Zoom meeting ROYA Canada – ATOR Banatul de Munte
With the blessing of His Grace Lucian, Bishop of Caransebeș and His Grace Ioan Casian, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, Friday, March 3, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. (CA) and at 9:00 p.m. (RO), under the coordination of George Lapadat, Anita Radics and Valentin Cioana, young Romanians living in Canada met via videoconference with the group of young Romanians ATOR of the Banatul de Munte in Romania. More than twenty young people between the ages of 15 and 22 participated. It is a phenomenal achievement for the 2 dioceses and for the young people. These young people stayed together for about an hour and a half, where they had the opportunity to get to know each other.
George Lapadat and Anita Radics opened our intercontinental meeting with a welcome speech from the ATOR group from Banatul de Munte. Then, it was Valentin Cioana's turn to share with the 2 groups a word of welcome from the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada and the ROYA Canada organization towards Romania. It was a remarkable moment, because for the first time, 2 Romanian associations from different continents meet to develop ties to build a future with the grace of God.
Afterwards, George presented an activity designed to help us get to know each other better. Thus, each young man was invited, in turn, to present himself. There was thus a special moment of knowledge. When a young Romanian from Romania introduced himself, he had to invite a young Romanian living in Canada to introduce himself and vice versa. Through this method, each of the young people became more comfortable talking to more than twenty young people they do not know, even if they speak the same language. Indeed, there was a rich exchange in culture and values. We thus learned that some can dance, sing, draw, apply first aid, fly airplanes and much more.
Afterwards, George, Anita and Valentin prepared a short presentation of their organizations. George and Anita presented a video introducing their organization and its goals. This allowed young Canadian Romanians to discover another community of young people with very similar values. Later, Valentin did the same and presented the Canadian territory to young people living in Romania. Thus, they were able to take a look at the reality of young people in Canada and the beautiful snow here.
In short, this intercontinental meeting is just the beginning of several more moments of this kind that will unfold through the zoom interface. Who knows, maybe in the near future these young people will be able to shake hands, dance, draw and sing together in real life! It is a blessing from God and His angels who watch over each one of us. Praised be the Lord for all!
Valentin Cioană
