Posted on 08/08/2013 10:52:56 AM PDT by marshmallow
Romania is in the middle of a church-building boom, with some 10 new places of worship completed every month, and one vast cathedral slowly taking shape. But some Romanians take issue with the expense, in one of Europe's poorest countries - and particularly the use of funds from the public purse.
The church is restored, while a statue of Lenin is trampled underfoot (Mogosoaia Palace, 2009)
To travel across the north of Romania from Suceava in Moldavia to Maramures is to be bamboozled by exquisite religious eye candy.
Everywhere you look there are churches - big, small, medieval, brand new, tin-roofed, wooden, painted - each has its own appeal.
What is particularly striking as you bump along the potholed roads that link them, are their sheer numbers. Since the 1989 revolution the Orthodox Church has been going great guns in Romania.
The vast majority of the population - nearly 90% - are Orthodox, and in the wake of Ceausescu's downfall the Church has capitalised on its pre-eminent position in the country, building new churches at a rate of one every three days, including an enormous cathedral currently under construction in the centre of Bucharest.
On completion, the plan is that the Cathedral for the People's Salvation will be the tallest religious building in south-eastern Europe and tower over its immediate neighbour - ex-Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's enormous Palace of the People.
Romania is undoubtedly a very spiritual country, with religious rituals, icons and celebrations forming the fabric of many people's lives - on the Saints' Day of Constantin and Elena in Maramures I witnessed the congregation spill out of two local churches on to the surrounding hillside.
However questions are increasingly being asked about the funding of..........
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
LOL. This is the only — repeat, “only” — time you will hear the BBC fretting about government spending.
Why give scarce money to God when the government, that provides for all of mankind’s needs, could use it for the “common good”.....and for bribes to the well-connected?
A church being built while a statue of Lenin is trampled. God bless Romania!
They wring their little girly hands about "defence" spending too.
It's wonderful to see the joyful outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord from the long-oppressed people of Romania.
Jesus Christ, the Victor!
Better to build churches than mosques.
I traveled there via POV from Germany in 1991 to a little town near Timisoara -- I was just enjoying two weeks leave in eastern Europe and happened upon these folks who essentially "adopted" me. I ended up staying there for a week and went back a few months later for Christmas after I'd finished my tour at EUCOM. Romanians are among the nicest, most hospitable people you'll ever meet. They love hearing about America, and tend to know a whole lot more about this country than the average American. Someday I hope to go back and meet up with those folks again.
Is God more worried about your temporary existence in this life or your eternal existence in the next?
I’d love to get a nice plot of land and retire there.
Oh, me too!! There are some gorgeous mountain regions in the west of the country, north of Arad. Nice little cabins and homes tucked away.
Another nice aspect of Romania is the extremely low number of muslims. There are only 70,000+/- throughout the whole country, representing only 0.3% of the population. More than 90% of the population is Orthodox, and most of the rest are Catholic — they tend to be devout and won’t tolerate trouble from mohammedan knuckledraggers.
I just hope the "Iron Guard" (yimach shemam vezikhram!) doesn't make a come-back.
And plant a garden!
Just a thought...
No thanks .... But you go for it. Have five for the five I won’t have.
And the language isn’t too difficult to pick up — in fact if you know Spanish or Italian, you can pick up Romanian quickly. The alphabet is different of course, but speaking it is easy for a Romance-language speaking
Fantastic to hear this. I am taking a mission trip to romania very soon. I look forward to seeing these new churches.
Very true... and when I was there, whenever I spoke Spanish, I was mostly understood. Also, quite a few spoke German or English.
Great! You’ll love the country and the people.
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