St. Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Church In Sunnyside Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

By Nick Stamatakis

Last Sunday, I was invited to participate in the 50th anniversary of the establishment of St. Nicholas of Sunnyside, the home of a vibrant and pious Romanian community, a next-door neighbor to our Astoria (and Corona and Jackson Heights) Greek Orthodox Churches. The parish priest, Father Marius Dumitrescu, has spent a few years in Cyprus and speaks Greek; he was hosting for the occasion two hierarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church of the Americas, Metropolitan Nicolae Condrea, the leader of the Romanian Orthodox Church of the Americas and Bishop Ioan Casian, both not only highly educated, as a quick search proved but also endowed with obvious charisma.

This is not the first time Helleniscope has mentioned this beautiful little church of Saint Nicholas. Since its establishment, Helleniscope tried to promote Panorthodox unity in America, and we have repeatedly suggested ways to cooperate. We are proud to have many readers from other Orthodox churches, particularly Romanian. And I must tell you that being in the Romanian Church feels like home to us Greeks, despite the linguistic hurdles.

Many parishioners wore traditional Romanian folk dresses for the momentous occasion—it felt like a national celebration! The liturgy was followed by a dinner and celebration at the Saint Teresa Catholic Church dining hall, just a block away. About 250 participants enjoyed food appropriate for fasting, watched the award ceremony, and heard the priest and the hierarchs.

And then… Then, the real celebration started with Christmas Carols and folk and patriotic songs from the children’s choir…

But the real treat was the performance of Christmas carols and a vast array of folk songs by the members of the psaltic choir “St. Inochentie de la Probota,” which originates from Moldova and came here at the invitation of the Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas. The well-trained choir, led by Rev. Prof. Constantin-Dan Magdalena, gave an elating performance.  

They performed carols, psalms, and many folk songs… Following impeccably the best Byzantine musical traditions… If you need additional proof, please look at one of their members playing the tri-cord Pontian Lyra… An instrument that has its roots in Crete and Karpathos and was spread all over the Byzantine lands about ten centuries ago…

You can find many videos online of the choir “St. Inochentie de la Probota.” I have picked one to give you a taste.

Congratulations to Father Marius Dumitrescu and all the performers and participants!!