The new representative of the BOR, Adrian Agachi, responded to the accusations of the National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania “Elie Wiesel” (INSHR-EW), which issued a statement expressing its dissatisfaction that three of the 16 priests proposed for canonization by the BOR would have supported, through words or actions, the values of fascism.
Icon of Father Stăniloae, accused of being a legionnaire – Photo: Facebook
““A word can contradict another word, but which word can contradict life?” (St. Gregory Palamas). I confess that I read with pain and bitterness of soul the media reports in which the news of the canonization of Father Dumitru Stăniloae was transformed from a natural, happy event into an endless mockery of him. “The greatest contemporary Orthodox theologian”, as Olivier Clément called him, “benefited”, once again, from the reward due to any great man: complete ingratitude. Thanks to him today we have the twelve volumes of the Philokalia translated, as well as many other writings of the Holy Fathers – Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Palamas or Maximus the Confessor. Thanks to him we have a series of theological writings of high beauty and value whose recognition also exists at the international level. Thanks to him we have today a well-trained generation of theologians, theologians who either knew him and had the joy of being their teacher, or, as is the case with the others, fed on his writings with ardor, because there they found what they were looking for: the rigor of the research of the Holy Fathers, the fair use of contemporary culture, the sincere confession of the Orthodox faith.“, begins the message sent by Adrian Agachi, the spokesperson of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Adrian Agachi claims that Father Stăniloae is unjustly accused of being a legionary, although he criticized the legionary leadership and was never affiliated with the movement.
“A man who spent more than 5 years in communist prisons only for the guilt of being part of the “Burning Rug” group together with other saints such as Cleopa Ilie and Sofian Boghiu or well-known fathers such as Benedict Ghiuș, Daniil Sandu Tudor or Ioan Kulîghin. A group that met to talk about the prayer of the heart and other theological topics, not for politics at all…
He never spoke of the torments endured in prison. The family later learned that he had undergone hernia surgery in prison by a fellow inmate, a surgeon, without anesthesia (!), with a simple kitchen knife. It no longer makes sense to talk about beatings and torments, about unjust persecutions even by some once close colleagues. He never complained. He forgave and loved to the end.
Now we are told that he was a legionnaire. He, who was threatened with death by the legionary leadership of the time for repeatedly criticizing it?
He is asked to repent publicly, at least three or four times in which he renounced the legionnaire who never was. Even communism did not condemn him for legionaryism. He had no reason to. He was never affiliated, nor regimented, nor favorable to this movement.
I did not write all this to accuse or absolve. For the Romanian Orthodox Church, Father Stăniloae is “Holy Priest Confessor Dumitru Stăniloae”. For others, it is what everyone wants and believes.
In conclusion, I want to relate the testimony of other saints about Father Stăniloae. First of all, Saint Sofian from Antim, who reports in his diary: “I went to Fundeni to confess Father Dumitru Stăniloae. He is very lucid and his memory has helped him a lot… He has great repentance for his sins. God helped him to keep himself in deep humility. He told me that after every great scholarly success, there was great suffering in the family. I shared it. He rejoices beyond words… He said nothing about his huge work, except a small hope that God will forgive him at least a part of his sins”. Humility, humility, humility…
We also have the testimony of Saint Cleopa from Sihăstria, who, being in a dialogue with Father Paisie Iloaie from Nușeni Monastery, suddenly stopped and said: “Poor Stăniloae. The poor man. What do you know? He was the greatest dogmatist and with humility like no other. That’s why it’s great!”. Then, Father Paisie testifies that Saint Pious Cleopas fell into silence, “shedding two tears, to the astonishment of those present, who had never seen him cry for anyone before. A short, painful cry, like the end of the world. Soon, they would all learn the sad news: Father Stăniloae had passed on to the eternal.” I mention the fact that Father Stăniloae often confessed to Father Cleopa Ilie.
In conclusion, I return to the quote from the beginning: «A word can contradict another word, but which word can contradict life?» (St. Gregory Palamas). And the life of Father Stăniloae is the life of a saint. Point.“, concludes the BOR representative.
“Canonized Saints from the Pen”
Alexandru Florian, the president of the “Elie Wiesel” Institute, says that the Romanian Orthodox Church is making a serious mistake if it canonizes the priest Ilie Lăcătușu. He points out that Lăcătușu was a member of the legionary movement and, after its disbandment, he was sent to Transnistria by the Antonescu regime, where he did not show solidarity with the Jews who were deported and died there.
“He was in Odesa, in Râbnița county, a priest, in a locality where there were many Jews deported from Bessarabia and Bucovina. Many of them met their end there and he did not show any solidarity. It is a very serious gesture made by the Romanian Orthodox Church“, declared the president of the “Elie Wiesel” Institute.
“A former head of a legionary nest was canonized yesterday by the Romanian Orthodox Church. That’s all it took….”sociologist Gelu Duminića wrote on Facebook, after the publication of the list of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which decided to canonize 16 Romanian saints.
Two experts in theology and BOR dogmas, Paul Palencsar, journalist and theologian, and Ionuț Mavrichi, theologian and sociologist, debated the announced desire to canonize certain former ministers, clarifying internal aspects of the Church and explained why these decisions are important for society.
“Not everything a saint did in life is full of holiness, not everything a saint wrote in life is necessarily true“, underlines Ionuț Mavrichi, theologian and sociologist, during the discussion.
Also, the two theologians stress that there is a need for clarification regarding the lives of these saints, considering “the rush to make saints out of pens without research and under the pressure of the masses“, as Ionuț Mavrichi explained on Facebook.
“The only thing Adrian Agachi forgot to mention about the Burning Bush and Fr Staniloae was Scrima’s name. Oh, maybe because Scrima was only written about in the informative notes. Point.“, commented Ionuț Mavrichi about the statement of the BOR representative.
