Obituary of Dorin Matei

Dorin Matei

1962-2022

God sits on the throne and reigns sovereignly over all; and everything he does is perfect. Perfection is when there is nothing to add and nothing to remove. Dorin’s life would not have been more complete if he had a day or a year more to live, or if it had not been forthe five months soaked in much pain, God allowing cancer to tear apart every day the tired and weak body of Brian’s beloved TATI, Esty’s much loved husband and our dear brother, Dorin.

This complete life ends at this late hour of history when dusk / the twilight seems to be more and more hurried over this troubled land, filled with unexpected crises. For the world of yesterday, for the life of the past, we can always find clear words, but for the life of the future, of eternity, we get stuck and we don’t find the right language, neither did Paul know how to reproduce the future glory into words. But let’s look for the beginning of this amazing life, where Dorin’s desire to live has been tested by the limits of pain, not being strayed under the burden of existential questions, always anticipating and eliminating compromise, wanting to live every day with honor.

In the cold winter of 1958, in a village called Mileanca, in Botosani county, two young (people) in love Dumitru Matei and Elena Carcea decided to unite their destinies forever. By getting married, they knitted together (intertwined) beautiful, sometimes painful experiences together, managing to face the vicissitudes of life with great dignity.

Dorin is the second of 10 children given by God to the Matei family. This child was totally special, bringing with him challenges hard to imagine to these two tender hearted parents, taking them completely by surprise. Dorin is born with a very rare skin condition that will call his parents to special attention and intensification of sacrificial love. When Dorin turns 12, the whole family decides to leave their birthplace and settle in the city of Botosani and start over. Dorin starts adolescence by building relationships with young people in the local church, getting involved in the service more musically, singing in the choir and in various groups of young people. Staying away from the temptations of adolescence, he chooses to live faithfully, having instead spiritual pursuits. In 1976 he was baptized in the Holy Spirit in special and unique way. In 1980 he concluded the covenant with water baptism. After graduating from high school, he became a machinist in a factory, where he faced the pressure of communist (secret police) security at the time.

In 1988, under the pressure of this difficult social context, Dorin decides at any risk to leave Romania clandestinely, seeking political & religious asylum once in Yugoslavia. Being in the refugee camp, he receives support from an American Pentecostal church in Buffalo, NY where Pastor Wilcox together with his family warmly welcomes him, integrating him into their congregation.

Thus Dorin starts a new life, successfully adapting to Western life with its not-so-simple challenges. This new beginning in an unknown world, a different culture, and its new challenges, Dorin chooses to proclaim God the Lord of his life, always asking for guidance. Living only among Americans for 5 years, he felt the need to socialize with Romanian communities. Given the opportunity in 1994, he decides to spend Christmas for the first time at Bethany Church in Chicago, where he meets Estera Aluculesei, who will soon after become his wife. Thus, on July 9th, 1995 their destinies unite and they swear to each other the oath of love at the altar.

Just a year later, in December of 1996, the joy of their marriage is suddenly shaken by the most unexpected and unimaginable pain when Dorin loses both of his parents in a tragic car accident. His soul was flooded with the greatest pain, and no one could extinguish the intense sadness he felt. But in the next year God will surprise them with the most beautiful gift who will fill their souls with joy, by giving them a beautiful child like an angel whom they will call Brian, a symbolic name that means POWER who inspires in them the courage to move forward. Brian with a serene face always illuminated by the fire of ideas and the burning desire for knowledge will help his parents to reach life’s unimaginable heights; challenges that only they have known in detail.

After 10 years in Chicago, they decide together as a family to move to Atlanta, receiving special guidance from the Holy Spirit. Once here they integrated into the Philadelphia Church, shepherded then by Pastor Luca as senior pastor. In 2016 he was elected as one of the church committee board members, being appreciated and loved by the community for his moral and spiritual conduct. In 2017 Dorin continues to be a member of the committee under the leadership of the new pastor Iulian Costea, his ministry being in the same Media department.

We talked about the important moments, the major decisions and the most important events in Dorin's life that were like altars of remembrance left behind him. He himself used to go back again and again to spot his own person in the slippery and confusing haze of this world, it is that sacrificial life, giving to one’s fellow man in the parameters of grace, kindness manifested not circumstantial, pursuing some interest, but simply as the fruit of the Spirit. Dorin had a sacrificial heart, capable of sacrificing himself for others, capable of forgiving his wrongdoers. A heart of reconciliation, eager to heal every wound in any relationship, good counselor, balanced in spontaneous moments of life, hospitable, always having the house open to everyone, wishing like Abraham of old, to receive angels in his home.

But Dorin's life means much more, there were also hidden parts that only the closest to him know and those he carefully chose to share it with. Dorin was an art lover, he loved reading valuable books, he loved music saying that music was invented in heaven.

In recent years, Dorin has also been tempered with his nutrition, and he sought balance on many levels of life. It is important to note that his favorite nutrient above all was the bread that came down from heaven. He loved the study of scripture with which he not only fed himself, but shared it with others. He practiced spiritual disciplines daily and loved to bring the name of our Lord Jesus Christ into any conversation.

The Academy of Suffering (The Suffering Academy) to which God called him to be a student from his early childhood years, worked in Dorin a special sensitivity and a depth that could be seen from his eyes, without words. Sometimes he used to retreat into his room, looking for answers to some existential questions, but in the end he would acknowledge his difficulty to understand by saying: “I will receive answers in heaven, but they will no longer matter to me then, because I will be too fascinated and amazed by the beauty of Christ. Then I will not be able to compare these trials of a moment with the future glory that Christ has already prepared for me!”

However, the last exam at The Academy of Suffering (The Suffering Academy) it seems to us it was way too long and it seemed to start as if at a totally inappropriate time, in the spring that brought to life the surrounding nature and with the sun that banished cold from the Earth's shoulders.Yes, when the birds began as in a symphony to chirp ecstatic and amazed by the beauty of the flowering trees full of the fragrances of spring, Dorin entered the darkest and most sorrowful (painful) stage of his life.

In March of this year he met face to face with cancer that was beginning to bite mercilessly from his body, to tear it apart, not taking into account the tear stained face and the lack of strength to fight back somehow. It was the moment when Dorin realized that he had to change his gaze from that hideous and ruthless target to the one who made the most beautiful promise: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not discouraged, for I am your God! I will strengthen you, and help you!”

Even though his body seemed to slowly drain/drift away from him, his soul was filled with eternal life more and more.

When all (the lamps and candles) hope of light went out all around him and the darkness went out, his soul was filled with light and hope. Estera and Brian understood that they are challenged to the hardest task of supporting their husband/father on his increasingly difficult journey full of unknowns; being aware that it is about life and death, they have not ceased to support him with all their soul and all their strength! As soon as Dorin took his flight to the heavenly realm, they understood that in the end it was not about life and death, but about life and eternal life.

Life often transcends the reason that brings us so many roadblocks, so whatever happens to us, we must look only through the prism of God’s sovereignty. When we look through His eyes, we shall have abundant peace in our hearts.

Every hurt and every pain is a small window through which God gives us the opportunity to look at the world more clearly. And only then will we understand that there was an ultimate and absolute, sacrificial suffering by which Christ accepted it only with us in mind. We know for sure that Dorin, too, through his suffering and cross, has glimpsed that eternity in which he will meet his Lord, the God of Glory. Behind you, dear Dorin, you have left a great legacy, your child - A GOOD NAME. Our souls will always stand in the vigil (on watch), waiting for the moment ‘till we see you again together with CHRIST in the Heavenly Realm.

I understand that you leaving us today, cannot break down everything we have built together with so much pain and we’re confident that we’ll be together soon in the most high places. There, there will be no more tears, for JESUS himself would have wiped them away for us.

We remain here on this AUGUST weeping, looking at your smooth flight into eternity. Only the thought of seeing you in the promised Land will comfort our souls, when we’ll see you each other (AGAIN) AT HOME in the heavenly places prepared by JESUS himself. Goodbye, our DEAR DORIN!

Funeral service will be held Saturday, August 27, 2022 at 10 AM at the Philadelphia Romanian Church, Lawrenceville. Pastor Iulian Costea. Interment will follow at Hamilton Mill Memorial Gardens. An evening service will be held Friday, August 26, 2022 from 7 – 9 PM at the Philadelphia Romanian Church, Lawrenceville.

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Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel 770-945-6924 Share memories of Dorin at hamiltonmillchapel.com