Ordination of Roman Kaminsky

On Saturday, April 25, 2009, a very joyful and rare occasion took place for the Hebrew speaking Catholic community in Israel in the Church of the Resurrection of the Benedictines in Abu Ghosh. The ordination ceremony of "our" Roman began at 11.00 in the morning in the presence of a great number of faithful from all the Hebrew speaking Catholic communities in Israel: from Beer Sheba, Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Many people who are not members of our communities were also there, including Arabic speaking Christians and Jewish friends. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, ordained Roman to the priesthood and beside him were his Vicars - Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo (Vicar for Israel), Bishop Kamal Bathish (Vicar for Jerusalem and the Palestinian Autonomy) and Father David Neuhaus (Vicar for the Hebrew speaking communities in Israel). With them stood Father Abbot Charles Galichet, head of the Benedictine monastery. Likewise, other important guests arrived. Most important of all, Roman's parents and other family members, the Greek Catholic Bishop of Jerusalem, Mgr. Joseph Zreihi, the ambassador of Poland and her husband and the consul of Poland too. Indeed, many faces and one prayer, unity but not uniformity.

The celebration began at 11.00 when the choir led the assembly in singing in Hebrew: "Christ is risen - Halleluia" and they continued with other songs in Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Russian. The celebration was in English and Hebrew however the readings (1 Samuel 3:1-10, Psalm 98, Ephesians 4:1-6) were in Hebrew and Polish. The Gospel was chanted in Hebrew by Wissam Massa'deh, a Jordanian deacon from the Latin Patriarchate who will be ordained to the priesthood in June. The Patriarch gave his homily in English but it was read straight afterwards in Hebrew by Father David. It was moving to hear that the celebration was held in this Church as a token to honor the former Vicar of the community, the late Abbot Jean-Baptiste Gourion, former abbot of the monastery. After this the ordination ceremony took place mostly in English. Many were very moved during the ceremony especially when the new priest donned his robes for the first time and then received the anointing of his hands from the Patriarch. After the ceremony, our Roman joined the ranks of the priests who celebrated the mass. Because of the many people in the assembly, communion was distributed at four different points in the Church however many wanted to receive communion from the hands of the new priest - our own Roman.

First reading

Singing the Psalm

Deacon Wissam chants the Gospel in Hebrew

The homily

The promises

The litany of the saints

Imposition of hands

Father David imposes hands

Father Bernard vests the new priest

The anointing of hands

Father Roman at the altar

In his short but moving words of thank you in various languages Roman touched many hearts. The warm applause at the end was much deserved and was not only for him but for all who had helped organize this event. At the end of the ceremony we left the church in a long patient and orderly line in order to congratulate the Patriarch, Roman, Father David, Bishop Marcuzzo and Bishop Bathish.

Roman thanks one and all

Congratulating the parents

Throughout the ceremony many photographers ran to and fro, some professional and some amateur, many from among the members of the Hebrew speaking communities who wanted to memorialize this rare and joyful event. Bravo to the choir who played and sang magnificently and took captive our hearts in Hebrew, Latin and Russian.

At the end of the celebration there was a delicious reception, food and drink in large quantities, provided by the members of the communities. Children of all ages ran around the grounds - from babies to adolescents - while their parents had a bit of a break if they did not have to run after their young ones. At about 14.00 people began to disperse to go home.

Sharing word and food

In summary: this was indeed a rare occasion and very heart warming too for the Hebrew speaking Catholic community in Israel. People from different nations and languages were brought together in one prayer at the moment that a Hebrew speaking Catholic priest begins the service of his flock. It was wonderful to see everyone - from the warm south (Beer Sheba and Arad) to the green north (Haifa and Upper Nazareth), young and old, Hebrew speakers and speakers of many other languages, from many different origins, all of them saying with one voice: thank you Lord for moments like these! Even if we are small in number we are united in faith for ourselves and for our children.

Warm congratulations to our Roman! We wish you every success!

See article and photos on the site of the Latin Patriarchate: View and read

(Photos from Marie-Armelle Beaulieu of the Custody of the Holy Land)