Source: Basilica News Agency
November 24, 2015
Rev. Fr. Nicolae Tănase, parish priest of Valea Plopului (the Valley of the Plopar), Prahova County, was awarded by His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, the St. John Chrysostom Order, on Tuesday, November 24, 2015. Fr Nicolae also received the rank of oikonomos-stavrophore.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel congratulated Fr Nicolae for all his work:
We congratulate Fr Nicolae Tănase for his special philanthropic activity at the Valea Plopului parish, and also for his extended missionary ministry both here and abroad, because he is often invited to bear witness for the benefit of the Church and society to the Orthodox faith and teachings, especially on family, and on children as a gift from God. May the good God, through the intercessions of St. John Chrysostom, grant him a similar spiritual zeal and love for the salvation of people, especially for the support of the suffering and of those in need. This is a moment of appreciation, joy and encouragement. When an award is granted, we show gratitude, but also a hope for continuation. Gratitude is shown for the work already carried out, and hope for the continuation of the work for the benefit of the Church and the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.
“”This day is special and surprising at the same time. This moment, as His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has said, hihglights a past stage and the beginning of a new one in which we hope to continue the philanthropic ministry of the Church for the benefit of the Christians in the parish, and not simpy preaching to the people what today is necessary”, Fr Nicolae Tănase said.
Fr Nicolae Tănase is a parish priest of Valea Plopului village in Prahova County, Romania. By his efforts, twenty-nine churches were built in the village. Beginning in 1990, Fr Nicolae started his ministry by preaching against abortion. In 1994, Fr Nicolae Tănase founded the Pro Vita (For Life) Association for the support of born and unborn children. The mission of the Association is to protect the dignity of human life, and particularly of children, both born and unborn.
The main objectives of the association are:
- Organizing programs of social assistance for orphaned or abandoned children, and for young, single mothers, first by offering them a place to stay in the association's homes.
- The social reintegration of children living on the street and of those abandoned in hospitals. The first step is represented by physical and psychological recovery.
- The integration into the community of youth over 18 years old who can no longer stay in orphanages. The first step is to offer support for learning a profession.
- The protection of young mothers rejected by their families. The first step is to offer pre- and post-natal support, the chance to avoid the trauma of abortion.
