The Church of the Resurrection in Bucharest, the only Anglican congregation in Romania, will be celebrating “Queen’s Day” on Sunday for the first time in honor of Queen Marie’s birthday.
Marie was born in Kent, southeast England, on 29 October, 1875 and moved to Romania to marry Ferdinand, then crown prince of Romania, in 1892.
The immensely popular Marie was the last queen of Romania, while her grandson, King Michael was the last king, forced to abdicate by the communists in 1947.
The event is the first in the church’s new monthly arts calendar, the church told Universul.net on Thursday.
Before becoming queen and before the historic red-bricked church was built, the crown princess was already an important part of the Anglican community in Bucharest. She later became integral in raising support for the church’s construction, which began in 1913.
In addition to Queen Marie being remembered by Rev. Dr. Nevsky Everett at the church’s regular Sunday morning service at 10am, the community will open its doors to the public for several events to mark her birthday.
From 1-5pm, visitors can see an exhibit of photographs on loan from Dan Drăghicescu (one of the producers of the documentary,
Marie, Heart of Romania) and items from the church’s archives. From 1-2 pm, volunteers will read from Queen Marie’s Stories for Children, in both English and Romanian. From 3-4pm, the community will offer a guided tour of the church.
At 6pm, a special ticketed event will take place in partnership with Fundaţia Calea Victoriei. Actors Ioana Calotă Philippide and Alexandru Philippide will perform dramatic readings from Queen Marie’s letters and journals (with English text projected), interspersed with musical pieces by pianist Ethan Schmeisser and young vocal soloists Sandra Bărănescu (soprano), Virineia Pîrnău, (soprano), and Cătălin Moței (baritone).
Historian Simona Preda will open with a few words about the Queen’s personality and the texts selected for the performance. The audience is invited to wear evening attire and women may also wear the traditional ‘ia’ (Ed’s note: an embroidered blouse) in honor of Queen Marie, the church told Universul.net.
Donations and part of the proceeds from the evening event will go towards the upkeep of the historic building and the ongoing activities of the community.
The Church of the Resurrection is self-financing and currently receives no outside or government funding.
https://universul.net/govt-promotes-films-on-romanias-queen-marie-and-king-michael/
