INFORMATION BULLETIN

Archbishop Valerian was a personality of numerous talents and a born leader. He had the capacity to understand the problems of his people, the wisdom to resolve them, and the power to sacrifice himself for the good of his flock.

It was given to him to have an eventful life and to spend long periods of time in different parts of the world in diverse nations and cultures. However, he fulfilled the mission of his life among his own people in the New World.

In studying the history of Archbishop Valerian’s life, a parallel between his particular destiny and that of the group of people he descended from should be noticed.

He descended from the “Mori,” the very special and noble branch of the Romanians living in the Western (Apuseni) Mountains of Romania, a group of people that were remarkable for their dignity, courage, steadfastness under adversities and respect for traditions. In the very turbulent history of Romanian Transylvania, a lot of the legendary leaders of the struggle for liberty and human dignity were “Mofi” like Horia, Cloşca and Avram Iancu; and, all of them met an undeserved tragic end.

The “Mod” used to travel from time immemorial from one end to the other of the Romanian land. They carried with them very modest material belongings but a rich soul and an almost mythical aura of courage, dignity and commitment for what is good and gives sense to human life. These qualities in many circumstances contributed to unite and to focus the efforts and the consciences of other Romanians who were (and still are) more “easy go-

ing.” In other words, in many instances the “Moţi” were the catalysts, the persons that precipitated changes in a good direction.

For the Romanian-American community and Romanian-American heritage, such an exceptional personality was Archbishop Valerian D. Trifa.

Archbishop Valerian D. Trifa will be remembered for the many material things achieved during his long pastorate, as well as for his outstanding

qualities of leader. But if the material things are destined to last only for a limited period of time, his achievements in the spiritual arena will last indefinitely.

Archbishop Valerian was instrumental in putting the Romanian-American community on very firm ground by answering and clarifying two main issues that were somehow “floating” in the air but which were not, until his time, properly addressed.

These two issues were: what the Romanian-American community was, and what should be its relation with the rest of the country. These two issues were of extreme importance, and they needed to be explained in order to resolve conflicts resulting from the fact that the Romanian-American community was changing in nature and character. When Archbishop Valerian became the spiritual leader of the Romanian-American Orthodox community, this community already ceased to be an “outsider,” or marginal group, and was part of America. However, not all members of the community fully realized this fact, and certain conflicts still lingered between the partisans of the “old” ways and those who rightly wanted changes.

It was due to the wisdom, patience and special charisma of Archbishop Valerian that the changes were accepted gradually by all and that a new, common self-understanding emerged.

Archbishop Valerian fully understood the special nature of the American nation and the relation between ethnic roots and being American. Especially, he understood and explained that between these two things was no contradiction, and that in fact they complemented each other. Ahead of his time, Archbishop Valerian D. Trifa realized that the United States was a country of exceptional ethnic diversity. He understood that this diversity was a source of potential conflicts but especially a source of strength. More than that, Archbishop Valerian understood that it was no contradiction between being “ethnic” and being at the same time “American,” and that the whole argument revolved around the particular character of the American nation. A particular character which G.K. Chesterton defined when he said: “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed.”

That “creed” on which the American nation is based was expressed in the “Declaration of Independence” and in the Constitution of the United States.

Archbishop Valerian fully understood and clearly explained that complementary relationship between the American creed and identity and the ethnic character of America.

This tremendous effort of giving his community and flock a clear sense of identity and a correct perspective was very soberly expressed in Archbishop Valerian’s testamentary letter when he said that we was grateful for “serving the Holy Orthodox Church, my Romanian heritage and my beloved country, the United States of America.” In this light, Archbishop Valerian was not only a spiritual leader, founder of churches and editor of liturgical books, but also the main contributor to the formation of the concept of Romanian-American heritage.

For his activity, Archbishop Valerian was rewarded with the respect and the unconditional love of his people. In the meantime, he was the victim of a vicious and disgraceful campaign of slanders and false accusations. These actions were propagated by the Godless communist regime of Romania, by an unscrupulous segment of the media and by irresponsible adepts of political expediency. He was persecuted and had to end his life in exile, but he proved his moral superiority by refusing to deal in hate and by forgiving all his detractors. Above all, he proved what was said in John 12:20-27: “… unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

ALEXANDRU NEMOIANU