On September 24, 2020, on the feast of St. Silouan the Athonite, His Eminence Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj, Maramureș, and Sălaj laid the foundation stone for a new church and blessed the site of a future orphanage under the patronage of the great 20th-century Athonite elder.
The future orphanage in Dorzea in the Transylvanian county of Bistrița-Năsăud will be administered by Sts. Peter and Paul Monastery in nearby Parva and will be able to accommodate up to 50 orphans. It will be financed entirely from the monastery’s funds and donations, reports the Metropolis of Cluj.
Met. Andrei celebrated the Divine Liturgy on a specially-arranged stage, together with a number of priests and deacons. The service was attended by a number of local and county officials and a number of Orthodox faithful and founds, benefactors, and supporters of the orphanage.
Following the Gospel reading, His Eminence offered a homily on St. Silouan and how to preserve the grace of the Holy Spirit: “In order to keep the grace of the Holy Spirit within us, we must be able to love our enemies and thank God for all the troubles that He allows to come upon us. We want, with all our being, to keep the grace of the Holy Spirit within us, so that we can see Christ, as St. Silouan saw Him, which marked him forever.”
Following the Liturgy, Met. Andrei officiated the service of the laying of the foundation stone for the future St. Silouan Church, and blessed the site where the orphanage will be built.
Construction on the orphanage began this summer on a 6-acre plot of land donated by a local family. The complex will consist of 8 buildings, including a church, a doctor’s office, creative workshops, and other annexes. Currently, the first floor of the first building has been built and the foundation for the church has been laid.
With God’s help and the protection of St. Silouan the Athonite, “we will be both mother and father, we will be both teachers and helpers in their formation … as people who will bring benefit to this world through what they will become,” said Abbot Chiril Zăgrean, the coordinator of the social establishment.
To finish the day, Met. Andrei gave awards of appreciation to all who contributed to the laying of the foundation stone of the church and orphanage.