Priest Catalin is an orthodox Romanian priest settled in Italy. It’s been long since he has been in Italy and much longer since he ever wanted to become a priest. He is very much settled with his four children. I stayed with him for a week. We did n’t understood each other ‘s language. Also his kids don’t understand much Romanian. Four !! There were times when it was a total chaos . But we usually settled it at the end with wine or coffee.
There still are some things he cannot do as a priest. Or rather being an orthodox Romanian priest. For instance he cannot take part in a funeral. Being a Romanian it is necessary to bring any dead person from Italy to Romania for last rituals. That’s one of the consequences of staying outside your home country. But religion permeates through all senses.
Religion can be anything....you, me, faith, hope, love...
But still when I asked Priest Catalin about what it means to him, pat came his reply .For the hope of a better tomorrow and love for everyone....the simplicity in description has depth of unattainable amount…just as important it was to go beyond this statement to understand it in its complexity, it was also important for me to understand a priest‘s life…and to visualize a life in images…to understand the contrast if any between the church and home…and the person between the two to whom its all one..
This is a story about Zaharie Catalin, priest of Orthodox Church of San Damiano, Asti .The images are taken during the course of time are in the church where he performs and at his home where he lives.
