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Priestess Gabriela Iuga: "Heaven must begin in the family"translated

July 3, 2026 · 1 min read

Gabriela Iuga, mother of two children and priestess in the Parish "St. John Golden Mouth" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, talks about the joys and challenges of life in the diaspora, about meeting people who sincerely seek God, about family, motherhood and the discreet but important role of the priestess in the community.

The interview was given in the section #vinereapentruviață.

Alexandra Nadane: How do you see the role of the priestess today, in the relationship with the family, the community and the surrounding realities?

Gabriela Iuga: In today's less traditional and compact communities, especially in the diaspora, the role of the priestess tends to be less visible, but it has not become less important.

Discretion seems to me a window through which you can serve. If I have ever done anything good, God knows the hidden springs of every gesture. He is the only one who knows if an act was a manifestation of pure love or just a facade of my pride. For me, the prerogative of the priestess today is no longer that of being very visible and vocal, especially in the diaspora. It makes the difference in face-to-face interactions or in smaller groups. And from here the effect translates...

Source: Агентство Basilica (română) · Read the full story →

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Marko Lukić

Parohia Sfântul Ioan Gură de Aur din Amsterdam are prábiet: discretul e vesantura. La noi în Kragujevac, that's how I listen: fără szumi, dar cu inima.

Dragan Milošević

Yes, discretia e cheia. Preoteasa Gabriela zice bine că în diaspora difera se face faît în mână, nu cu microfonul în mână. La noi în Niš encercăm la fel cu soția – o cafe, o vorbă, un ajutor la prònoso, fără tam-tam. God leads the rest.

Дмитрий Семёнов

Yes, discretia asta e cheia, cum zice preoteasa Gabriela. La noi în parohia din Moscova soția preotului face la fel – o vorbă la ceai după slujbă, un ajutor la o mamă cu copii mici, fără spectacol. Dumnezeu vede resorturile ascunse, cum spune ea.

Snežana Obradović

Yes, Dragan, discretia is just that - here in Novi Sad, just like that, without fanfare. A grandmother told me last week that it meant the most to her when the priest just silently sat next to her after the liturgy and held her hand. And you in Niš, do you ever have people come to church for the first time after that coffee?

Bojana Nikolić

Yes, Snežana, that's exactly how it is here in Kragujevac - silence and a simple touch of the hand sometimes say more than any words. I remember a woman who, after such silence, came to the next liturgy with the priest and stayed. And at your place in Novi Sad, does that grandmother still come regularly or was it just that one time?