Last Sunday was 19 October, the day that a bunch us INFER Workshop participants accepted the invitation of Babes-Bolyai University to go sightseeing toward the city of Alba Julia, Transylvania, about 100 Km south of Cluj. Chief cameraman on our tour was Rodrigo Zeidon of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who took all the pictures you see here. I will attempt to identify them correctly for you.This first picture was taken just below the Hotel Belvedere in Cluj-Napoca, Showing how charming is my new city when viewed from the hill. It reminds me a bit of some views of California cities from their neighboring mountains.
The next shot was taken at the RÂMEŢI (Ruh-mesht) Monastery in the isolated village of that name some 20 Km north of Alba Julia. I plan to take family there when they come to Romania, as there is a hillside guest house just up the road, and this country is spectacular. The next few photos show other views in the monastery.
Here we all are.
As we were preparing to leave RÂMEŢI, a sizeable group of the local faithful came out of the main church at the monastery, sipping wine from cups and eating bread and fruit. We learned that it had been a memorial service for a man who had recently passed away, and to feed those who came to the service with the symbolic body and blood of Christ, plus local fruits, is their custom. We were offered some food, and a number of us accepted, as it was way past lunch time.
We remounted our University vans and rode to Alba Julia, where we enjoyed an excellent lunch, then visited the Orthodox church that you see here.
Your humble reporter then caught a ride back to Cluj along with the Rodriguez family from Barcelona, who had a plane to catch. I went along, as I had work to do, and our driver Mihai had an old MZ that he had offered to show me.
Our hostess, Monica Ioana Pop Silaghi, organizer of the entire event, gets final billing, standing with her guardian at the next site visited (a fortress?), and that I missed seeing.
And before we went into the Cathedral, these blokes went up, up and away, in their beautiful balloon.
3 comments:
Nice pics. But tell the truth-did you head back early because you had work to do OR to see the MZ?
Keep touring and finding these interesting spots for the family to visit.
Drinking wine or brandy and eating bread and fruit/"coliva" at a memorial service (Rom. "parastas") is not symbolic of the Body and Blood of Christ, as I know.
The Orthodox confess that they only receive Christ's Body and Blood at the Holy Liturgy, and there these are real, not merely "symbolic".
Thank you for the clarification. I had actually wondered about that, but was quoting what I'd been told by a fellow Fulbrighter at the monastery.
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