I met Liviu Gherghin in 2009, after he was raised to Master Mason. We became friends very quickly. Impressed by the Masonic Forum, Liviu offered to help me by shooting photos for the magazine. I am happy to say that I owe to Liviu some of my important pictures taken in Bucharest, alongside Grand Masters from around the world.
He put his heart in everything he did, be it volunteering, planting trees, supporting top students by employing them in his notary office, helping a homeless child or organizing a charity concert so that the Music department of the “I. G. Duca” Secondary School could acquire a concert piano for the children. He was a founding member of the Lodge that has supported (and still supports) the “Iancu de Hunedoara” Prize, an event organized together with the West University of Timișoara and the Hunedoara County School Inspectorate that rewards deserving students with scholarships and prizes for excellence.
In his memory, his family and a group of friends organize each year a Gala for Excellency, where young people from Valea Jiului with the best academic performance are awarded consistent prizes bearing Liviu Gherghin’s name.
In 2022, the Union of Public Notaries of Romania published a book titled “Un atlas al faptelor bune” (“An Atlas of Good Deeds”). I will reprint some passages about my late Brother, gone much too early to the Eternal Orient. (C.I.)
“Most of the people from Valea Jiului knew Liviu Gherghin through his profession as notary, worthy successor of his father in this activity, always seeking to support those who needed his services.
Many, however, had the opportunity and joy of knowing Liviu Gherghin as a human being truly involved in the life of the local community, as a man with a passion for everything fine arts, or even as a loyal friend. And those of us who knew Liviu Gherghin in this way know how precious his presence was among us, in the entire community and maybe that is why his loss comes not only as a shock, but also saddens so many people.
We who knew him were used to meeting this distinguished intellectual anywhere something memorable was happening: exhibitions, performance venues, churches or historically and patriotically relevant pilgrimages, major public events – or simply inside a coffeehouse. Liviu was there wherever there was… life! Because Liviu Gherghin himself was a man full of life.
Without a doubt, for most of us it will be harder without the presence of this man of impressive vitality, honest friendship and absolute sincerity. We will, however, learn to appreciate Liviu Gherghin by what he has left behind, we will cherish the memory of a dignified man, a righteous man, an honest man, a sensitive man, a cultured man, a great patriot who loved his nation and his country. We will cherish, in essence, a HUMAN BEING in the most relevant sense of the phrase. That is why we will not bid Liviu good-bye, because we know that, whatever mission God will give him in His Kingdom, Liviu Gherghin will remain close to us, guiding our footsteps towards that world where, as he so often used to say, the most important feelings are friendship and kindness. Eternal memory, Liviu Gherghin!”
“The turmoil of everyday life and time that appears to condense prevent us from being as close to our fellow human beings as we would like to be. The fact that bailiff Liviu Gherghin was named «Citizen of Honor of the Petroșani Municipality» is an acknowledgment of his value as a human being, says mayor Tiberiu Iacob-Ridzi.
(…) Liviu Gherghin was THE true Romanian, in his most authentic form, the MAN who kept the Country and the Flag in his soul and never forgot about kindness, charity and moral values, no matter the times he lived in.
He was a man who lived by our nation’s traditional values. He was a true patriot who loved his country, his countrymen, its history, its culture and who, at the same time, instilled in the members of our community a passion for the history of our native places, but also a love of nation and country.
In his life he was involved in a series of cultural actions and supported various cultural projects or institutions from Petroșani municipality. He was an unending source of initiatives, always there when there was a need for support, be it in arts, culture or social life, and in such a natural manner, not trying to draw any personal benefit from his actions.
Our paths crossed so many times, especially during charitable actions, and I have always appreciated his modesty, his dedication, his love for his fellow man, for his country, but also his faith. Faith in God and, at the same time, a belief that no effort is in vain and that together we can all build a new world together!
He loved the community he was born and lived in with all his heart and tried to help everyone in need, and the numerous charitable actions he initiated or contributed to stand testimony for this.
For all he represented for the Petroșani Municipality, for his entire activity and for his extraordinary merits in the life of the local community, Liviu Gherghin has been a post-mortem Citizen of Honor of our city.
Sadly, through his premature demise, the Petroșani Municipality is left spiritually poorer, and the passing of Liviu Gherghin has left an irreplaceable void in all our hearts and souls.”
“Without being ostentatious, Liviu was a Christian. He had this belief that you can’t be truly Romanian without being a Christian-Orthodox. The last message I received from Liviu Gherghin, about two weeks before hearing about his tragic passing, was short and very suggestive: «Forever an Orthodox!» I am convinced that I’m not the only one who was touched by this message and I’m also convinced that all of us who received it should consider it a greeting from the other side of the «Great Passing» and as a last wish through which the Romanian and Christian Liviu Gherghin was asking us to not forget him in our prayers.
Since I was a child I have been raised and educated in the spirit of love of country and Romanian traditions. I knew the story of Michael the Brave and Baba Novac before finding «Snow White and the Seven Dwarves». I have considered myself, therefore, a patriot, and I have always prided myself with being a Romanian, with being part of this nation, taking the good with the bad.
But after I met Liviu Gherghin I was left facing a huge dilemma: could I consider myself a true patriot? During his first speech that I ever heard, I thought I didn’t see right: Liviu Gherghin burst into tears when he said the name «Romania»! Then I thought it must have been a moment’s weakness. My later collaboration with him helped me find out the truth: in all his speeches, without exception, Liviu Gherghin couldn’t say his country’s name without a lump in his throat and bursting into tears.
This, I believe, is called love for your country taken to the level of physical pain, and even beyond, because love of country transcends eternity.” (Dorel Șchiopu, executive secretary of the National Association of the Cult of Heroes “Regina Maria”, Hunedoara County Branch)
