Eleven students of the Advanced Course in Religion from the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium with their teacher Marina Müller as well as URI members and friends were invited to visit the Romanian Orthodox Wooden Church on the grounds of the Romanian Consulate on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn-North.
Eleven students of the Advanced Course in Religion from the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium with their teacher Marina Müller as well as URI members and friends were invited to visit the Romanian Orthodox Wooden Church on the grounds of the Romanian Consulate on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn-North.
The relationship with Marina Müller, and thus with Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium, is a result of the Global Ethic project "Vare1" (Values are One) initiated by URI member Zachary Gallant, in which people of different religions are trained to become "Ambassadors of Peace".
Father Catalin Preda received the group punctually at 2:30 p.m. on March 17, 2022, in front of the large wooden gate through which we could enter the church. Father Catalin has been responsible for the Rumanian community in Bonn and the surrounding area for 6 years. Because he does not consider his knowledge of German good enough yet, he brought his friend and interpreter with him. Both men were a congenial "Dream Team"
First of all, it was explained to us that when passing through the wooden gate, the hectic world should remain outside and one ascends into another, spiritual sphere. And indeed, we went up to the church built entirely of wood, in which there was not an iron nail and already the entrance area is completely painted with the scene from the Last Judgment.
The wooden church itself was manufactured in 2016 in the Romanian region of Maramures - where the construction of wooden churches has a long tradition - and shipped to Bonn. In 2018, the first service could be celebrated in it. In 1 ½ years of work, a painter then painted the entire church with scenes from the Bible in naïve peasant style, so that the Old and New Testaments unfold on the walls like a picture book.
Father Catalin not only explained the Orthodox liturgy, but also went into the history of the Orthodox Church. He emphasized that "Orthodox" means preserving traditions. However, especially nowadays, this does not exclude adapting to modern times, so that young people are also taken along. He sees the parents' generation in the responsibility as a role model for the youth.
Above all, it is the young people who, after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990, have the opportunity and the task of building bridges between East and West again. In this, the Romanian church community also sees itself as a mediator.
The conversations with the two churchmen were so interesting and also touching that the guests left the premises only after 2 1/2 hours. As a farewell gift, the guests offered a Qur'an recitation with best wishes for the community, and the hosts said a heartfelt prayer for peace. A mutual promise was made to stay in touch. Certainly for the Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated a week later than the Western Easter, some of us will be there. Then we are invited to participate in the beautiful chants and one of the most beautiful feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Church.
