Parohia "Sf. Nectarie Taumaturgul" - Coslada

Romanian Orthodox Parish “St. Nectarios, the Healer” of Coslada

Of all the aspects of contemporary Spain, the most striking is the “New Spain”: democratic, ambitious member of the EU, Spain became in just a few decades an important stage for the world’s historical events and a large consumer of information and culture, which makes it even more attractive.

The economic well-being and the generous job offer have attracted and still attract, despite the global economic crisis, a rich and diverse workforce, mainly from the developing countries, among which Romania stands at the top. This explains why in almost all regions of Spain you can hear people speaking Romanian, in almost all economic sector there are Romanian workers, preferred even to other immigrants for the responsible way in which they do their work.

Gradually, large communities of Romanian were formed urging for priests and churches, so that today there are over forty parishes in Spain and a few other more in the neighbouring country, Portugal, with priests that attempt to answer to the spiritual needs of the immigrants, with the only means provided by the Diaspora.

The Most Reverend Father Iosif, Archbishop and Metropolitan for Western and Southern Europe appointed a priest for the community of Romanian temporarily or permanently established in Coslada, on competition basis (Episcopal Decision No. 212/2007 dated June 1st, 2007). Namely, it was appointed Father iconomos stavroforos George-Ovidiu Cimpoca, former counsellor on social and mission issues in the Bishopric of the Lower Danube (now Archiepiscopate) and former parish priest of the “Transfiguration of the Lord” Church in the city of Galați (România).

The spiritual patron and protector of the parish is the Holy Hierarch Nectarios, the Healer, held every year on 9 November.

At first, the parish community developed its liturgical, catechetical, missionary and cultural activities in a space within the Catholic Church of “Santa Cruz”. Over time, the number of parishioners of Coslada grew so that it was necessary to find a new space better suited to the liturgical and missionary needs.

The Romanians of Coslada, many of which settled here immediately after 1990, come from different regions of Romania, especially form the regions of Oltenia (Alexandria, Teleorman), Moldova and Maramureș, and very few from Ardeal. The vast majority come from rural areas, with specific traditions and customs of their areas of origin.

The life of the parish in facts

The Romanian Orthodox mission among here means to live fully each and every experience, to be the first to bear witness with our lives and leading by example. Our mission here means to promote the good life, justice and Christian values. It means fighting all forms that the evil can take within us (our being, our time, our place, our projects) and outside of us, with patience and perseverance, overcoming even the risk of compromising our image. The Gospel and the mission will always pose new challenges. We cannot stay in a comfortable and neutral position. The concrete and overt faith challenges and bullies the one who lives “asleep”. It denounces all situations and attitudes that are not human. At all costs! The mission means to be a prophet in fighting the injustice of the world.

With the blessing of Father Timotei, Bishop of Spain and Portugal, there were proposed and developed a series of activities:

• screening of documentaries and films on spiritual, biblical and hagiographic issues (e.g. On the steps of San Nectarios in Eguina, Father Cleopa speaks to us, Spiritual words from our elders, fathers Arsenie Papacioc, Teofil Părăian, Rafail Noica etc., The Island, The Life of St. Demetrius, The Life of St. George, The Priest, Journey to the Holy Land);

• Conference “Orthodoxy confessed through the life and thought” with the participation of the Archimandrite father Teofil Părăian and father Ilarion Urs, both from the Brâncoveanu Monastery (Sâmbăta);

• anti-abortion campaign: “Abortion = momentary solution, permanent consequences”, “Abortion – deadly wound of love”, “Abortion is killing”; this time there were distributed more than 4,000 of thematic brochures;

• Blood donation campaign: “Give life a chance!” in collaboration with the Spanish Red Cross; as a result, dozens of parishioners are now permanent donors;

• photo exhibition “Coslada – Romanian Orthodoxy through images”;

• participation in meetings on current issues such as fighting drugs and domestic violence among young immigrants, support for the program Coslada – clean, organized by the Immigration Department of the City of Coslada, in collaboration with various NGOs;

• cultural activities, the presentation of the book “Spania – Trei milenii in istorie” (Romanian translation of the book Spain – three millennia of history, by the noted historian Antonio Domínguez Ortíz) translated by Gheorghe Vinţan; the carols show “Deschide usa, Crestine!” with the participation of the singer songwriter Ştefan Hruşcă;

• consecrate the altar of the new worship space (November 8, 2009);

• prepare the visit of HB Patriarch Daniel at the parish of Coslada (April 17, 2010);

• start the campaign aid for the victims of Romania “Show solidarity” (2010);

• organize a pilgrimage to Greece (May 25 – June 2, 2010);

• organize a pilgrimage to Egypt (September 28 – October 10, 2010);

• organize a pilgrimage to Israel (1-7 September 2011);

• initiate the program “Start everything with God!” – prayers at the beginning of each school year;

• prepare the Christmas celebrations: “Christ has been born, rejoice!”;

• organize activities caused by the visit of HE Polycarp Metropolitan of Greece (Madrid), when the parish received small portions of the holy relics of St. Nectarios (February 6, 2011);

• start the Sunday programs “Picnic at noon” or “Tour after the liturgy” (in nature: La Cabrera, Buitrago del Lozoya, El Atazar, Sacedón, The Boalo etc.) Time for fellowship and socialization;

• initiate a series of diplomas to reward the benefactor activity of the faithful: Benefactor’s Diploma, Donor’s Diploma, Diploma “Apostolate of good works” and the Diploma of Honour “Saint Nectarios, the Healer”.

For the missionary needs of the congregation there were released:

• the weekly parish bulletin;

• brochures in Romanian and Spanish on the Holy Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Confession and Penance, guides for confession, for the requiem and for the blessing of the home, where, next to the aspects related to the spiritual meaning, practical elements were added.

• parish presentation brochure, in both Romanian and Spanish;

• presentation brochure of the Orthodox Church: “The Orthodox Church, some aspects of Byzantine Christianity”.

• three booklets: “The Life and akathist of St. Nectarios, the Healer” and “Parish St. Nectarios, the Healer – Coslada, 2007-2009”, “Missionary Activity 2010”, in bilingual Romanian-Spanish edition.

Permanent missionary activities in the parish:

• serve the Holy Mass on Sundays and holidays, according to the weekly parish liturgical program;

• pronounce homilies, teaching and liturgical catechesis words on various missionary and social topics;

• confess and give communion to the faithful in the Great Lent and other fastings of the year;

• organize activities for children caused by the Sunday of Orthodoxy (“The icon in my life”), Maundy Thursday (the washing of the feet ritual with child participation), the Lord’s Resurrection (“Why do we paint eggs because of the Resurrection of the Lord?”), the International Children’s Day, Sunday of the Family, the Saint Nicholas Day and Christmas;

• organize activities for women parishioners at the Annunciation and the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women;

• preparation of the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord that has become a feast of the whole municipality;

• manage and continuously update the parish website: www.sfnectariecoslada.ro;

• maintain good relations with local authorities and develop joint activities for the good of the community;

• write the weekly parish bulletin, print it and distribute it to the parishioners;

• record in video and electronic format all important parish events and archive them;

• reflect parish activities in the Romanian newspapers in Spain (“Român în lume”, “Noi în Spania”, “Românul”, “Occidentul românesc”, “Origini”), in the metropolitan magazine “Apostolia” and the newspaper “Lumina” of the Holy Patriarchy.

However, the two major parish events are the Lord’s Resurrection, which involves several thousand Romanians, and the feast of the spiritual patron of the church, on November 9 of each year.

Personalities that have visited the parish church:

† His Beatitude Father Daniel, Patriarch of Romania;

† His Eminence Polycarp, Greek Archbishop and Metropolitan for Spain and Portugal;

† His Eminence Iosif, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Western and Southern Europe;

† His Eminence Andrei, Archbishop of Alba-Iulia;

† His Eminence Siluan, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Italy

† His Excellency Timotei, Bishop of Spain and Portugal;

† His Excellency Marc Nemţeanul, Vicar Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Western Europe;

† His Excellency Ignatie, Bishop of Spain and Portugal;

Archimandrite Teofil Părăian, Sâmbăta Monastery;

Archimandrite Ilarion Urs, Sâmbăta Monastery;

Archimandrite Nikodimos Kabarnos, Greece;

Mr. Adrian Lemeni, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs;

Mr. Eugen Tomac, Secretary of State for the Romanian diaspora;

Ştefan Hruşcă, singer songwriter;

Ángel Viveros Gutiérrez, Mayor of Coslada;

Rosario Arroyo Lázaro, Immigration Councillor of the City of Coslada;

Agustín González Plasencia, Director of the Department of Immigration – Coslada;

Carlos Iglesias, film director;

Miguel Fonda Stefanescu, president of FEDROM;

Gelu Vlasin, poet.