HRH Prince Charles of Wales attended an Orthodox service hosted by St George Romanian Parish in London in the presence of over 200 Romanians living in Great Britain on Thursday evening, February 14, 2019.
The Parish of Saint George in London is under the canonical jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe, Great Britain’s Deanery, being the first Romanian Orthodox Parish that appeared on the map of the Romanian emigration in the British Isles.
The Romanian community built around the Parish of “Saint George” in London operated from the early beginnings in the Anglican Church “St. Dunstan’s in-the-West”, rebuilt in 1831 on the site of an older church.
The service was attended by His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe, Romanian priests and believers, as well as representatives of the Church of England.
The service chanted in Romanian, English and Greek included hymns to the Pantanassa Icon of the Mother of God, since a replica of Vatopedi’s wonderworking icon of Virgin Mary is enshrined in the church.
‘Prince Charles has greatly appreciated the value and the old age of the beautiful iconostasis from Antim Monastery, which offers every Sunday the necessary environment for carrying out Orthodox services,’ the rector of St George parish, Fr. Constantin Popescu told the Basilica News Agency.
Prince Charles and Romania
The Prince of Wales is strongly attached to Romania, a country he often visits.
Over the last two decades, His Royal Highness has supported several charities in Romania, and four years ago he established his own charitable foundation, The Prince of Wales Foundation Romania (Fundaţia Prinţului de Wales România).
Through his foundation, Prince Charles has invested over 1 million pounds to promote and sustain Romania’s natural and cultural heritage, as well as in various programs contributing to the country’s rural development.
Prince Charles is a supporter of ‘The Ambulance for monuments,’ a project helping old Romanian churches to be rehabilitated.
During his presentation visit, the new British Ambassador to Romania, Andrew Noble, told Patriarch Daniel that the Prince of Wales is ‘one of the great ambassadors of the values of the Romanian Village.’
(Source: basilica.ro / Photography courtesy of Facebook / Fundaţia Prinţul de Wales România, St George Parish)