but the degree to which we open our hearts and allow His love to penetrate them determines also the degree to which His love will flow forth from us. Children naturally are the most receptive to love, so our objective at Valea Plopului was quite clear: to demonstrate our love for the children. Every yelp of delight, every toothy smile, and every kiss on the cheek served as evidence that God’s love had been readily received by them. It wasn’t so much the fact that we had done this as it was that the children were able and willing to experience God’s love that delighted us. In the end, we were but instruments of His love; His is all the glory, not ours. As for Fr. Tănase, everything about him was big: big voice, big beard, big glasses, and best of all, big heart. He gave off an aura of self-assuredness and had an intolerance of hesitation, a testament to the unwavering faith he placed in our omnibenevolent God. Being in charge of running such a large enterprise, he was naturally implicated in many worldly business dealings, but he feared them very little, because he feared God very much. He is truly a role model for those Orthodox Christians living in the world. May God continue to bless each of his endeavors!

With the mission trip having gone so well thus far we were hungry to go out with a bang, and what better way to do it than at Putna Monastery? Commonly known as “Ierusalimul neamului românesc” (the Jerusalem of the Romanian nation), its majesty was an awesome sight to behold. The monk chanters were easily the best I had ever heard in my life. The vigil held for the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos on the last night of our stay was especially powerful; at some points, the chanting was so strong you could feel the ground vibrate while you knelt, like the mighty voice of God shaking you to your core. But, of course, as always, the sensory experience, no matter how beautiful it may be, is not at the heart of the monastic experience. Rather, it is the unending faith and ever-growing life in Christ, and just as at Oașa, it was readily apparent that the Brothers at Putna strove for these. Fr. Hrisostom, Fr. Ieremia, Fr. Dosoftei, and Abbot Melchisedec all showered us with their wisdom, which we eagerly soaked up. Of course, we can’t forget His Eminence Iosif, Metropolitan of Western and Southern Europe, who in spite of his immense ecclesiastical stature could give us only the impression of a down-to-earth man concerned for the well-being of each of us, and genuinely interested in our personal experiences. I personally regretted that I was unable to speak more with Fr. Ieremia; you’d think that such a life of spiritual discipline would manifest itself in a rather stern composure, but in my only personal interaction with him it was quite the opposite; he was hilarious! After having asked me what I study (math and risk management), I added that I might have considered studying pure math if it weren’t for the utter lack of job opportunities in the field. Having gotten a doctorate in math – at Berkeley, no less – his reply was “Yes, you’re definitely right. Look where it [pure math] got me!” Though I am sure each of us were sorry not to have discovered more about the monks – and about each other for that matter – I am comforted in the knowledge that by God’s mercy, in the next life we will have all the time in the world to learn all the wonderful things that time did not allow for in this life.

It was on our final day at Putna, when as a group we sang an ode to patron St. Stephen the Great (Sf. Ștefan cel Mare) at his grave in the great Church that it dawned on me how vibrant and alive Holy Tradition must be there. Watched over by this great protector of Orthodoxy and the most holy Mother of God, it is Romania’s shining light, an authentic beacon of Orthodoxy for all to admire. May God grant that it should remain that way forever!

If there were to be one overarching lesson or virtue to be learned from this trip it would most certainly be love. Perhaps the way in which this love was manifested differed slightly at each of the stops we made. At Oașa and at Putna it was most palpable in the liturgical services and in our subservience to the monks. At Valea Plopului it was in our interaction with the children. A tip of the hat to our beloved Doamna Florina, without whom this would not have been possible. If love was the glue that kept our group united, then her glue was definitely the stickiest of us all! Make no mistake, wherever we went the end result was always the same: self-sacrificial love modeled after that love for us which continually pours forth from Christ. With all the weeding and plank-lifting and time spent in church, an outsider would be forgiven for wondering what was wrong with us, why we should give ourselves up to servitude so fervently. The truth is we had never been freer, because true freedom occurs only when one readily submits one’s own will to God’s; the ‘freedom’ that ensues when one ignores His divine will and follows one’s own will is an illusion; in reality, such people are enslaved by their passions. “Whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mat. 20:27-28). And so true freedom gave way to humility, which, in turn, gave way to selflessness, which is love. Spreading God’s love ought to be at the heart of any endeavor. We are all continually called to be vessels of His unconditional love, and I dare say – not out of boastfulness, mind you – that everyone who took part in the 2017 ROYA Mission Trip can claim to have left having grown richer in this love. For this we offer much glory and give many thanks to our God. Through his great providence and the intercessions of His Most Holy Mother and of all the angels and saints, may ROYA successfully continue in its mission to spread His love!

Slavă Domnului!
Edward Bangala
August 2017