On May 26, Romanians in Shanghai took part in the first Divine Liturgy conducted in their native language on Chinese soil, which was held at the General Consulate of Romania in Shanghai.
The service was led by Fr. Constantin Prihoancă, a priest of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, who was on a missionary visit to the People’s Republic of China from May 18 to May 31.
Fr. Constantin Prihoancă stated, “Young Orthodox Christians in Shanghai had the opportunity to actively engage in various catechetical meetings and seek answers to the challenges faced by the current generation of Orthodox Christians living far from home.”
He added, “Many Romanians in this region were able to confess, receive Holy Communion, remember the deceased, and experience the Divine Liturgy in Romanian for the first time in this part of the world.”
Discussions during the catechetical meetings highlighted the need for establishing a Romanian Orthodox parish for the nearly 300 Romanians and Moldovans residing in the area, as the closest Romanian parish is 1,750 km away in Tokyo, Japan.
During his visit, Fr. Constantin Prihoancă presented the community with a Holy Gospel, a set of liturgical vessels, icons, and a censer for liturgical use. The Romanian Consul in Shanghai, Ovidiu Simina, also commissioned four royal icons.
Photo: Metropolis of Germany / Source: basilica.ro