Pilgrim at the Romanian Nation Salvation Cathedral
There are exactly 100 years since the Great Union of all Romanian provencies
the centuries-long desire of our people, has been fulfilled.
Although we have not been able to keep it whole, as our forefathers left it to us,
I strongly believe that Romania still treasures the inherited values from them!
I was a patriot from childhood.
I read on a heartbeat ilustrated history books,
I made myself swords, shields, guns, machine guns,
and reanacted battles with other children.
I wanted to be an aviator to defend the country in need,
but life allowed me to serve her only on the social field.
"This cathedral is sanctified, with the patrons of the Ascension of God
and the Saint Apostle Andrew-the first called, the Protector of Romania,
by sprinkling with Holy Water and anointing with the Holy and Great Myrth
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"
I think it should be good to do more this year
to honor the memory of our ancestors.
Besides the Cathedral and the Monument of the Great Union at Alba Iulia,
there have been only a few events
but even those have failed to resonate at the national level,
although they have swallowed enormous budgets...
So, something in my consciousness as Romanian
has asked me to be present at this great event of the Centenary Year.
I knew I would not be able to enter the Cathedral,
but I hoped I could find a place in front of the church yard.
Unexpectedely, tens of thousands of people were everywhere,
and still pouring from of all the avenues leading to the Arsenal Square.
Priests with groups of believers, townspeople, people coming
from the countryside, tricolor flags waving everywhere.
The tall cathedral, with the spires in the fog,
the religious ceremony performed by a large group of orthodox priests,
all impressed me strongly, so I decided to illustrate my pilgrimage
in this holy day of the Romanian nation
in some beautiful video clips.
I would have liked to have free passage to film everywhere,
but anyway this huge crowd of Romanians gave me more
than I needed to make this movie.
Even since the works have begun at the site,
the necessity or the opportunity to have a National Cathedral
it s an ongoing topic on the internet...
Eminescu was the first to have the initiative to build this church,
which he called "The Cathedral of the Nation Salvation "
and after him, kings of Romania and many other personalities
of the Romanian social and political life have the same goal.
The vicissitudes of our history have not allowed to be built until now.
God has taken care that we are the ones to build it!
Perhaps, if His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel did not have the courage to start this project now,
it would not have been possible in the future to make it!
Even now, the opposition of the secularists was extremely strong,
and the fact that we are now participating in it' s inauguration
it' s by itself a Holly miracle!
"Long time ago it was used that the Divine Liturgy to be done on the tomb of martyrs.
When a martyr was killed, a liturgy was celebrated on his grave.
Since then, it has been the custom
that Holy Table must have Holy Relics in it. "
"Let us all pray!"
I also donated, like every Romanian, „the widow' s two pennies",
that at least couple of few bricks to come from me.
I was looking through the camera screen and admired how well they were built!
There were a few dozens... and I said to myself, jokingly:
"Are these the ones came from me?"
then I lifted my eyes, and for the first time
I felt that the Curch is quite beautiful,
so sleek, shrouded in the fog as in a smoke of incense...
I compared it to a huge Koliva of the Romanian people, (wheat grains cake simbolizing the people of the Curch)
blessed by a vast number of patriarchs, bishops, priests, and deacons!
It is our offering, the sacrifice of Romanians of today,
as gratitude for their immolation, the sacrifice of Romanians from all times!
How many millions of bricks had been built in the cathedral body?
Are they enough to have one for each of those who gave their livesf through out the centuries
so that we have this country, so small or big, so poor or rich,
that almost all of us blame and are always dissatisfied with?
But they loved her to the supreme sacrifice,
hoping that we would appreciate the inheritance left by them.
I feel somewhat embarrassed that I was a little cheap and gave only two pennies...
- "How do you look at the church service, do you resist the cold?"
A TV reporter disturbed me.
He was not asking me, but an old man behind me.
- "Young man, you know you are getting colder than me
My uncle served two winters on the battle front.
He was terribly cold out there. But God helped them."
The microphone moves away, but the old man continues for us:
- "He later died in a battle and 4 children were left orphans...
Vasile Moreanu-hero... His name is written
on the list they placed in the Holy Altar."
His eyes are moistened... because of emotion... or maybe the cold...
The bell began to ring. I'm pleasantly surprised by his gentle and velvety sound.
I was expecting to be very loud, since I was quite close.
A kid reads on the phone that the sound has a frequency of 130 Hz,
so it spreads up to 15 km
and that it is the biggest church bell in the world.
And we have another record also: it is the highest Orthodox cathedral-120 m.
I did not even know that!
There are big chances to keep those forever,
since the other nations already have their cathedrals with their bells.
We are all charmed!
No doubt it is the most pleasant bang I've ever heard!
I feel like a little of the joy of the young
bell-making master in Tarkovski's movie
when he listened the sound of his very first bell he made.
Even the boyars were happy, althought they were so cheap
and hardely accept to melt their silver,
without which the bronze would not have sounded so beautiful, enjoyed.
From time to time I see someone I know
We greet each other discreetly because we are not allowed to cross the street.
The gendarmes are a little tight, but maybe that's for better.
There are over 50,000 pilgrims already and they are still coming.
The most of them have chosen a place to stay and they are watching the religious service.
There are giant screens all over, so you can see what's going on inside the church.
The organization seems pretty good to me,
given that there are so many pilgrims.
They hindered a bit the official convoys.
Because the National Cathedral was sanctified, it was natural and expected
to come as many officials of the Romanian State
and diplomatic representatives as possible.
Perhaps it would have been better to come a little earlier,
or at least with the sirens off...
the people even prayed here in the street ...
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten,
begotten of the Father before all ages.
Light of Light; true God of true God;
begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.
And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;
and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;
and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
whose Kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets.
In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The fog persists, the sun hesitates to appear, but I'm still not cold;
only my fingers are numb on the cold tripod.
I see a movie team making a documentary;
I'm attracted like a magnet to their super camera,
but to my surprise I am not envious.
Maybe just a little...
I feel like David in front of Goliath. I, with my small camera on a stick,
are more mobile than them, so I'm heading to the entrance queue.
"And send us the divine Grace and the Grace of the Holy Spirit, let us pray!"
"Lord have mercy!"
The people inside started to leave, so the gendarmes
let in groups of 50 people.
Here I have experienced some cramping;
But I realized that the phenomenon is inevitable
when hundreds of people, try to pass through a 2m opening,
doesn t matter if they are soccer fans or pilgrims.
A lady is mad because of the situation...
she was separated from the group she had come with.
"Poor organization, sir!"
I ask: Could be anybody blamed for this?
Look at the screen, the altar is full! so is the church...
The inner courtyard, although it is large, is crowded too!
But do not worry, the Grace of God has descended upon us here in the street!
A reporter lady approached a well dressed young man:
Why are you here today?
Because I am Romanian and Orthodox!
And even if I was not an Orthodox, I could not be absent
absent at the most important event of the Centenary Year.
- What is your profession? - I'm in the IT business.
-And don t you think that too much money was spent on this huge cathedral?
-How much should we have spent on
a church raised in the memory of the heroes of this nation?
And how big should be the national cathedral
of a country that is orthodox for 2000 years?
And whatever you answer, there will surely be many who will object
that there is too much, or that we are too poor.
- And yet, insists the reporter, there is so much need for hospitals, schools...
I think that if there would be no more stealing,
if public money would be used with responsibility
and, especially if we put our hope in God, we can do all of those!
Look there: you can see the foundation of a future hospital, right there, top of the arts!
I read earlier on the net that the church built such medical centers all over the country.
Anyone can find out if he wants to look for information.
While talking, he finds the article on the phone.
Look what it s written: "Over the past 10 years, the Curch has spent
150 millions euros in social-philanthropic activities,
out of which 24 million only in the last year.
The reporter thanks him half-heartedly...
However we congratulate him for his words.
- Well, I spoke in vain, I did not give the answers he was expecting...
A lady complains she was filmed while waiting in line for the toilet.
She said to the cameraman: Boy, now, even our
biological needs are news topics?
He replied that he was in public space and filmed what he wanted.
Otherwise he left immediately to hunt for special scenes,
a granny crashed by fatigue, or low blood sugar, a drunkard,
or a mentally weak person, to ask some questions...
Saint Basil's suggestion come to my mind:
seek everywhere, like bees, the nectar of the teachings of the good...
and I think that the flies are not attracted to any flower
but rather to the dirt...
Mihai Eminescu said that the Orthodox Church is the spiritual mother of the Romanian people.
Getting such an event nasty and easely addressing injuries to the Church
is like cursing your mother...
But the Curch must be like a mother:
loving, patient and forgiving!
"If the Lord would not build the house, in vain, those who build it will be troubled
If the Lord did not keep the city, in vain would watch the keeper."
How big was the trust of St. Stephen the Great in the help of the Lord,
and how he succeded to build so many monasteries after each war?...
Did his people disagree with him the way doing now; That only the land was ravaged by the heathen!...
How much good to our nation, his foundations did?!
that they were all oases of spirituality and culture,
as well as healing places for bodily diseases!
God does not need them, it is us!
It's so simple and yet hard to understand to many of us...
"Beloved pilgrims, thank you for coming in great number
at the sanctification of the Altar of the National Cathedral!
We pray to the Almighty God to give you
health and salvation, peace and joy,
and please, take home the blessing
of our Savior Jesus Christ and Saint Apostle Andrew
who are the protectors of this holy cathedral.
We wish you many and blessed years!"
"It is an important moment for us,
for Romanian Christianity, for our country!
The gendarmes are organizing everything. The people will be in good order.
At this moment there is a lot of people in the cathedral and we ask them all to move a little bit faster!
Each of us can manifest our piety more quickly!
There are people who have come from hundreds of kilometers,
there are people coming from outside the country who want to enter...
those of you who are from Bucharest you can come in the next few days. The cathedral remains open."
It's good they think about this too.
People are understanding and retreat. So will I.
I will visit my relatives in Bucharest and come back the next day to worship
and film something in the church.
It was a day full of emotions!
Even so, in the street, I felt communion with
tens of thousands of Romanians coming from all corners
of the country and of the world to be present
at this central moment of the Centenary.
The next day I find the yard full of people coming to worship.
I realize that it will take 2-3 hours for me to enter the church,
but, paradoxically, I'm glad that there are thousands of people in the queue.
I remember when I was a kid,
once a week I had to get up early in the morning,
to get in line in front of the grocery store to get pretzels or yogurt;
and from time to time for other foods.
"What it s sold here?", I ask in my imagination...
In front of me, it seems like someone answers me: I do not know kid, but I'm sure something that is good."
"What is to be had? Spiritual joy and a little of grace."
I put myself in a row, we talk to each other,
we pray and the time will go fast.
Every once in a while I come out to film from a more interesting angle.
Up close, the Cathedral seems to me more imposing.
I see again how all the heroes of the nation are now bounded,
like wheat grains glued in the Koliva,
embodied by the millions of bricks united by the cement of our prayer!
If up to me at least parts of the exterior walls could be left without plaster,
that good the bricks are laid...
And the bronze doors with the saints in the bas-relief are gorgeous!
I use my imagination how all of them will open at the end of a Divine Liturgy
and thousands of believers will come out at once...
The line is getting longer!
Last night on TV everyone said that the people stayed outside, that they pushed each other...
there was no mentioning of the huge number of pilgrims
and there were no scenes filmed from above with the crowded streets, full of people...
Today I m finding that they were 100,000, exactly the number
of Romanians who were 100 years ago
at the Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia!
Strange ... Nowadays, journalists would say
that such a crowd in a stadium
or at a show is normal,
but for they seems unbelievable such a "rabble"/crowd is gathering just to pray.
I used the word in quotation marks... and even if those who used it
thought it appropriate to describe the simple people who came to the sanctification,
it would still be tendentious, because it seemed to me all the social classes of Romania
were well represented...
Nevermind, it is just as natural to us.
2000 years ago, people were cramming to see and listen Christ.
Some, „more godly", forced their way,
just to touch the bottom of His coat to heal any helplessness.
There were even 4 "hooligans" who have broken the roof of a house
to come before Him with their paralyzed friend.
The owner must have gotten upset for damages, some would have been scandalized that they stumbled in front,
onother one was pissed off that they came on Saturday, which was forbidden,
but it is certain that the Savior had pity on them and healed that man.
In the distance you can see the silhouette of the Parliament Palace. I'm making a joke and ask:
- Have it ever been done the sanctification service at the "House of the People"?
-Of course not! my neighbor replies. That's why they are constantly fighting and are always in disagreement.
For so long they have not been able to put Romania on its feet.
Time has passed and I entered the door.
My group headed for the altar, but I am standing still and amazed at the entrance.
Yes, it is huge, better said great,
but you are not overwhelmed, you don t feel small at all in its immensity.
The ceiling is not too hight and there is a net of very massive metal structures.
It will surely withstand the 8.5 degree Richter shakes, as it was designed.
In front, all the wall of the Holy Altar is finished.-
It's impossible not to attract your attention as you come in.
It's just wonderful!
From far away, it's just like a normal one ones, but if you get closer,
it's becoming pixelated and you start to distinguish the millions
of colored pebbles arranged with so much skill by the painters.
I have admired the monumental mosaics of Saint Sophia or Ravenna,
but this one here it s over them!
I have no doubt that it will be the most beautiful Orthodox national cathedral!
A few months ago I visited the Cathedral in Sofia (Bulgaria).
I liked the architecture, but the interior did not impress me too much.
But I admit that I was envious of the Bulgarians.
For centuries they were under Turkish rule and they longed for freedom,
so right after the Independence War they decided to raise a cathedral.
So did our King Carol I... The Bulgarians finished it in 1912,
but Romania had other „priorities", and only after a century we succeeded.
The evening service begins at the church on the Metropolitan Hill
and it is broadcasting live on the Cathedral screens.
Immediately I realize that the acoustics are very good.
I see some holes in the walls and I think they are made
just to improve the sound quality.
I read somewhere that in an old church near Chisinau
the artisans had placed large clay pots into the wall.
Someone is approaching me and is watching me
as I rotate the camera using the stabilizer.
I'm afraid he'll argue because I'm filming without approval.
Not the case, the man is from the construction company. So I ask him about those alveoli.
-Oh, no, not by far... We had to make those tracks
to support a rather complicated scaffolding system.
God has enlightened us to find this ingenious solution,
otherwise we would have had to rent some special scaffolding
and that would have cost us a lot of money.
-Very interesting, I say. But how did you manage to not exceed the project deadlines,
or not double the budget, while this is the case
with all of Romania's big construction companies?
- Well, that may be the case, since that we see on the news every night...
but here the things are quite different.
The Patriarch himself, plus those in charge, have been very involved.
In the meantime, we became so effective that we could give advice to others.
I'm kidding, of course... But we cannot pride ourselves too much
because we could not finish the last spire...
I found out from him that the bricks were manufactured at Câmpulung Moldovenesc
and is of the highest quality! as well as special glass, steel and concrete,
all were made in Romania!
And, of course, the marble is mined from the Ruschita mountains!
I shake his hand congratulating him. -May God help you further
and, above all, thank you very much!
People worship and pray quietly in the altar. I do the same.
We receive a gift as a reminder of our pilgrimage at the sanctification
of the Altar of the Romanian Nation Salvation Cathedral.
It was two fantastic days!
Oh, Almighty God, forgive us that we are such a stubborn and ungrateful people!
You know we can be even better
However, please keep watching over our country
and make that Romania will have a future!" Amen! translator: Cristina Mirica-Oanca
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