Gala-Contest of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada
on the occasion of Children's Day 2021
- A huge joyful smile -
With the blessing and under the guidance of His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian on May 28-30, 2021, on the occasion of Children's Day (June 1), the Gala - contest online organized by the Department of Education of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada took place.
The 80+ projects presented by the children and young people of the Diocese showed a rich and creative knowledge of the Orthodox faith, customs and church traditions. The young people used in the preparation of projects informations from the online environment showing a special talent for successful teamwork.
Each participant (individual) or each group representing a parish had the opportunity to choose one or more projects depending on talent, interest, and possibilities in all age groups.
The topics proposed for the preparation of individual or group projects were the following:
I. Saints, my friends - The Saint who inspires me
II. Joy of the Resurrection / Easter traditions and customs
III. By giving you will gain / The joy of giving
IV. The church in my parish now and my vision in 20 years
V. The prayer of my soul
VI. The role of the priest in my life
VII. Unique project (orthodox themes)
The modalities of digital visual, written or audio presentation were:
- Video / Tik Tok
- PowerPoint presentation
- Drawing / painting on paper
- Poster
- Essay / reflections / poetry
- Decorated / painted eggs / icons
The jury, formed by Fr. Dragoș Giulea PhD, Fr. Emanuel Ionuț Țencaliuc and Prof. Adriana Bara PhD, appreciated all the projects for their educational, artistic, theological, and creative quality. All participants received prizes and diplomas for participation. Five of the projects received special awards. Two participations were especially appreciated: Robert Dumitrescu - the Call (short film) and Lucian Roșca - poetry and essay (English language).
At the end, all the team in the Department of Education were congratulated: P-sa. Paula Arsene, Carmen Ognean, Minodora Grigorescu, Natalia Bivol, Anca Coza, Ileana Gavriș, Veronica Ciocan, Cristina Negrea, Traian Pârvu, Stefan Athenagoras.
The words of the young Lucian Roșca synthesize well the spirit of the Gala - contest 2021: “A big, big smile!” In the text sent on the occasion of the award, he said: “I have won more than one prize, I have won in my heart a huge joyful smile! I realized with great joy in my heart that Romania is alive in the diaspora through Orthodoxy! Yes, Orthodoxy is, in fact, the one that defines us as Romanians, which keeps us, with great zeal, alive in the history! I was deeply impressed by the power of our faith: to unite, indestructibly and eternally, Romanians everywhere: from Romania, Canada and… from the Kingdom of Christ!”
(notes by Stefan Athenagoras)
