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Archbishop
NATHANIEL
was
born
in
Aurora
IL,
on
June
12,
1940,
to
a
family
of
Romanian
heritage
(County
of
Satu
Mare)
who
attended
the
Saint
Michael
the
Archangel
Romanian
Greek-Catholic
Church
in
Aurora.
Having
gained
from
his
experiences
at
Saint
Michael’s
a
desire
to
serve
the
Lord
as
a
priest,
he
attended
Saint
Procopius
College,
a
Benedictine-operated
liberal
arts
school
and
"Pontifical
Eastern
Rite
Center"
in
Lisle
IL.
Called
to
Rome,
Italy,
by
the
Romanian
Byzantine
Rite
Catholic
Bishop
VASILE
(Cristea),
he
studied
at
Gregorian
University
and
resided
at
the
Greek
College
of
Saint
Athanasius.
While
there,
the
rituals,
canons,
and
practical
spiritual
life
of
the
Byzantine
Rite
were
learned
and
lived
with
students
from
Greece,
Lebanon,
Syria,
Calabria,
and
Sicily.
He
was
also
witness
to
the
workings
of
the
Second
Vatican
Council
(1962-1966).
During
his
stay
in
Europe,
he
visited
extensively
in
Greece,
Germany,
Italy,
and
had
the
mysterious
and
powerful
encounter
of
Mount
Athos.
His
comment
at
this
time
was,
"If
only
the
monks
were
not
Orthodox!"
Actually,
his
first
visit
to
an
Orthodox
church
was
at
this
time.
The
spirituality
deeply
moved
him
but
the
interior
conflict
of
history
and
loyalty
to
the
"Unia"
made
him
keep
Orthodoxy
at
a
distance.
It
was
on
Mount
Athos
that
one
of
the
spiritual
fathers
"bestowed"
on
him
his
name
of
"Nathaniel."
Having
completed
his
studies,
he
was
ordained
into
the
Holy
Diaconate
on
July
17,
1966,
at
Colle
de
Tora,
"San
Anatolia"
summer
chapel
of
the
"Collegio
Greco"
by
Bishop
Cristea,
and
on
October
23,
1966,
he
was
ordained
into
the
Holy
Priesthood
in
the
Romanian
Uniate
Church
"San
Salvatore"
in
Coppele,
Rome,
by
the
same
hierarch.
In
January
of
1967,
he
returned
home
and
was
appointed
Assistant
Priest
of
his
home
parish,
Saint
Michael.
The
spirituality,
theology
and
call
of
Orthodoxy,
which
had
been
dormant,
began
to
beckon
and
within
a
matter
of
months,
he
laid
aside
the
Unia
and
sought
entrance
into
the
Orthodox
Church.
At
this
time,
his
practical
knowledge
of
American
ecclesiological
realty
was
unknown
to
him.
Having
left
the
Aurora
parish,
he
visited
with
classmates
from
Rome
who
had
also
embraced
Orthodoxy
and
were
serving
in
various
"jurisdictions"
in
North
America.
Through
Fr
Vasile
Haţegan
of
New
York
NY,
then
Cleveland
OH,
he
was
introduced
to
Archbishop
VALERIAN
(Trifa)
who
worked
with
him
to
be
received
into
the
ranks
of
the
clergy
of
The
Romanian
Orthodox
Episcopate
of
America
(ROEA).
He
fully
embraced
the
Orthodox
Faith
in
the
Chapel
of
"The
Nativity
of
the
Birthgiver
of
God,"
Vatra
Românească,
Grass
Lake
MI,
in
the
presence
of
Archbishop
VALERIAN
on
February
15,
1968.
For
several
years,
he
resided
in
a
small
monastic
community
on
the
Vatra
property
until
he
was
appointed
rector
of
Holy
Cross
Church
in
Hermitage
PA.
An
author
of
numerous
articles,
speaker,
and
lecturer,
he
also
taught
at
the
summer
youth
camps
of
the
diocese.
He
was
Confessor
to
the
Sisterhood
of
the
Holy
Transfiguration
Monastery
and
was
instrumental
in
the
founding
of
an
"Inter-Orthodox"
Women’s
Association
in
the
Hermitage
area.
In
April
1978,
he
was
one
of
two
representatives
of
the
Orthodox
Church
in
America
(OCA)
at
the
Conference
on
Monasticism
in
Cairo,
Egypt.
He
had
been
Spiritual
Advisor
to
The
American
Romanian
Orthodox
Youth,
an
active
member
of
the
diocesan
Liturgical
Commission,
Late
Vocations
Program,
and
Episcopate
Council,
and,
among
all
these
activities,
he
is
also
a
painter
of
"icons
on
glass"
(icoane
pe
sticla)
in
the
Romanian
peasant
style
and
a
collector
of
historical
art
and
artifacts.
At
the
request
of
Archbishop
VALERIAN
for
assistance
in
the
administration
of
the
expansive
diocese,
he
was
called
to
the
Hierarchy
by
a
Special
Congress
of
The
Romanian
Orthodox
Episcopate
on
September
20,
1980.
On
the
feast
of
the
Transylvanian
martyrs,
Sofronie,
Visarion,
and
Oprea,
October
21,
1980,
Father
Popp
professed
the
"angelic"
vows
(Little
Schema)
at
the
Vatra
Chapel,
taking
the
name
of
the
Holy
Apostle
NATHANIEL.
He
was
then
elevated
to
the
rank
of
Archimandrite.
His
Consecration
to
the
Episcopacy
took
place
at
Saint
George
Cathedral
in
Southfield/Detroit
MI,
on
November
15,
1980.
The
Holy
Liturgy
and
Consecration
were
officiated
by
Metropolitan
THEODOSIUS,
Primate
of
The
Orthodox
Church
in
America,
assisted
by
Archbishop
VALERIAN
of
Detroit
and
The
Romanian
Orthodox
Episcopate
of
America,
Bishops
KYRILL
of
Pittsburgh
(OCA-Bulgarian),
DMITRI
of
Dallas
(OCA),
CHRISTOPHER
of
the
Eastern
Serbian
Diocese
(Serbian
Patriarchate),
BORIS
of
Chicago
(OCA),
and
MARK
of
Boston
(OCA).
He
was
installed
the
next
day
as
Bishop
of
Dearborn
Heights,
with
the
Saints
Peter
&
Paul
Church
there
as
his
cathedral,
and
was
named
an
Auxiliary
Bishop
for
The
Romanian
Orthodox
Episcopate
of
America.
He
assisted
the
Archbishop
in
this
capacity
until
1984,
when
the
latter
retired
and
relocated
to
Portugal.
On
Sunday,
November
17,
1984,
Bishop
NATHANIEL
was
enthroned
at
Saint
George
Cathedral
as
ruling
Hierarch
of
The
Romanian
Orthodox
Episcopate
of
America.
Since
then,
he
has
overseen
the
tremendous
growth
and
expansion
of
the
diocese
(39
new
missions/parishes,
a
monastic
community
for
women
and
a
monastic
community
for
men),
carefully
maintaining
the
Romanian
tradition
and
integrating
the
many
"newcomers"
into
American
society,
while
at
the
same
time
recognizing
the
importance
of
a
united
Orthodox
witness
in
this
land.
He
has
remained
at
the
forefront
of
the
movement
toward
a
united
Autocephalous
American
Church.
His
Eminence
is
the
Episcopal
Moderator
for
the
Pastoral
Life
Ministries
Unit
of
The
Orthodox
Church
in
America,
Chairman
of
the
V
D
Trifa
Romanian
American
Heritage
Center
in
Grass
Lake
MI,
organizer
of
the
"Help
for
Romania
Fund"
and
co-founder
of
"Help
the
Children
of
Romania"
in
1990,
Chairman
of
the
Congress
of
Romanian
American
(CORA)
since
1991,
President
of
the
Board
of
The
Center
for
Orthodox
Christian
Studies
in
Detroit,
and
Spiritual
Advisor
for
the
Orthodox
Christian
Laity
(OCL).
In
1994,
desiring
to
fulfill
the
longing
to
visit
Romania,
Archbishop
NATHANIEL
made
a
pilgrimage
to
visit
all
parts
of
Romania.
In
1995,
at
the
invitation
of
His
Beatitude
Patriarch
TEOCTIST,
he
was
a
guest
of
the
Patriarchate
for
the
festivities
celebrating
110
years
since
the
Autocephaly
of
the
Church
of
Romania
and
70
years
since
the
establishment
of
a
Romanian
Patriarchate.
In
May
2003,
His
Eminence
traveled
to
Romania
where
he
was
awarded
an
Honorary
Doctorate
from
the
University
of
Oradea
in
recognition
of
his
leadership
of
the
Romanian
Orthodox
community
in
North
America
and
of
humanitarian
efforts
in
post-communist
Romania.
Under
his
direction,
the
ROEA
came
to
the
aid
of
their
brothers
and
sisters
in
Romania
immediately
after
the
fall
of
communism,
and
continue
until
this
day
to
petition
for
their
rights.
These
are
also
times
when
the
ROEA
resumed
a
relationship
with
the
Church
of
Romania,
with
His
Eminence
working
for
a
greater
understanding
between
the
two
groups.
He
has
been
an
active
member
of
the
Synod
of
Bishops
of
The
Orthodox
Church
in
America
since
his
Consecration,
and
has
represented
the
OCA
in
numerous
events
both
in
North
America
and
Europe.
On
Wednesday,
October
20,
1999,
in
its
Fall
Session,
the
Holy
Synod
bestowed
upon
His
Grace
the
elevation
to
Archbishop.
May
our
Lord
and
Savior
continue
to
bless
His
Eminence,
Archbishop
NATHANIEL
with
good
health,
love
and
concern
for
his
flock,
and
the
vision
of
a
greater
Orthodox
witness
in
North
America.
Many
Years,
O
Master!
Intru
Mulţi
Ani,
Stăpâne! |
