As we enter the Nativity Fast, the final week of November and the first days of December reveal three major feast days—each carrying profound spiritual resonance, rooted both in national identity and in the life of the Church. They remind us of the Lord, but also of the need for a righteous Nation, so that God may remain its protector.
In the Romanian Orthodox calendar, November 30, when the Church worldwide celebrates the First-Called Apostle, is marked in red. It is a day dedicated to Saint Andrew, the one who strengthens the faithful in their trust in the Lord, encouraging them to endure temporary hardships and to remember the blessings yet to come. Numerous churches throughout the country bear the patronage of the Apostle of the Romanian people, and the names Andrei and Andreea are common across Romania. The Feast of Saint Andrew is also one of the patronal celebrations of the National Cathedral.
Closely connected to this day, the following Monday brings the reminder and reaffirmation of vows made in the name of the Living God by those who returned to the soil so that we might ascend to the heavens. It warns us not to fade away in the weakness of trivial distractions and the hollow noise that echoes through the world. We mark 107 years since the Great Union of December 1, 1918—the year of immense courage and joy for the Romanian people, when the country was reunited on the ancient soil of Dacia, the beloved land of our ancestors. We are once again stirred by the memorable cry, “We want to unite with the country!”, intertwined with Andrei Mureșanu’s immortal hymn “Awaken, Romanian!”, set to rhythm by Anton Pann and his student Gheorghe Ucenescu. We have not forgotten the quiet, unresentful ones who made Greater Romania possible—those to whom we owe this nation, who rest in the passes that shaped our country and who now watch over us from Heaven.
Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:18–27) offers the key to another feast—a calling we must lift our eyes toward if we are to remain truly alive. The dramatic scene teaches the lesson of love: it is always time to see the good by looking to the Lord. No law, no regulation, no precaution or fear, no concern such as “so that they won’t say…” or “so that it won’t seem as if…” can be an obstacle, pretext, or excuse. In Christ, such barriers do not exist. Everything is simplicity, goodness, compassion, and urgency in overcoming evil, illness, weakness, and suffering. Only the bending of the soul can shift our natural gravity—meant to draw us toward God—toward sin and the earth.
Let us pray to remain in the heavenly clarity of the Church and in the nourishing sweetness of salvation offered by Orthodoxy. Let us pray—with the quiet assurance of one who knows he cannot prevail alone. For it takes an entire Nation for God to remain the protector of that Nation.
School Inspector,
Fr. Prof. Dr. Adrian Alexandrescu
