Most of the population of Romania is Orthodox and that is visible in Taizé. The Romanians are the only Orthodox who speak a Romance language. They feel that they have the responsibility of being a “bridge” between East and West. Once or twice a week, the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom was celebrated in Romanian, in the small village church. The liturgy is at the heart of their life of faith: for two hours everything stops, as if heaven touched earth. The life of the women and men of our time is presented to God, with their cares and their sorrows, and people leave “bearing peace”. The Byzantine tradition is rich and beautiful. Some young people say that in Taizé, paradoxically, they were able to begin to rediscover the beauty of the treasure which is theirs and to have the desire to go deeper, to go to the source of this life and this joy present at the heart of the praise of God’s people. We have recorded the testimonies of three young people from Bucharest.
Octavian: my parish is my family
What is beautiful in my parish is the peace, the quiet, and the feeling I have of being at home. It is a place where I feel close to God, also because I sense the support of others. It’s my family. During the major feasts we feel an immense joy. The joy of those who come regularly to church is doubled by the presence of those who come less frequently. All the spaces in the church are full, even the furthest corners. They are filled with new faces. And in our parish there are people who do all they can to make them feel welcome.
In general, people in Taizé do not know that the great majority of the Romanian people are Orthodox. But very quickly, we realize that barriers between denominations fall, and what matters is that we are all Christians. The outward form of prayer is different, but before coming to Taizé for the first time I expected that. I imagined that it would be something special, different from what I was familiar with at home. I have always enjoyed getting to know realities different than mine; I have never expected to find similar things in faraway places. Differences enrich me.
I realized only lately that the Church has always protected me. At a certain time in my life, I managed only to see the formalistic side of the Church. Helped by other people, by a spiritual director, by friends, I was able to discover something else. That period coincided with my first visit to Taizé. I realized that faith could be expressed in a way that was less formalistic. I could have discovered that at home, but at that time my eyes were not prepared. It was an opportune moment for me to return to the life of my parish. Once a priest told me that we should not go to church because it pleases us, or because it pleases others, but because it pleases God. If the important thing is pleasing God, then all the rest becomes relative. The challenge is to discover what is true in apparently rigid acts.
Cristina: not judging and not feeling judged
Taizé taught me not to judge and not to feel judged. Before, I was afraid to do things in church that were out of place, to make mistakes. If I feel at ease at Taizé, that means that I can also feel at ease at home. But I must also be attentive not to judge others. I think that too is what changed after I came to Taizé.
Daniel: a great thirst for God
In the Orthodox Church, we feel that there is a kind of uninterrupted link with the Fathers of the Church. Reference is constantly made to this treasure. We feel that we are in communion with the Christians of the first centuries. There is a mystical life, a thirst for inner seeking, which goes on at the same time as outer activities.
In Taizé I learned to find God through a life with others. In large cities the community spirit can get lost. It is hard for priests to know each parishioner and it is hard for the faithful to feel that they really belong to a community. In Taizé the diversity is even greater but you manage to feel in communion with everybody. You become open to all; you can understand God’s love for all. At Taizé I also discovered a different way of being a monk. I expected to find another kind of monk there: men more concerned with the search for inner peace than with welcoming others. In the monasteries of Romania there also exists a witness and religious instruction, but it could be more developed. Many people visit the monasteries, especially on weekends, and you sense an immense thirst for God.
At Taizé I discovered the joy of a simple prayer, prayer face to face. People pray in this way at home too, but often they look for moments of communion with God outside of community celebrations. It would be beautiful to invite people to have this personal relationship with God during the celebrations.