James

My, rather unwieldy, name is James Harry Karl Meyer-Bejdl. I was born in Chatham, England in 1975 into an extremely mixed but predominantly German/Czech family, the family being scattered across Europe from Britain to Slovakia due to the wars and politics of the 20th century.

I am a convert to Orthodoxy having been brought up Lutheran (though I mostly attended Anglican services due to a lack of Lutheran churches in Britain). I first came into contact with the Orthodox Church in Romania whilst working for a charity at the Neuropsychiatric Children's Hospital in Siret, Bucovina. My investigation of and eventual conversion to Orthodoxy was triggered by the example of a wonderful monk at the monastery of St. [[John the New of Suceava]]. I, unfortunately, never got his name but I owe him a great debt.

I eventually married in the 15th century church of Sf. Nicolae in Balinesti, the village near Siret from which my wife comes, but we've now settled down in Britain. When I was Chrismated in the Orthodox Church I took St. [[James the Persian]] as my patron, partly because his life inspired me a great deal and partly because he is less commonly venerated than other Sts. James.

I hope I shall be able to contribute articles on the [[Church of Romania]] here, and particularly the Romanian saints who are relatively unknown in the west.

== Articles ==
The following are articles which I have either added to OrthodoxWiki or to which I have contributed. I hope to expand the list significantly over time, particularly those articles on Romanian saints, monasteries and churches.

*[[Church of Romania]]
*[[Daniel the Hermit]]
*[[Diocletian]]
*[[Evangelicus of Tomis]]
*[[John Cassian]]
*[[John the New of Suceava]]
*[[Putna Monastery (Bucovina, Romania)]]
*[[Sansala]]
*[[Sava the Goth]]
*[[Sucevita Monastery (Bucovina, Romania)]]
*[[Stephen the Great]]
*[[Voronet Monastery (Bucovina, Romania)]]