REV.FR. GABRIEL CURPENE

"And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4).

“In every parish, there is a man who belongs to everyone because he is the spiritual father of all, who is called as a witness, an advisor, or a representative in the most solemn acts of life. He takes a person from the mother’s breast and does not leave them until the grave, blessing and sanctifying the cradle, the wedding, the deathbed, and the coffin. He is a man whom children learn to love, to revere, and to have a respectful fear of, whom strangers call 'Father,' at whose feet Christians go to lay their most intimate confessions. He is a man who, by his calling, is the comforter of all the misfortunes of both soul and body; to the lower classes, through his modest life and often through the humility of his origins; to the higher classes, through his education, knowledge, and the lofty sentiments that inspire and recommend a philanthropic religion. A man, finally, who knows everything, who has the right to speak about everything, and whose word falls from above upon minds and hearts with the authority of a divine mission. This man is the priest."

Alphonse De Lamartine

Rev.Fr. Gabriel Curpene,

He was born in Romania to parents Constantin and Angela Curpene; married to Claudia Andreea, blessed with two children, Joanna Caroline and Stephanie Anastasia. From a young age, Gabriel understood that the love for God and prayer for one’s neighbor is not just a teaching but a way of living a Christian life. 

As he reached adolescence, with the love and support of his parents, it was easy for him to choose the path of serving God.

After primary and high school, he attended the Theological Seminary in Bucharest for a period of five years (1986-1991). In the July-August 1991 session, he passed the priesthood competency exam and was admitted to receive the Holy Mystery of Priesthood. Desiring to deepen his theological knowledge, young seminarian Gabriel took the entrance exam for the Orthodox Theology Institute at the University of Bucharest, which he graduated from in 1995. As a theology student, he deepened his knowledge of theology, having the chance to study under some of the most renowned theologians of the time, such as Father Constantin Galeriu, Emilian Popescu, the late Petre David, and Fr. Prof. Dr. Emilian Cornitescu, among others. In the September 1995 session, he defended his thesis titled “Punishments Applicable to Clergy by Civil Courts” in the Orthodox Canon Law Department under the guidance of Fr. Prof. Liviu Stan. In 1996, he was united through the Holy Sacrament of Marriage with Claudia Andreea. 

By decision of the Permanent Council of the Eparchial Assembly in its session on January 9, 1997, he was appointed as parish priest of the Radu Vodă parish in Giurgiu, part of the Bucharest Archdiocese. Having fulfilled all necessary requirements, he was ordained as a deacon on January 17, 1997, and as a priest on January 19, 1997, by His Grace Bishop Teodosie of Snagov, at St. Friday Cathedral in Ploiești. On January 31, 1997, he was ordained as a spiritual father by His Grace Bishop Teodosie of Snagov at the Holy Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest.

In February 1997, together with his wife, they moved to the U.S.A., and in the same year, following his request for the transfer of his canonical record, he was accepted into the clergy of the Romanian-American Orthodox Church, led by His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel. On July 9, 1997, he was canonically received into the ranks of the American Orthodox clergy, with the approval of His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America at that time.

From July 1997 until January 2004, Father Gabriel served as the parish priest of St. Nicholas Orthodox Mission in Ottawa, Canada. During the period 1999-2004, he also served as a member of the Orthodox Church Council in the Ottawa-Hull region. From January 2004 to December 2005, he served at St. Stephen the Great Romanian Orthodox Church in Clearwater, Florida, and since January 2006, he has been affiliated with the Southern Atlantic Coast Protopresbytery at Holy Trinity Church in Miramar, Florida.

From August 2006 to March 2008, he served at the Resurrection of the Lord parish in Hayward, California. As a servant and steward of the mysteries of God, Father Gabriel worked hard to ensure that the "Resurrection of the Lord" Church was recognized alongside all other Romanian Orthodox Churches in America, specifically as the owner and administrator of its mobile and immobile assets, and to stop any attempts by the cultural organization "Casa Română and Chapel" to exert control. Although this latter entity was founded in 1978 as a separate entity with a different statute than the "Resurrection of the Lord" Orthodox Church, which was founded in 1964, it managed to take over all the church's assets, thus becoming the owner of a building that closely resembles an Orthodox church (see Article IX, Section 4 of the By-Laws). The news that the "Resurrection of the Lord" Church, in whose name funds had been raised to build the church, was not actually the owner of the building where it was functioning, scandalized many faithful, who turned to the Diocese to solve this issue. Unfortunately, the Diocese at Vatra did not resolve the issue. 

In April 2008, Father Gabriel, together with a considerable group of faithful, founded the "Ascension of the Lord" Church under the jurisdiction of His Eminence Archbishop Nicolae, Archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church of the Two Americas.

In April of the year of salvation 2008, Father Gabriel Curpene was canonically reinstated into the clergy of the Romanian Orthodox Church, led with dignity by His Eminence Archbishop Nicolae, Archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church of the Two Americas, and representative of His Beatitude Father Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Civilly, Father Gabriel is a citizen of Romania, Canada, and the United States.

Currently, Father Gabriel Curpene is the parish priest of the “Ascension of the Lord” Orthodox Church in Hayward, CA, and together with his devoted parishioners, they give glory to God for all the abundant gifts that the Heavenly Father pours over them.