Faith in the former Eastern Bloc.....

We came across this scene at an Orthodox Church, in Constanta, a Romanian Black Sea port. These young men are all candidates for ordination (despite the fact that some of them looked a bit like spivs to us!!) Our guide, Coco (!) told us that about 60% plus Romanians are Orthodox. Her grandfather had been a priest but was forced, during the Communist era, to choose between going to gaol or taking a factory job. He chose the latter, but a lot of them, such as Petre Tutea, went to gaol.

I have been amazed at the knowledge of some of our guides in relation to faith. The Serbian one, Liliana, carefully explained to us the theological differences between the Catholic and Orthodox faiths - you know, whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from God....... I'm afraid I don't exactly remember the distinction!! Also, the Christians in Belgrade are painstakingly re-building their Cathedral. While we went through, there was beautiful singing from the choir, and Nancie and I both bought a little CD of it.