At the initiative and with the participation of His Grace Bishop Macarie Drăgoi, a series of events took place in the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe, commemorating the three decades since the fall of communism in Romania. Notable guests were Marcel Petrișor (b. 1930, renowned professor, writer and political prisoner between 1952 and 1964) and Marius Vasileanu (b. 1964, specialist in religious history and anthropology, researcher of the cultural-religious movement “Rugul Aprins” (The Burning Bush).

Thus, on Friday, December 20, 2019, at the Diocesan Center in Stockholm, the two guests presented to the public the conferences on the themes “The future of Romanian emigration” and “The cultural-spiritual Movement The Burning Bush and its actuality in the 21st century”.

The events continued on Sunday, December 22, 2019, in the church of the Romanian parish in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, where Father Bishop Macarie performed the Holy Liturgy and the Requiem of the Heroes in December 1989, surrounded by gathering of priests and deacons. Addressing the theme “We will die, and we will be free – Romanians in three decades of freedom”, the former political prisoner Marcel Petrișor and the writer Marius Vasileanu spoke to those present about the terrors of the communist regime and the freedom struggle carried out by the Romanian people in December 1989. The two guests were honored by His Grace Macarie with the highest distinction of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe – The Northern Cross for laymen.

The children of the parish caroled and received several gifts from the bishop.