Fasting in a World of Indulgence – Fr. Pimen Vlad, Lucian Apopei
4 August 2023
The Mother of God, Our Mother – Fr. Pimen Vlad
12 August 2023
Watch an extensive interview conducted by Fr. Pimen Vlad in 2004 with Elder Iulian of Prodromos, in which he recounts memories and mentions a number of spiritually advanced fathers whom he knew.
Enjoy!
He comes in the evening. I had already put my blanket over my head and lay down. The other one was also on the bed. And as he enters, he says:
“Brother, pack your things and leave!”
“But why? I haven’t done anything!”
“No. Pack your bags and leave, do you understand?!” Again and again, he was making prostrations.
“Pack your things and leave. You need to leave now!”
He was crying, “Venerable Father…” He packed his bag.
Fr.: So, what was the reason?
Fr. Iulian: The reason was that he was hanging out with that girl, he went for walk with her. That was it, he packed his things, stayed somewhere, at a cell that night, and in the morning he left early. He left. That’s why I told him, I repeat, I told him, when the father was there: “Father, you were really harsh with the brothers!” Otherwise, he was God’s bread! For example, in doing chores, and so on… The monastery burned three times and he took care of the monastery, of all the brothers there…
I went to the monastery, I stayed for two and a half years, after that, the time came for me to join the army. And there was also someone else, the two of us left.
Fr.: So, at 22 years old, as it would be, right?
Fr. Iulian: Yes. That’s how it was back then.
Fr.: Where did you serve in the army, in what branch?
Fr. Iulian: When they took us for recruitment, they took us to the shooting and artillery training school. Then they transferred us to communications, to radio. And it ended there in Constanța, in that area. I came back to the monastery, everything had changed there: the abbot had changed, Fr. Cleopas had gone to Slatina, now the abbot was Fr. Ioil Gheorghiu.
Fr Pimen.: Ah, he became abbot.
Fr. Iulian: He became abbot. I would have gone with Fr. Cleopas, but I was in the army.
Fr Pimen.: After you came back, you stayed at Sihăstria or did you go to Slatina?
Fr. Iulian: No, I stayed. Because all of them have also returned from Slatina to Sihăstria. Macarie had also left, Antonie too.
Fr.: And who’s left there at Slatina?
Fr. Iulian: Where?
Fr.: At Slatina.
Fr. Iulian: [The community] had abounded there. In about 10 years, they all came back from Slatina to Sihăstria. Later, Father Cleopas came back too. There they appointed Father Emilian as the abbot, as their number had multiplied at Slatina; there were many monks.
And now it began, Fr. Ioil Gheorghiu was a good father, but strict with the brothers when it came to fasting! He urged the brothers to fast. There were some 14-15-year-olds, and in the first week of Great Lent they said they could no longer fast because their stomach hurt. Father Ioil would tell them, “Look, turn around in your bed and it’ll pass, it’s almost over, tomorrow is Wednesday and then it will pass!” And the children continued to fast.
Fr.: But what did Fr. Cleopas rely on more? On obedience or on struggle, on vigil, fasting?
Fr. Iulian: Father Cleopas [emphasized] obedience. But also on struggle, as obedience goes hand in hand with struggle.
Fr.: Was Father Paisie at Sihăstria during that time?
Fr. Iulian: He had not come yet. He came in ’47, I was away in the army, when Father Paisie came.
Fr.: Father, when you were at Sihăstria, did you know anything about the hermit from that period, Ioan the Bishop?
Fr. Iulian: I knew, I knew something about him, because Fr. Teodul Varzare from Agapia had told me. He came to Sihla, I remember we were at the table, it was a Friday, and he said: “Father, I’m not eating, because I have already eaten. He was fasting. “But while you’re eating, I will tell you about the hermit Ion, whom I met.” And he told us how he met him in Pahomie’s glade and he asked [Father Teodul] to buy him some notebooks and gave him money. Fr. Teodul thought that he could not buy notebooks with that money.
Fr.: But what kind of money did he have?
Fr. Iulian: Some money, Romanian money of course, but he gave him too little. And he said “I’ll supplement it.” He goes to the store, and the saleswoman tells him that he had to pay exactly the money that [Ioan] had given him! And he gave him the notebooks, to write something. He also told us that the hermit [Ioan] was dressed in a woolen coat, made of pieces of wool gathered from the bushes, fallen from sheep. That wool was stitched [into a coat] and that’s what he was wearing.
Fr. Pimen: So, he made himself a kind of coat.
Fr. Iulian: Yes, because there were many pieces fallen on the path from the monastery’s sheep.
Fr.: Father, but what do you know about his appearance? Did he explain how his face looked? What was the image of Bishop Ioan?
Fr. Iulian: He said that when you spoke with him, you knew that he had the Spirit of God within him!
Fr. Pimen.: You could feel the power in him!
Fr. Iulian: He would ask him many things, but he spoke very briefly, he didn’t say much. Because he had the fire of prayer, and he could not talk much. He would ask him what would happen next, as it was heard that the war was coming, and so on… He would reply, “What will happen, read in Matthew 24!” However, he told him that he might go back to Russia. But it wasn’t certain, that’s why he still looked for him in the woods.
Fr. Pimen: But if he could become invisible, he could cross the border, among people.
Fr. Iulian: He could cross the border, passing by people, and they wouldn’t see him.
Fr.: But what did his face look like? What was his appearance like?
Fr. Iulian: He didn’t talk about his face. He was a monk, tall. About his appearance, he only said that it was evident that he had the Holy Spirit within him and he was praying. Then, after he gave him the notebooks, they never met again. He said that he may have gone to Russia.
Father Visarion from Sihla kept praying to meet him; he really wanted to meet Bishop Ioan. And once he said, “Last night he passed by my window!” He was doing his prayer rule, with only the vigil lamp burning, and, as the windows are at Sihla, in the old buildings, he saw him at the window as he passed by! And he added, “Look, I kept praying to see him, and he passed by my window!”
Fr.: Were there hermits through the forest at that time? Around Sihăstria?
Fr. Iulian: There were. There was even one who would come at night for the Matins.
Fr.: But at the monastery, what other great fathers did you meet at Sihăstria when you came? Spiritual fathers.
Fr. Iulian: There was also Fr. Veniamin Iorga. I remember Fr. Veniamin, when he was nearing death, he was ill, he was no longer passing water, and a very faithful young doctor came from Târgu Neamț, and told him that he could drain the fluid and help him regain his health. And the father said, “No, the Mother of God!”
Fr. Pimen: If the Mother of God wants to perform a miracle, fine, if not, then not!
Fr. Iulian: And from then on, Fr. Veniamin remained bedridden. And he would always [chant] “From the ends [of the earth], O Apostles…” And [he would chant] all the hymns he knew… He would love “From the ends [of the earth], O Apostles, Gather yourselves in Gethsemane, And bury my body, says the Virgin, With songs of praise!” he loved it very much, and all the ones he knew. When you went to him, he continuously said, “Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus…”. He was compelled from within to say it because he saw that he was nearing the end. And he was compelled from within at that point to say all those…
And then, one night and one day he breathed heavily, and the next day we all gathered – with both Fr. Cleopas and Fr. Paisie – we all gathered (priests too), and looked at him, as these were the last moments. I remember, there was Victorin, the abbot, he was steward then. We were standing there when the abbot saw two agents of the Security Service coming and he invited them in. They saw that we had gathered there, and looked around, surprised at what was happening. He bid them enter and showed them that the father was about to give up his soul. They were looking at all of us… They stayed for a little while longer and left.
Fr. Pimen: He wanted them to catch a glimpse of these moments of passing.
Fr. Iulian: He was friends with them, he was honoring them, and now he was showing them like “Look at that, he’s departing…” As we were sitting there we just saw that Father Veniamin was no longer breathing. And Father Cleopas said, “That’s it, he’s gone!” And we stayed for a while longer, and then we saw how the soul departed: his eyes were closed, then we saw something like that, that was the noise, and then the soul left. I thought, having been together for so many years, the parting of the body and soul is very difficult. After living together for so many years, 20 or 80, as long as you live, detaching is very difficult.
Fr. Pimen: Of course, after so many years, they became one.
Fr. Iulian: The body and the soul, as the two of them became one.
Fr. Pimen: For better or for worse, together.
Fr. Iulian: Then I saw how hard it was for the soul to detach.
Fr.: What year were you ordained? First as a deacon, then as a priest.
Fr. Iulian: I don’t know, I think it was in ’55 or ’56.
Fr.: Who ordained you?
Fr. Iulian: I went with Nicandru, the both of us. They sent us to Moțca, where there was a church consecration, and we spent one night at the Boureni Skete. Nicandru, poor him, he was like he was…
Fr.: He was a deacon.
Fr. Iulian: Then, there were other candidates, married priests and deacons. Father Teofil said we should go to Roman, to the Episcopate.
Fr.: Father Teofil who later became Bishop at Cluj?
Fr. Iulian: Yes, he was at Roman.
Fr.: I heard he was very merciful.
Fr. Iulian: Very merciful and very faithful! His mother helped him at the monastery, she wasn’t a nun. We went there. Efrem Chișcaru was the delegate. His Eminence Teofil asked him about his education, and he said he was in his second year of university. He was a delegate from the monastery. And I stayed there… There was Vlasie, the elder, he must have died by now, [he was] from Suceava, the hunchback. He was a great chanter there. When I went there, he was at Sihla with Father Visarion. Father Paisie was also there; I confessed to him. Father Paisie said, “You’ll be ordained a deacon, and after forty days, you’ll be ordained a priest!” because I had approval to become a priest.
Fr.: Did you easily accept to be ordained, or did you oppose it?
Fr. Iulian: Well, what could I do? At first, I said no, that I am not worthy, but they said, “No, no, that’s enough! You will obey, and that’s it!” and we went and stayed there for about five days. I was ordained a deacon, and two days later, a priest.
Fr. Pimen: Ah, so one after the other!
Fr. Iulian: They said, they had talked there, “Get ready, tomorrow you’ll be ordained a priest so they won’t have to come from Sihla anymore!”
Fr. Pimen: It was far, difficult, as it used to be back then!
Fr. Iulian: I also had approval…
Fr.: Father, I want to ask you something personal; maybe you don’t want to answer – as you wish – your reverence! I know that at ordination, when you stand in front of the Holy Altar, or in front of the royal icons, as a gift of ordination, you ask something from God, you make a wish, and God fulfills it then… Either the gift of speech or something else… What did your reverence ask for?
Fr. Iulian: I didn’t know to ask for anything, I might have been praying there, I don’t know…, but no one told me to ask for something or I didn’t hear about that…
Fr. Pimen: Some know, some don’t. It is said that before receiving the grace, you pray to God, “Lord, grant me something through this grace!”
Fr. Iulian: I didn’t know what to [ask], but still there was a deacon there, an archdeacon. We at Sihăstria had [long] mustaches and when I was ordained a deacon he told me, “You should trim your mustache,” and I didn’t trim it. My mustache needs to be trimmed a little…
Fr. Pimen: Yes, so it doesn’t get in your mouth…
Fr. Iulian: Because it says there in the Litourgicon either to trim it or to adjust it.
Fr. Pimen: It shouldn’t get into the Holy Chalice…
Fr. Iulian: “You need to adjust it, His Eminence is here and you…” I trimmed it a little. But there was one there kind of laughing, a deacon, he would come from behind and laugh. He laughed but now he is no longer in the monastery; he left.
Fr.: Father, did you ever have the temptation, while you were in the monastery at Sihăstria, to return to the world?
Fr. Iulian: No! There was brother Dumitru, brother of Father Casian.
Fr. Pimen: Father Casian Frunză, right?
Fr. Iulian: Yes, Casian Frunză! His brother, Dumitru, he was a novice, he also received approval for monastic tonsure. I was before the army, he had already been in the army, he was older than me. He had been married, but he took his wife to Agapia and he came to the monastery. And he urged me, “Come on, I have some huts, let’s go to the forest!” So, I left the monastery with him without saying anything, because that was how it was back then, when a novice left, there came others. I walked with him, I stayed with him in a hut underground, and he urged me, “Come on, let’s eat only mushrooms!” And we ate mushrooms for about two days, but it was so disgusting that I said I would rather eat tree leaves than eat mushrooms again, even if they were roasted.
Then I went with him to Agapia. He didn’t go to his wife! We went to church there, we worshipped and afterwards we went to my home. Only my mother was at home, my father had died. My sister was also there, if I remember right. At first, I said I wouldn’t go home, but he said he would teach me what to do, “Take some bad clothes – I had a little beard, and a mustache – and I will say that you are mute and deaf and that you are from my village and I took you with me.” No sooner said than done. I did so, I got home in the evening, all disguised, and we sat for dinner…
Fr.: In the parental home!
Fr. Iulian: In the parental home!
Fr.: But didn’t the folks at home recognize you?
Fr. Iulian: They didn’t recognize me; I was both deaf and mute. They said I was an unfortunate man. We sat down for dinner, and Dumitru took care of everything, and then he said, “Come on, let’s go to bed!” and I heard my sister asking him about me, “Does he have any lice on him?” and we slept on a balcony because it was summer, warm. Dumitru told her, “Give him, put a blanket there, give him a better one, he doesn’t smell!” and she put a [woven] blanket under my head. I wrote a short letter and put it under the pillow there, it was something from Scripture, from James:
“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
And they saw my signature. My sister was married. We went to Cozancea, we left at night, and when they found that letter, my brother-in-law almost mounted his horse to reach me. There at Cozancea, we confessed at the monastery and then headed towards Călărași, by the Prut River we also went to his home. After that, he said, “Let’s go back [to your] home to fix the situation.” My folks said, “You really went all out!” My brother-in-law said he was thinking of mounting his horse to reach us. “What do you mean, come after us?”
Then Dumitru stayed with my brother because he had a vineyard. We had come to the monastery, but after talking to my brother to stay with him, Dumitru stayed there for a summer. My brother told him he would pay him because he needed someone to watch over his vineyard. Later, when I became a monk, my brother told me that someone came with an accordion and started to play, and Dumitru took his woman to dance, and… Dumitru was now a bachelor… poor guy!
Fr. Pimen: Oh, so he forgot about the monastery, that was it.
Fr. Iulian: Then he came back to the monastery.
Fr. Pimen: He came back…
Fr. Iulian: That’s how it was with Dumitru. Later, when I arrived at the monastery, Father Ianuarie told me, “Leave Dumitru alone, stay at the monastery!” I said, “Well, if Fr. Cleopas will still accept me!” because he was somewhat strict.
Fr.: Now Fr. Cleopas was there again, right?
Fr. Pimen: He hadn’t left yet, Fr. Cleopas was still there as this was in the beginning!
Fr. Iulian: Still there, still there! We were away for about a month, a month or so while we were running around. Fr. Cleopas was there. He knew that some come, others go, because that’s how it was back then, we were many. And the father said, “Don’t worry, I’ll put in a word! You were lured by Dumitru.” Fr. Ianuarie went to Fr. Cleopas, telling him “Look, he came back.” [To me he said,] “Go and make a prostration!” I went to Fr. Cleopas, “Bless, Reverend Father, forgive me! Look, I had a temptation!” and he said, “If you go again, you can’t come back anymore! Now I forgive you, I welcome you!” And I never left again!
Fr.: Were monks going from one monastery to another back then, like they do now?
Fr. Iulian: They were, they were! But back then it was after the war, it was different, it wasn’t like it is now.
Fr. Pimen: There was also greater poverty!
Fr. Iulian: There was poverty!
Fr. Pimen: But what year were the monks expelled from the monastery, ’62 or ’59?
Fr. Iulian: The decree was in ’59 and then in ’60 they expelled us… When the decree came in ’59, we gathered in the refectory at Sihăstria and Fr. Paisie told us, “Brothers, fathers, what can we do? You have to leave because otherwise they will expel us too, the old ones!…”
Fr.: Paisie Olaru, right?
Fr. Iulian: Yes… “They will expel us, the old ones, too, and you have to leave,” and after the New Year they started to leave… I remember Father Natanail. He took off his [cassock]… after the New Year, after the holidays were over, to be able to see him, because now he was [dressed as] a civilian, he was sweeping the porch there with a broom. He looked and asked, “Hey, are you Natanail?” “Well, I’m not Natanail anymore!”… and he left…
Fr: Which Natanail, the one who became bishop in America?
Fr. Iulian: No! He is still alive, he was ordained a priest…
Fr. Pimen: But doesn’t he live out in the world now?
Fr. Iulian: No! He was ordained a priest, but Fr. Cleopas said, “What? He was ordained a priest? Since he got married, and for so many years they lived together and now you make him a priest…?” And they made him a priest. Father Cleopas does not recognize him. Now I don’t know where he is…
Fr. Pimen: And how long were you gone from the monastery? A year or more?
Fr.: And where did you go?
Fr. Iulian: We stayed in the monastery, we prepared ourselves. Because we prepared in advance, “Hey, there will be war…”. We were making huts. We prepared with Grigore Ilie from beyond Pipirig, they call it Dolița or Dolia… Doliția… You don’t know Grigore Ilie?
Fr.: No!
Fr. Iulian: You don’t know him.
Fr. Pimen: But did this Grigore Ilie leave the monastery or did he stay?
Fr. Iulian: No, no, no!
Fr. Pimen: Ah, he was a layman!
Fr. Iulian: Layman! He was a forester far away, around Hălăuca. That’s where he took us. Pahomie made us a hut there. They were both called Pahomie, if you know them. They were good tailors. The hut was made in advance, we went straight there. His old woman came too, they were both there… They said, “Come on, you are our boys!”
Fr. Pimen: But didn’t Fr. Cleopas stay around there afterward? He stayed at Doroteia.
Fr. Iulian: He also stayed there, beneath Hălăuca, there was Hălăuca Mare, on that slope… And then we stayed there for a few months. The people were hardworking. “What can these people bring us to eat?” They said we should stay there because they would bring us food. They made us a good shelter, on a hillside. With his son and his brother-in-law, they made it one night, they brought some wooden boards. We stayed there, I had the Holy Gifts with me, I would Commune, I would also Commune Pahomie… And why should we stay there any longer? I said to Mihai, “Let’s go to Sihla!” There, I knew the places. And we went to Sihla. We stayed there for about a year, as long as this refuge lasted. Then in the second year, they welcomed us in. We also stayed in the forest.
Fr. Pimen: Did you spend any time with Father Proclu?
Fr. Iulian: No, I didn’t stay with Father Proclu.
Fr.: With Victorin Coteț, no?
Fr. Iulian: No, no, no! Victorin Coteț went to the metochion, he worked there in the forest. That’s how it went… They called us to the monastery. I also had temptations, I thought about leaving this diocese, to go to the Holy Mountain. But the Metropolis was not allowing it. The Metropolitan was Iustin. Iustinian from over at the Patriarchate allowed it. And I transferred to the Patriarchate, to Irodion, at Ciocanu so that I could stay for a year and then go to the Holy Mountain. I stayed there for a few months. Here in Greece there had been a revolution, they ousted King Constantine.
Fr. Pimen: When the communists wanted to enter…
Fr. Iulian: Yes. And then, Ioanichie wrote to me and asked, “What is the point of staying any longer? Come home!” All those who had been in the Holy Mountain were sent back to the country. “What’s the point, don’t go anymore, come home.” And I returned to Sihăstria, but they did not welcome me anymore, the exarch didn’t want me to come to Sihăstria anymore, I was sent to Suceava where Vitalie and Chesarie were. And my coming there was their joy, and they requested me there.
Fr.: At Saint John, right?
Fr. Iulian: At Saint John. And I didn’t want to but eventually I went and stayed there during Great Lent. But what was there… Eftimie was the abbot. He is now bishop of Huși. That cathedral was full, there were about three or four priests, who were retired, elders. People were confessing there… in that big cathedral. And everyone was receiving Communion. He would put out the kamilavka and everyone would put money in it, and then he would bring it and pour it in the Altar, but the “blue ones” he would put it in the pocket.
Fr. Pimen: The paper ones, they were lighter.
Fr.: He had devotion to Bălcescu [the figure on the blue bills], didn’t he?
Fr. Iulian: He knew what to do. All those people were receiving Communion. He didn’t give particles, he had a big Chalice and he Communed all. From the Holy Doors he would make his way like this with the Chalice and then people would come after him. He would move in a circle, like when a forest is being cut down. And there was also Danil Duvachi, who is still around, also there with Eftimie. He would serve them there and then, for that, they would put [some money] for him too. What a place that was!
Fr.: After St. John’s, where did you go?
Fr. Iulian: From Saint John, I went to the forest because I was no longer welcome at the monastery, in Sihăstria, I was to stay at St. John. I left from there. I went to the woods. I had a hut in the woods. The Abbot was Caliopie. I would still come to the monastery, I would confess there, and one day Caliopie came and told me, “Come to the monastery!” I thought he was sending me to Suceava, but he told me he had spoken with the representative from…
Fr.: With the exarch.
Fr. Iulian: No, no, he was a civilian representative, from the security, how do they call him? I call him representative but he was…
Fr. Pimen: An agent from Security?
Fr. Iulian: No, no, no.
Fr. Pimen: Or on behalf of the State, of the Cults.
Fr. Iulian: Yes, from the “Cults.” He asked the abbot where I am because I was not at Suceava, I had fled from there, and the abbot told him I was in the forest. The representative said, “He should come from the forest, he should come to the monastery!” The abbot said, “But he will be sent away to…” “Don’t send him!” As they dictated, so it was done… And when I said that they would send me back, [the abbot told me] “No, they won’t, they said to come to the monastery.” And I came to the monastery and stayed for about 40 days; I had a hut.
Fr.: And then, how long did you stay in the monastery before you came to the Holy Mountain? Was it from Sihăstria that you went the Holy Mountain?
Fr. Iulian: No, I was at Sihla by now. At Sihla, Father Visarion had died; they brought him down to Sihăstria, and I was sent to Sihla in his place as the one in charge.
Fr.: You were alone there, right?
Fr. Iulian: No! There were about ten monks, but it was quiet.
Fr. Pimen: Yes, when I stayed around ’88-’89, it was still quiet; there weren’t these new houses, just forest and trees…
Fr. Iulian: They put me in charge as the administrator, to take care of things, as abbot. After one year, I heard that they were going to the Holy Mountain. The church was in disrepair, and I no longer stayed there. And there at Sihla, they would send a priest to hold services…
Fr. Pimen: To serve the Liturgy…
Fr. Iulian: When I saw it, I came down to Sihăstria. Once they made a film at Putna and they sent me and Varsanufie. Two priests from each monastery. There were a couple from Secu, a couple from Neamț Monastery. They picked us up in the evening, with the van of those who were making the film. We were still at the vigil of the Protection and they told us, “Go!” We went, we arrived at Neamț, around twelve we arrived at a hotel in Suceava, where they had prepared a room for us. The next day we left from Suceava to Putna and then they made that film with Stephen the Great.
Fr.: Why did they take you there?
Fr. Pimen: You had to dress in vestments for the film…
Fr. Iulian: They dressed us in vestments. There was a group of priests and Stephen the Great was coming on a carpet in that big valley… I don’t know if you’ve been to Putna, there’s a valley. They placed the people on the slope there, dressed in the national costume… they prepared everyone on the slope, women, men, children… And Stephen with Ștefăniță were coming on horses, while we were in the group chanting “It is truly meet…” in the middle [of the chant], and before they came, people shouted “Stephen is coming, Stephen is coming! The voivode is coming!” They filmed us three times, they repeated it.
Fr. Pimen: To see which one comes out better…
Fr. Iulian: There was an old monk from Putna, who was lame. He was kneeling down and tearing a piece of colac [traditional bread]. He was an old monk from Putna, I don’t know his name. They placed him there. It was a very beautiful film. There was an archimandrite dressed up in red, with a beautiful beard, and some didn’t know and said to him “Bless!” and he laughed… then we saw that he was an actor.
Fr. Pimen: An actor, but he played that role, yes…
Fr. Iulian: After that, we were laughing at him.
Fr. Pimen: People were asking for his blessing.
Fr. Iulian: And he was laughing at us. It was a beautiful movie. And for the two hours we stayed there, they sent us a money order of 250 lei. That was a lot back then.
Fr. Pimen: For all who participated…
Fr. Iulian: No, for each person who participated there.
Fr. Pimen: They earn a lot for a movie, and then…
Fr. Iulian: Yes! And then Fr. Gherasim was abbot of Putna, and exarch, and he supposedly heard from the metropolis that whoever wants, should make a request to go to the Holy Mountain. We took a car from Putna and came to Sihăstria with him, with the exarch, and in the car, I kept saying “The voivode is coming, the voivode is coming!” and he was laughing. And when we got there, he gathered us all in the refectory, those who want to go to the Holy Mountain, should apply! Father Petroniu, us, Șova, who was also there, said “Let’s apply now!” and we did it. When Father Petroniu saw it, he said “No, brother! We will all do it, there are more of us!” After that, more did: Fr. Ioil, Fr. Cleopas, and Fr. Petroniu too.
Irineu Crăciunaș had died then and Scarlat remained in his place, a presbyter from the metropolis, who is also dead now… He remained as the bishop’s assistant, a vicar. Fr. Cleopas and Fr. Petroniu made requests and went to the metropolis with the requests; there were more than ten. They went to the vicar, to Scarlat, and he told them (he already knew since he received a call): “What do you want to do, huh? To ruin the monastery?”
Fr. Pimen: When he saw that they all wanted to leave…
Fr. Iulian: He scolded them! Fr. Cleopas and Petroniu went outside and tore up all the requests and returned to Sihăstria, distressed…
Fr. Pimen: Deflated…
Fr. Iulian: But Șova said “Let’s not get discouraged, let’s do it!” And I, along with Pahomie, sent a request and it was approved… Pahomie passed away…
Fr. Pimen: He didn’t get to come!
Fr. Iulian: He didn’t get the chance… And that’s how it was!
Fr.: And then you came here, to the Holy Mountain! To Prodromos or where?
Fr. Iulian: No, I went to Lacu! When I arrived, we didn’t know. I came with Nectarie, the both of us. There was someone who also knew Greek… At the train station in Thessaloniki, Neofit, he had waited for us a long time, he was watching, he brought two taxis, because Nectarie had many [things], he had some crates with nails, with hammers…
Fr. Pimen: He took everything!
Fr. Iulian: Ioanichie sent him a letter from here and wrote: “Hey, if you come here, bring nails, bring pliers, because you have nothing here at Prodromos!” And he took a chest as heavy as lead. The customs officer told him to unlock the chest, and Nectarie, as he was slow, was telling him that he had hammers, he had this and that…”Just open it!” We had been delegated to stay at Prodromos, but Neofit said he had spoken with His Grace Antonie from “foreign affairs,” to send a priest here, to Lacu. And I stayed there at Neofit’s…
Fr. Pimen: Four years or how long did you stay?
Fr. Iulian: About four years.
Fr.: Together with Fr. Nectarie?
Fr. Iulian: Nectarie was at Provata.
Fr. Pimen: He went straight to Provata!
Fr. Iulian: Yes, he was at Provata. And afterwards, I came. I never stayed alone, I lived the community life.
Fr. Pimen: And Neofit was alone up there, right?
Fr. Iulian: He was alone, yes! I stayed for about four years. After that, Melchisedec and Codru came – that’s how they called him, I knew him as Codru – Spiridon [is his name].
Fr. Pimen: Spiridon!
Fr. Iulian: We called him Codru.
Fr. Pimen: But didn’t Rafail come then?
Fr. Iulian: No!
Fr. Pimen: Later?
Fr. Iulian: Later! After they came, I came over here and didn’t go back. I didn’t like staying alone like that…
Fr.: What cells were there at Lacu then, which fathers?
Fr. Iulian: There was Pafnutie, there was Arcadie who came here.
Fr. Pimen: Ignatie, Cozma!
Fr. Iulian: Ignatie, yes, yes! There was Cozma…
Fr. Pimen: Where Sofronie is.
Fr. Iulian: Yes, yes! There were others…
Fr. Pimen: I think there was Arcadie.
Fr.: But were many of them zealots?
Fr. Iulian: No!
Fr. Pimen: Only Ignatie!
Fr. Iulian: Only Ignatie.
Fr.: When you came to Prodromos, were there no zealot fathers?
Fr. Pimen: They were gone.
Fr. Iulian: No! By then, they were… When I first came to visit, all the zealots were here. They were telling me to go to Arsenie, over there. They said, “Don’t go, there are nothing but fleas around there.” The zealots were all here. They had love. Then one by one, they died.
Fr.: How many were there?
Fr. Iulian: There were about seven or eight. They were at the chapel of the Annunciation, they were holding the service.
Fr. Pimen: Well, I understood that it was raining here in the church, was it… or not?
Fr. Iulian: Yes, yes. After that, they restored it.
Fr.: How many years have you been at the Prodromos Skete?
Fr. Iulian: I don’t remember. Since ’77.
Fr. Pimen: You came to Athos in ’77…
Fr.: 27 years?
Fr. Pimen: Yes, since ‚77, so about 27-28…
Fr. Iulian: ’77, just after the New Year. The year of the earthquake. I know there was an earthquake in March; I was at Lacu. There was an earthquake in Romania.
Fr. Pimen: But was it felt here or not?
Fr. Iulian: No, it wasn’t.
Fr. Pimen: In [Romania] it was strong, in Bucharest…
Fr. Iulian: And then Serapion came, who was at Iviron, and said, “Hey, if you had stayed in Bucharest, you would have died!”
Fr. Pimen: He would’ve caught the earthquake there.
Fr.: Which Romanian fathers were more virtuous here in Athos?
Fr. Iulian: There was Ignatius, there were the zealots…
Fr. Pimen: I understood that he never left Athos at all.
Fr. Iulian: He never left.
Fr. Pimen: I think that in his old age, they took him to the hospital once.
Fr. Iulian: Yes, he might have gone, but he didn’t want to.
Fr. Pimen: The monastery took him.
Fr. Iulian: Yes! He was right, to avoid seeing the world…
Fr.: But what about the spiritual father Ilie Vulpe from Colciu, the abbot of Father Ioan Guțu? And Ioan Guțu?
Fr. Iulian: Yes, yes… I caught Dometie from…
Fr. Pimen: From [the cell] of St. Hypatius…
Fr. Iulian: From St. Hypatius…
Fr. Pimen: I understood that he also lived quite a good life!
Fr. Iulian: Quite good!
Fr. Pimen: That he was abbot for a while at Zografu, at the Bulgarians.
Fr. Iulian: Yes! We used to go there for the feast day. There were many, there was one Hristofor, there were many, then they died, one by one…
Fr.: Father, but when you came to Athos, didn’t you go through the security filter, to receive certain instructions? That’s how it was back then.
Fr. Iulian: Here’s the thing! They had their own people, how can I put it… and they didn’t say too much.
Fr. Pimen: So they had their chosen people. They didn’t have them all.
Fr. Iulian: Do you know what they told us? “You go there, be Romanian!” They taught us well somehow. Some gave some information… They called me before but I didn’t want to give them anything. Caliopie said, “Hey, if they call you to give a declaration, don’t show up!”
Fr.: But where were you supposed to show up?
Fr. Iulian: Somewhere at Târgu Neamț, around there…
Fr. Pimen: At the police, security…
Fr. Iulian: They would set up a place. I didn’t go at all and they came to the monastery. I remember that Pahomie told me that I should have gone. He wanted me to come to the Holy Mountain and I told him, “Never mind, if it’s from God, fine, if not…”
And in the end, I still came…
Online commemoration lists and donations
May the Lord help us!
Online Commemoration Lists and Donations
May the Lord help us!
If you have a bank card and wish to send commemoration lists and donations online using your card, and/or to support our philanthropic activity, including this site, please fill out the form below to make a small donation. The form is secure – we use Stripe for payment processing – a world leader in this field. We do not collect your personal data.
If you do not have a card, or do not wish to use it, visit the webpage for Online Donations and Commemoration Lists.
We will pray for your loved ones! (Please do not include inessential details like wishes, degree of kinship, introductions etc. JUST the name!)
Especially for recurring commemoration lists, we ask that you please keep them to under 20 names long. If you include a member of the family, we add “and for their families.”
Pomelnice online și donații
Doamne ajută!
Dacă aveți un card și doriți să trimiteți pomelnice online și donații folosind cardul dumneavoastră, sau/și să susțineți activitatea noastră filantropică, inclusiv acest site, vă rugăm să introduceți datele necesare mai jos pentru a face o mică donație. Forma este sigură – procesatorul de carduri este Stripe – leader mondial în acest domeniu. Nu colectăm datele dvs. personale.
Dacă nu aveți card sau nu doriți să-l folosiți, accesați Pagina de donații și Pomelnice online .
Ne rugăm pentru cei dragi ai dumneavoastră! (vă rugăm nu introduceți detalii neesențiale precum dorințe, grade de rudenie, introduceri etc. Treceți DOAR numele!). Stripe limitează lungimea textelor și din cauza asta vă rugăm să fiți scurți. Dacă puneți un membru al familiei, noi adăugăm „și familiile lor”.
Dumnezeu să vă răsplătească dragostea!
