Fr. George Calciu (+2006) My life here in Romania has been full of events, some better and some worse. I do not accuse anyone, I blame absolutely nobody because all of these things were sent by God to benefit my soul. Somebody once asked me if my sufferings in prison helped me in any way. I answered, “It is not that they helped me in some way, but I am...

Elder Cleopa of Romania Today we celebrate the feast of feasts and the holiday of holidays. Today there is spiritual joy throughout the entire Christian world. Today our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ has illumined everything through His Resurrection. Let heaven and earth rejoice together, and the earth be glad, because the light of the Resurrection of...

Elder Dionisie of Colciu (+ May 11, 2004) “Pray unceasingly!” Sure, the Church has all sorts of prayers for the fulfillment of all of one’s needs. But in each one of us, as persons, in our souls and in our thoughts can be installed a prayer that is small enough, yet very powerful: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” And if...

From the manuscripts of Philotheou Monastery, Mount Athos There once was a hermit who labored in the wilderness for seventy years, in fasting, vigils, and much watchfulness.  In all of the years that he served God, he was not accounted worthy to see neither a vision nor any revelation from Him.  For this reason he fell to thinking, “Perhaps for some...

1909 – 1983 In the cemetery of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the suburbs of Bucharest, Romania, in a small crypt lie the incorrupt relics of Fr. Ilie Lăcătușu, one among the many confessors of the communist prisons. Since September 29, 1998 when his relics were exhumed, multitudes of faithful Christians have headed towards his reliquary,...

Fr. Rafael Noica I have received many letters to which I can never respond, I have spoken with many, and I have seen that every person today is a tragedy; every person is loaded with pain and despair. But listen to what Saint Paul says: “God has illumined our hearts to shine the knowledge of His glory towards Christ. This treasure we have in earthen...