After all the activities of the retreat the Moldovan Priest wives and His Emience PETRU gather together for a group photo.

His Eminence Metropolitan PETRU of Bessarabia and Eastern Regions blessed the first priest wives retreat that took place on June 18th and 19th at Orhei Vechi. The focus of the retreat was to gather the hard working priest wives (in the Romanian language 'Preoteasa') together for a short time of relaxation and to meet one another. Invited to the retreat was Preoteasa Antoneta Negru from the Romanian Orthodox Church who led several sessions, and presented wonderful short films to make the retreat a success.

There has never been an event held in honor of the Preotese prior to this, which was undertaken by OCMC Missionary Christina Semon and Preoteasa Mariana Aga, Orhei, MD. The planning of such an event was difficult to arrange with the Preotese because most of the home life in this culture is so dependent on their daily presence. However, despite the many challenges of planning the event, they continued forward as best as they knew how. Five out of eighty priest wives were able to make the sacrifice and decision to make a difference in their lives and contribute to a stronger sisterhood in the Body of Christ. The sessions that were held during the retreat included sharing life experiences as priest wives, employed women, mothers, and project leaders within the parish community.

At the end of the retreat, Metropolitan PETRU joined the Preotese for lunch and enjoyed open dialogue with all who were present. Pt. Antoneta worked hard to finish the personalized video for the Moldovan Preotese which provided a wonderful conclusion to the event. The openness of His Eminence with the Preotese provided a growing experience and the eagerness to continue such meetings annually. One such encouraging aspect for the upcoming year 2013 was an invitation to the Moldovan Preotese to go to Romania and to meet other Romanian Preotese. Through God’s help and guidance in all of the life of the Church, this collaboration will help sustain and continue to produce effective leaders within the Bessarabian Orthodox Church.