Gulagul de la Pitesti - 1-4 - Interviu cu Parintele Roman Braga
The Gulag of Pitesti - part.1-4 - Interview with Father Roman Braga
BEYOND TORTURE -The gulag of Pitesti ROMANIA - part. 1-4
Fr. Roman Braga :On Compromise in the Hierarchy During the Communist Yoke - http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/BragaChurch.php
No endorsement implied.
Excerpts from two books by Fr. Roman Braga.
Fr. Roman Braga is a 78 year-old Romanian priest who was imprisoned
in a Communist gulag for eleven years.
Interviewer: Father, before we continue discussing your life in
exile, tell us something about Romanian Orthodox spirituality,
because even we Romanians do not know what it is. It is evident that
we cannot separate spirituality from the Church because the Holy
Sacraments are the source of our sanctification. However, from what
you have told us about Church life in Romania at that time it seems
to me that the visible body of the Church was split into two parts
and that only one was moved by the Holy Spirit because many of the
persecuted clergy and lay people who were imprisoned prayed and lived
a true spiritual life, and the others wanted to please the worldly
authorities.
In Russia, as well as in Romania and in other Orthodox countries
under Communist control, the hierarchy made many compromises. They
accepted without any comment the orders which came from the
government, while thousands of spiritual fathers, priests, monks and
nuns were imprisoned with the knowledge of the Patriarchate, with the
knowledge of the visible Church, who did not do anything to bring
about their liberation. Something is wrong here. There were
Christians at that time who believed that the Holy Spirit had
abandoned the Church hierarchy and gone to the prisons. I do not want
to confuse the Church with the hierarchy, and I do not want to accuse
the hierarchy either. I think they sincerely thought that compromise
helps the Church as an institution--but what about the Spirit of the
Church? Some miracles happened even under Communism. Even if the
theological journals could not be printed without having Ceaucescu's
picture on the first page, the contents of these magazines were of a
high theological level. This high spiritual level, however, was lost
after the Revolution when the Church became free. Let us not forget
that during the Communist regime, The Philokalia was printed, three
volumes of Moral Orthodox Theology, by Fr. Staniloae, and his four
volumes of dogmatic theology, etc.
Fr. Roman: Yes, but no simple catechisms, prayer books for the people
or manuals of religious instruction, lives of saints--nothing for the
simple people. All written works had to pass the Communist censors;
in fact there was an official building where the censoring was done.
High theology was allowed to be published but not simple spirituality
or instruction that the common person could understand. The
Communists wanted to catechize the simple people in the Marxist
materialistic philosophy. There was no small village without a
Communist library. There was a special publishing house of the
Education Department called Science for All, which published very
simple and clear demonstrations that there is nothing besides matter
and material laws and that man came from the apes; Darwinism was in
vogue. Highly intellectual people hardly fell under the influence of
these childish demonstrations; they were more inclined toward
spirituality. But simple working people and country people were
easily given the impression that they could learn everything by
reading these brochures. The force of Communism was half-knowledge.
This is very dangerous, because people think they know everything
when they really do not know anything, and they will not listen to
reason. These people became the body of atheists in Romania. Among
them there was, however, a group of common sense churchgoers and
farmers who were not influenced by anything that was against the
Church. But these 'half-learned' people would argue with the priests
against anything spiritual because they had read something at the
popular Communist libraries. These libraries were furnished with
books against religion, and the priests were not allowed to refute
the ideas in them. The Church was not allowed to defend herself; She
could deal only with high theology and history.
Interviewer: What I want to learn from you is this: Is the Romanian
Church today at the high point of her calling, that calling which if
she does not fulfill, she will lose for all time?
Fr. Roman: I think that the Church, at least in Romania and Russia,
was strengthened during the communist persecution. I dare to say that
suffering matures not only the individual but the Church also. N.
Berdeiev, in one of his books, affirms that the Church was strong
during the 300 years of persecutions. Later, when Constantine gave
freedom to the Christians, the spiritual life of the Church became
diluted; the Church was more of an institution than a spiritual
reality. The same thing I happened during communism: the Church was
obligated to limit all her activities only to the inside of the four
walls of the temple. I do not know the situation in other countries,
but the Romanian Church today launched a campaign of physical and
spiritual reconstruction. Priests are reaching into the schools, into
the hospitals, the army. I am optimistic; I think the Romanian Church
will have its contribution in re-bringing Orthodoxy into the soul of
the Romanian nation.
Interviewer: How do you see the situation in the history of the
Church when there were patriarchs and bishops who were iconoclasts
and heretics, and even men who gave in to their lustful desires?
Fr. Roman: To tell you the truth, I'm not comfortable with the idea
that if the hierarchy is sinful the Church no longer exists, with the
idea of so-called spiritual elitism, that all the bishops, without
exception, should lead an exemplary life above all suspicion. Do not
misunderstand, bishops should lead an exemplary life above suspicion,
but if they do not this does not negate the existence of the
Church.... I do not dare to say that if there is a bishop with
personal sins the Spirit of God is no longer with him, because the
Holy Spirit always works for the salvation of all people, regardless
of the worthiness of those who officiate at the holy Sacraments. The
Holy Spirit uses today one hierarch and tomorrow another, but the
Church is the same. Many priests are not worthy, but the Holy Spirit
does not come and go in relation to our worthiness or unworthiness.
The Holy Spirit is the life of the Church, even if some of the
members of the Church are sick or wounded by sin.
Interviewer: So you say that who the bishop is is of no importance.
Fr. Roman: Absolutely not--as long as that bishop believes in God and
keeps the Tradition of the Apostles and Holy Fathers unchanged. I
said what I said because you mentioned heretical bishops,
monophysites and iconoclasts. Those bishops were not the hierarchy of
the whole Church. There were still other bishops who convoked the
Ecumenical Councils and condemned them--they were the true Church. If
the bishops made certain personal compromises, as happened in the
Communist era, or were affected by personal sins we cannot say that
because of this they do not have within themselves the Spirit of God
or that the liturgical acts performed by them are not valid, because
then we would be acting as the Protestants....
Interviewer: As far as you are concerned, during the Communist regime
there was never really a split between the hierarchy and the faithful?
Fr. Roman: Never. The Orthodox faithful during this time were so wise
that they never left the Church. The churches during the Communist
regime were never empty. Whether the hierarchs were compromised or
not, I do not know, but the churches were crowded with people, more
than during our so-called freedom when we enjoyed liberty and
democracy and our bishops were not compromised in any way. I told you
that when we were in prison we used to pray for the hierarchy, hoping
that they would do something to keep the churches open. I do not know
the difference between the hierarchs under the Communist regime and
St. Genadius the Scholar, who, when Constantinople was conquered by
Mohammed II, signed the great compromise not to ring the bells, not
to have processions on the streets with holy relics, not to have
services outside the church building--and he is a saint in the
calendar. Our hierarchy, though, who managed to keep all the churches
open during the Communist occupations are blamed and condemned. What
is the difference between one situation and another? I strongly
believe that if the Sacramental life of the Church was guaranteed by
the hierarchy during the Communist regime it was the Spirit of God
which worked through them. What is more important than to save this
Sacramental life, which is in fact the salvation of the people?
And I want to tell you something else. A certain Romanian Lutheran
pastor invented the theory of the underground Church in Romania, as
if certain catacombs existed in which faithful gathered, with the
Communists chasing them to kill them. We never had such things in
Romania. The underground Church was in each individual. Each bishop
had one thing in his heart, while he was obligated to do something
else; he felt one thing, while he was forced to speak something else.
Each one possessed a dual personality. And this thing was painful; it
was a real torture. I heard it in the confessions of many hierarchs
from the Communist period who are now retired. We were in prison and
we did not have the responsibility of defending and maintaining the
life of the Orthodox Church in Romania, and now as refugees I think
it is immoral to criticize them here from a safe distance. We who are
in America enjoy freedom; we should not criticize people who suffered
such psychological torture with the purpose of saving the institution
of the Church.
Surely it is not they that saved the Church, because the Church is in
God's hands and not in theirs, but I believe that God will not turn
His face from them because of their compromises. Their intention was
to save the Sacramental life of Orthodoxy. And let us be sincere:
what did they re sacrifice? It was their good name, the formal
education of the young people, ceremonies and processions outside of
the church..., and these things are not essential to the Church. When
St. Genadius the Scholar, whom we mentioned earlier, sent a letter to
the monks who were revolting against him because of the concessions
made to the Turks, he told them, "It is time to sacrifice the forms
in order to keep the essence." The same things happened in Russia as
in Romania. The hierarchy kept the essence, sacrificing what is not
essential; this means many of the ceremonial aspects of the
liturgical life were given up.
And now, a few words on "spirituality", which you have repeatedly
asked about. I live Orthodox spirituality through the liturgical
cycles. I strongly believe that the Holy Spirit is in the Church.
When I told you about the monks of Cemica and Condritsa, I was
speaking about some great unknown men. There were among them great
spiritual monastics whom no one knew about. I do not think "elders"
are some "gurus" to whom people go to see them performing miracles or
hanging on pillars or living as animals in the clefts of rocks. I
think that true spiritual elders live in the discipline of the
Church, in obedience and humility. The Spirit of God is in
monasteries and in churches, together with the monks and priests
incorporated in the monastic and liturgical life, not in isolated
individuals. Monks are tempered like steel in humility and obedience.
I know that there are people looking at them like wonder workers,
anxious to see something miraculous, and they classify them as good
or bad by how they "perform". There was a woman in Iasi who once came
to Father Bartolomeu Dothan and asked me if he was a saint. I told
her, "I do not know, madam." She replied, "The world says so." And I
said, "It might be." And she said, "If he is a saint, why does he not
perform some miracles?" She came to such a humble man to see
miracles! I am not comfortable with this idea about the spiritual
man. Spiritual men are not some spiritual elite, detached from the
regular life of the Church. When we mention them, we say "St.
Seraphim of Sarov". Sarov was a monastery. We speak of a man
incorporated in a discipline. The same thing with our Romanian saints
like "St. Chiriac of Taslau". Taslau is a monastery with a fixed
discipline. "Iosif of Bisericani", another monastery, "Onofrei of
Sihastria", "Paisie of Neamts", "Daniel the Hermit of
Voronets", "Ghelasie of Rametsi"... all these are remembered by their
monasteries which had a fixed discipline and rules; these men were
incorporated into this discipline. The Spirit is there where the
monastery is, where the Church is. Their spiritual exploits are
obedience and community discipline.
We speak today so much of Father Cleopa of Sihastria. I have a
videotape of him speaking to some students from Bucharest University.
Do you know what he told them? "Why did you come to me, because I am
like a rotten log, a piece of broken pottery. May Paradise consume
you! I want to see you in Heaven exactly as you are here, but now
because you are here, let us speak of something very important." And
he started, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."
And he continued with the beginning prayers, Heavenly King..., Holy
God..., Our Father.... See why they I traveled such a long distance
to see him? He did not tell them more than there is in a prayer book,
in the Book of Hours. "People went to him because in his youth he had
been a shepherd watching the monastery's sheep. They would not have
gone to him if he had a doctorate in theology, but he was a simple
monk, like those I saw in my youth at Condritsa and Cernica. He did
not tell them what they should do. Each young person had in his
pocket a prayer book, and he did not do anything other than direct
their attention to that prayer book. Father Cleopa does not even
confess people; he sends them to their parish priest. So I think that
we should not transform this extraordinary, humble elite into
something detached from the Church, into something sensational or
spectacular. I think that the wisdom of God does not come to them
directly from Heaven, but through the Sacramental channels of the
Church.
Interviewer: Nevertheless, Father, we cannot deny that these
personalities, not to say saints, radiate in a special way there in
the community of monks. I do not deny that any monk is a light in
himself, but not all shine with the Grace of the Holy Spirit in the
same measure. You know that even the stars in the sky do not sparkle
in the same way, for as St. Paul says, ...one star differs from
another star in glory (I Cor. 15:41). Some you can see clearly, but
others you cannot see at all. Even if their brilliance is not a
result of their ascetic endeavors; these men nevertheless constitute
the body of the Church members with a special purpose: God wants
these members to use their merits to benefit the whole Church. It is
true that the Patericon is not a book of the spiritual elite; but
nevertheless, it is considered a book of models of the spiritual
life.
Fr. Roman: The humbler they are, the more they radiate. This is how I
saw them and understood them. I was witnessed by the barefoot monk
who was the administrator of Cernica Monastery. You see them as
spiritual only if you are looking for spiritual things. However, if
you approach them out of simple curiosity or go to them with
intellectual problems or psychological theories, you question them in
vain because they say, "Let us pray," not "Let us discuss." For them
prayer resolves everything; as Father Cleopa says, "Go to the priest
in your parish, confess your sins, take Communion, do not commit
adultery, be honest, go to church on Sundays,... and you save
yourself" There is no philosophy here.
Interviewer: It is true, Father. I have heard all these things many
times; I have read them in many books. Even so, they roll off us like
water off a duck's back. When we read about them in books they do not
touch the depth of our souls as they do when we hear them from a
special spiritual man because there is an unspeakable power of the
Spirit that works only through certain fathers who shake us into
wakefulness and enlighten our faith.
Fr. Roman: It is the power of the Church. It is the power of the Holy
Spirit of God, Who works in the Church through these men who live in
and remain always in the Church. We do not speak here only of monks
but also of married priests. For example, you know Father Gheorghe
Rosca. He was the spiritual father of many members of the Burning
Bush Movement. He was a simple priest but all the intellectuals in
Bucharest came to him, and these intellectuals were theosophists,
involved in all kinds of false mysticism. There were many other
married priests who were great spiritual fathers. Spirituality is not
connected only to monasteries, to the harsh ascesis of the monks; it
also exists in the lay priesthood, and I dare to humble myself and
say more; any village priest, regardless of his sins or material
interests, exercises a spiritual function.
Interviewer: Then how can you explain the spiritual crisis which has
come about in some of the nations of the world, diminishing the Grace
of God in the people? I could be wrong; maybe the Grace is still
there, but the spiritual feeling in people seems to have changed, and
they do not seem to see the saving power of God working in the world.
But, once again, the same God says that He will take away His Spirit
from them if they continue in their sinful ways.
Fr. Roman: The crises are within us, I think, and they often come
about because of some ill-fated cultural influences. You said earlier
that the same persecution of the Church existed in the last century,
before the era of Communism, only in a little more civilized fashion.
There is, nevertheless, a difference between that cultural
persecution by the intelligentsia who wanted to change the religious
mentality of the people and the Communist persecution. They wanted to
introduce secularism and modern institutions, copying the Western
countries where secularism was more prevalent. In the 19th century,
the government wanted to bring Russia and Romania up to the level of
Western countries. Our countries were still living in the Middle
Ages, so to speak. Our constitution was still based on the holy
canons of the Church and on Christian traditions. They regarded
Orthodoxy to be old fashioned compared with Catholicism. However,
Communism attempted to destroy the source of faith within us. For
example, Lunaciarski wrote Lenin: "If you want to control a man, kill
his intimacy." I consider intimacy to mean the temple of God within
him.
Interviewer: Father, it seems to me that the intellectual class of
the 19th century, who distorted the Orthodox Romanian tradition and
broke with the spirituality of our people, are presented in textbooks
as being representative of the Romanian nation. Even priests, monks
and church people consider them as such. I do not understand, Father;
is it possible to present the history of a nation completely detached
from its spirituality?
Fr. Roman: It is true that our 19th century intelligentsia thought
that the social progress of our nation was hindered by traditional
Orthodox mentality. At that time there truly existed a break between
the Church hierarchy and the intellectual class, but there was not a
break between the hierarchy and the Romanian people as a whole. This
kind of break has never existed in our history. The intelligentsia
does not represent any country in its entirety. I do not think that
there was a total break between Orthodox people and the hierarchy
during the Communist regime either. Our people are wiser than we
think. They have always understood the limits of the Church leaders,
what they can and cannot do, so they have never lost their faith in
the Church. Faithful people do not judge their hierarchy: who is
worthy or who is unworthy; they are ashamed to do that. They can see
the good in the saying, "Do as I say and not as I do." No matter how
simple we consider the Orthodox country people to be, they know what
the Church and spirituality are, and they are never scandalized by
the sins of certain priests or hierarchs. They know that not all the
hierarchy was corrupt; there were enough good bishops and good
patriarchs. There were, of course, some necessary compromises made
and, sure, as everywhere there were bad priests, but the Church had
at the same time holy people, martyred priests and spiritual monks.
People have in their hearts a discernment, by the Grace of God, which
comes from above. In my opinion, the Orthodox Church and spirituality
resides in people. This is why the urbanization imposed by Communist
leader Ceaucescu was a crime against the Romanian culture and the
spirituality which resides in the simple country people. And,
finally, Orthodox spirituality is in each individual who keeps within
himself the eschatological feeling, the feeling of eternity and the
second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our simple countrymen in
their simplicity always think of death, while the intellectual class
has lost this eschatological feeling. This waiting and watchful
spirit makes a monk out of each individual; there is something
monastic in each one of us.
Interviewer: What do you think, then, is the role of the Romanian
Orthodox Church in the world?
Fr. Roman: I want to discourage the chauvinism of some of the
intellectuals in the Romanian Orthodox Church today who say that the
salvation of the world will come from Romania. The role of the
Romanian Church is no other than the role of the Russian, Greek or
Bulgarian Churches. Orthodoxy in any country has the same purpose--to
unite everyone in God and to maintain Jesus in our hearts through the
Holy Sacraments of the Church. What other role could the Romanian
Church have than the spiritualization of Romanian culture on the
national level? As Orthodoxy in Russia under the influence of Optina
Monastery transfigured Russian culture, I believe that we, too,
especially now after the Liberation, must continue to bring about the
transfiguration of Romanian culture with the help of our Orthodox
intellectual class. The Church does not play a political role, not
even an intellectual one; we must open the minds of our people to the
resurrection and the transfiguration of the world.
I have always feared the temptation of the anti-Christ hidden in an
uncontrolled nationalism. I do not see the evil to be in the clergy,
whether they be good, very good or weak, but I see the work of the
anti-Christ in something that will surprise you. We are not better
than other nations in the world; we are not privileged and favored by
God in a special way, as certain contemporary movements in Romania
claim. Our role is the same as that of other nations. When we exalt
ourselves, we become proud, killing any trace of spirituality we
might have had; in this way, we truly fall into the hands of the anti-
Christ. Orthodoxy in Romania does not consist of only the hierarchy;
we are all the Church. If the whole Romanian nation, clergy and laity
alike, do not fall on our knees, confessing our sins and recognizing
our unworthiness, we are not good Orthodox Christians. How can the
salvation of the world come from Romania when our women have one-and-
a- half million abortions a year, as many as in the entire United
States? Dare we say that we are pleasing to God and the salvation of
the world will come from us? This idea is a diabolic trap.
Interviewer: Father, what you say is true, but the people are not
guilty. How many hierarchs descend amidst the people to give them
spiritual counsel, I mean to walk on the street with them as our
hermits of old used to do? How many continue the tradition begun by
our pre-Christian hermits who lived in the mountains but came to the
communities and exercised great authority over the Dacian leaders and
their people? Today, some Romanians complain that they have never
even seen the face of their bishop. Why do not they come down to
say, "Brothers, we are sinners. Let's confess to each other, starting
with the Patriarch of the country?" They are as inaccessible as
Pharaohs in their palaces. Christ did not talk from the top of the
mountain hidden in a cloud or from the Holy of Holies from behind
closed curtains. Here is the true power of the shepherd; the sheep
follow him because they know his voice, and he gives his life for his
sheep.
Fr. Roman: Dear brother, I think that along with secularization there
has developed an isolation of the hierarchy from the people, and
secularization came with the monarchy. Remember from the Old
Testament that people came to Samuel asking him for a king, and
Samuel, who was the judge and leader in Israel, said to God, "Lord,
they do not want me anymore." The Lord answered, Listen to the voice
of the people, because they do not hate you; they hate Me. They do
not want Me to rule over them anymore. (I Kings 8:7). Our medieval
rulers reigned by the will of God; they built our monasteries and
churches. At that time bishops, metropolitans and princes were
present in church every Sunday, confessing their sins and taking
Communion together. But in the case of Romania, because our kings
were only nominal Christians and placed themselves above the people,
the hierarchy too have shut themselves up in an ivory tower and have
become an elite, I mean a caste.
From Exploring the Inner Universe, by Fr. Roman Braga, pp. 60-75.
Between God and Satan (1976)
As the devil puts on a robe of light to deceive if possible even
God's chosen ones, in the same way he wraps lies in the vestment of
truth, giving the illusion to those who utter lies that they proclaim
universal principles.
We cannot give any other interpretation to contemporary Romanian
theology, in which all the intellectuals of the Church are mobilized
and asked to write in defense of the atheistic regime. The
theological and religious press in Bucharest, which before World War
II dealt with the education of children and young adults and also
published religious books for country people as well as
intellectuals, is transformed today into an apologist of Communist
reforms who attempt to justify with evangelical texts or speculation
from the works of the Holy Fathers. Reading the book, The Servant
Church, by Antonie Plamadeala, assistant bishop to the Patriarch with
a doctorate from Heythrop College in Oxford, England, you immediately
realize how in Rornania a "Marxist theology" was initiated. The
author is a prominent personality in the Church life of Romania. No
wonder, then, that he was forced to introduce Communist ideas into
theological teaching. The book is a perfect theological demonstration
of the Communist form of socialism. His Grace Antonie not only sees
in St. John Chrysostom a precursor of Marxism, but even finds in the
sermons of this Holy Father the "theory of plus value" treated by
Karl Marx in Das Kapital.* The author treats in depth the social
aspect of the works of the Holy Fathers: poverty, charity, the duty
of the rich to help the poor, etc., but he forgets to mention in his
book that St. Chrysostom did not become a yes-man of the Byzantine
emperors, even though they were Christian, but he criticized them,
being revolted by their social iniquities. He attacked Eutropius and
the empress Eudoxia, urging the people not to participate in imperial
festivities during the Holy Liturgy but rather to enter the church
and pray.
What if His Grace Antonie would deliver a homily from the ambo of the
Patriarchal church in Bucharest against the anti-Christian measures
that the Romanian Communist government took which prohibited high
school and college students and professors and soldiers from entering
the church? St. John Chrysostom would not defend the authorities; on
the contrary, he invited them to enter the church and pray. What if
His Grace would protest against the atheistic speeches of Nicolae
Ceaucescu, defending the repression of individual liberties in
Romania? We cannot understand how His Grace, who spent years in the
Communist prisons together with thousands of believers, priests and
monks, could promote Communist principles. Does he think that if the
Holy Cappadocian Fathers lived in Romania today they would not refute
the Communist Party because of the over one hundred atheistic books
they published in which the Mother of God is represented as a
prostitute and the Holy Trinity in the form of male sexual organs?
Would they praise the Communist leaders for such filthy works out of
fear of offending them? Would they urge the people with Biblical
texts to obey the governing authorities (Romans 13:1)? Does he think
that St. Paul really obeyed the authorities when they prohibited him
from preaching the word of God in public? Did St. Paul not die as a
martyr because he did not obey the authorities? Would he have the
courage to preach against atheism and materialism in the public
squares or in the national Congress as St. Paul did in Athens in the
Areopagus? Because we live in a country under a Communist regime why
does His Grace not employ his literary talent and theological
training in some apologies against those who count religion as the
opium of the people as the apologists Athenegoras, Tertullian or St.
Justin the Martyr did?
We know that this is not possible, and we understand. Fully enjoying
the advantages of freedom in the western countries, I cannot
recommend to others who live in terror and temptations to become
martyrs. However, if you are afraid and forced to collaborate with
Satan, at least do not worship him and do not represent him as an
angel of light. It is a contradictory situation: the Church in
Romania today uses her best theologians and her missions abroad, as
well as delegates sent to ecumenical meetings, to defend the acts of
an atheistic regime. We accept the broad views of Romanian
theologians who walk the middle line, but when in the World Council
of Churches someone raises the issue of persecutions in Romania, the
Romanian theologians jump in the air: "If there were not freedom in
Romania, we would not be here!" They feel offended and sometimes even
leave the meeting. We know that the government pays the Romanian
Patriarchate for the travel expenses of these delegates abroad. They
are not paid to defend Orthodoxy, which the Communists in Bucharest
would like to eliminate as quickly as possible, but paid to give the
impression that in external relations, the Romanian Church is totally
free.**
It is well known that the innumerable external contacts of the
Romanian Church would not be possible without the approval of the
Communist government, and they are organized only through the
Department of External Affairs. The government uses the Church to
make favorable propaganda abroad. As for religious freedom inside the
country, Romanian laws recommend this: "Any contact or communication
of the Church and Church orders and dispositions should be approved
by the governmental agencies of control which are branches of the
Department of Religious Affairs. This means that any letter published
by the Church must pass through Communist censorship.
Thus, Romanian hierarchs do not have even the freedom to be silent.
They must praise the government aloud. They must cense Satan and
adore him as "the desolation of abomination." (Dan. 12:11)
--Cuvantul Romanesc, May 1976
* The cost of manufacturing an item is much less than the sale price.
The difference between these prices accumulates in a capital, thus
becoming the basis of Capitalism.
** Some of these delegates abroad, however, who wanted to tell the
truth, preferred to remain in the free world and declared themselves
political refugees [Author].
From On the Way of Faith, by Fr. Roman Braga, pp. 184-187.
Strike The Shepherds... (1992)
Following the events of December 1989--revolution, coup, or whatever
it was--the Romanian Orthodox Church has launched a daring and
grandiose program of material and spiritual reconstruction. The
historical episcopates and monasteries closed by the Communists have
been reopened, several new theological institutes have been opened,
ASTRA Society, Oastea Domnului ["The Lord's Army"], the Orthodox
Women's Guild and Orthodox children and youth organizations have been
revived. A new medical center, Christiana, is being built in
Bucharest.
Evidently, all of this incites the jealousy of the Uniates and of the
various sectarian groups in Romania, who take every available
opportunity--in the press and in public-- to attack the Orthodoxy of
our nation and also our hierarchs. The sectarians know well the
saying from the Bible, "Strike the Shepherd and the sheep shall be
scattered..." (Zech. 13:7); but Zechariah the Prophet did not say
this out of maliciousness, jealousy or political envy; he did not say
it to destroy the Church but to strengthen it. But what is painful is
the fact that even some of the Orthodox clergy have placed themselves
in the ranks of the enemies of Orthodoxy. They do not understand that
without a certain compromise made by the hierarchy of the Church,
even their own ordination and assignment to a parish would not have
been possible at that time. Why did they not protest then, and why
did they accept to be ordained by the same hierarchs they now
consider to be unworthy? How is it possible that when the bishops
placed their hands on their heads they possessed the Grace of the
Holy Spirit, but now, after the revolution, they have lost it?
How can anyone imagine that if the Romanian Church had been free, it
would not have done more, or at least as much, as it does today? But
who was free? Were the political parties free? Where were the leaders
of these political parties, these heroic voices, who are now shouting
so loudly, and where was the opposition press? Why be unfair only to
the bishops who nevertheless remained near their flock during the
entire time of persecution. They did not abandon the faithful to flee
to the West. The Patriarch and the bishops will be judged by God, not
by politicians, because during the most critical moments in the life
of the Romanian nation they saved the Church, ensuring the
sacramental life of the faithful, which is the true essence of
salvation for the people. In Romania, unlike in Russia, we do not
have millions of people who are not baptized. Only last year, Russian
newspapers mentioned the baptism of one and a half million adults.
Romanians were baptized and married, were confessed and received
communion even during the Communist dictatorship because the churches
were open and priests and bishops were available. All this was
possible because of the ability of the leadership of the Church to
sacrifice the form in order to keep the content. Evidently, for the
unfaithful politicians, the sacramental life of the Church means
nothing; for them, only their political slogans are important.
For the majority of Orthodox faithful, however, the sacramental life
of the Church has always been and still is essential. Let, then, the
faithful people, not the politicians, judge their own hierarchs, who
in the end will be judged by God.
When Khrushchev closed and razed eleven thousand churches in Russia--
in addition to those destroyed earlier by Stalin--in Romania old
churches were being painted and new churches were being built; the
Church was printing the Philokalia and the Holy Fathers, ten
theological publications, seminary lectures, calendars and prayer
books for the people in its own printing shops; six seminaries and
two theological institutes were in operation. The fact that the
Church emerged from this struggle intact is a clear indication that
this quiet activity of the Church hierarchy dealt Communism the
biggest blow.
The negative attitude of some writers about the Church is the result
of their atheistic education received in the course of forty-five
cars of Communism. Communism left its mark. I read with sadness in
România Libera that last year during Pascha a priest who was a deputy
in the Romanian Parliament opened his speech with the Christian
greeting, "Christ is Risen", and no one answered--and there were in
the audience not only representatives of the FSN Party but also
members of the Opposition. This means that something has been
destroyed in the soul of the Romanian people. History has been
falsified, culture has been altered. The Romanian people have
forgotten that Stephen the Great was not Baptist and Michael the
Brave was not Greek Catholic; they have forgotten that Orthodoxy is
the essence of the nation, that it played an essential role in the
process of the formation of the Romanian people, of the language, of
the Romanian soul; that from it we have the first printing shops, the
first writings, the entire culture. In a country inundated with
monasteries and Orthodox monuments, how can one be against Orthodoxy
without committing spiritual and intellectual suicide, in other words
without losing one's own identity?
When the attacks come from non-Orthodox it is easy to understand that
they plead "pro causa sua" ["for one's own interest"], but we
Orthodox need to use more logic. An Orthodox author of a Catholic
article published in London says that the Orthodox Church is the
cause of the backwardness of the Romanian people. As one who has
lived in Brazil, I asked myself what the cause is of the backwardness
of the Latin American countries which have been Catholic for five
hundred years and have remained primitive and in a state of moral and
material misery. Is Catholicism really the cause?
How can anybody suggest that we should be united with Rome simply
because we have a common Latin origin? First of all, we are not only
Latins. And then, forgive me for saying this, but why should a Polish
Pope of Slavic origin protect the Latin purity of the Romanian
people; or what Latin origin does Uniatism protect in Ukraine,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Abyssinia and Iran? Are all these also
descendants of Trajan? When politicians meddle in the affairs of the
Church, they become ludicrous. Imagine my speaking to specialists at
a medical conference concerning subjects on which they are experts.
Even Cuvantul Romanesc, the largest newspaper of exiled Romanians,
resorts to "blows below the belt," in the words of Father Cornel
Todeasa. There is not one issue of the newspaper that does not treat
Patriarch Teoctist with irony. Of course, we cannot expect Cuvantul
Romanesc to be an Orthodox newspaper, or even a Christian one. But
there are a few Orthodox priests who must understand that the
Patriarch cannot be changed by a revolution. He is accountable only
to the Holy Synod, not to any group of fanatics who comes to the door
of the Patriarchate and shouts, "Teoctist the Communist!" This would
create anarchy in the Church so that no longer would any bishop be
certain of his seat. And with an inexplicable lack of ethical
standards, Cuvantul Romanesc republished, without even asking my
permission, one of my articles written sixteen years ago in which I
criticized the doctoral dissertation of Metropolitan Antonie of
Ardeal, trying to demonstrate that I am inconsistent. In his logics
course, Nae lonescu said that only God's judgments are absolute,
because He is the only One who knows everything. The intelligent
person changes his ideas. Otherwise, human thinking would never
progress. I am very happy that Cuvantul Romanesc has intelligent
correspondents. Somebody published an article titled, Ouo Vadis Rex,
an article against the Romanian monarchy; only a few months later in
the presence of King Michael in New York I heard the same person
proclaim "Long live the King!" Another one writes in both Micro
Magazine and Cuvantul Romanesc, even though these two newspapers are
of totally opposite orientations. Who can accuse them of being
inconsistent? People change. When we judge the hierarchy of our
Church, we must not forget the years of oppression; we were here and
they were there. We were responsible only for ourselves, for our own
individual selves which we had placed in safety, while in their hands
was the fate of Romanian Orthodoxy. What would we have done in their
place? We would have allowed ourselves to be arrested, and the people
would have been left without churches and without a sacramental life--
an act of cheap and destructive heroism.
I have followed for twenty years in The Orthodox Church the
editorials of Father John Meyendorff against Russian Communism, but I
have not seen a word against the Patriarch of Moscow; not one Jew
criticizes Rabbi Moses Rosen for collaborating with Communism; not
one Baptist in America speaks against Pastor Lucaci of Detroit, who
invited Ambassador Bogdan to participate at all baptisms; and, of
course, no Catholic accuses the Pope for replacing Cardinals
Mindzenti and Slipici with people pleasing to the Communist
governments of Hungary and the Soviet Union. This is what the
interest of the Church demanded at that time. People know that by
attacking the hierarchy, they are attacking the Church itself.
Why do we never think of praying instead of criticizing? I think in
reality we are talking of a hidden atheism and of a hatred against
God, not against the hierarchy itself. "Let us stand aright, let us
stand in fear, let us be attentive. The enemies know that the
Romanian soul is nourished by Orthodoxy. This is why they are
attacking the Church hierarchy with such great vehemence. "Strike the
shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered."
--Solia, March 1992
From On the Way of Faith, by Fr. Roman Braga, pp. 199-204. All
excerpts reprinted with the kind permission of Mother Gabriella,
Abbess of the Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Monastery,
which publishes Fr. Roman's books.
Father Roman Braga is a Romanian Orthodox monk whose life always
revolved around a monastic community.
Born in 1922 in Basarabia, as the seventh child of Cosma and Maria,
he enters, at the age of twelve, the Càldáruani Monastery near
Bucharest. A year later, he is sent to the Seminary of Cernica,
another monastery near the capital of Romania. In 1940-1942 he is
enrolled at the Central Monastic Seminary in Bucharest and in the
year that follows he is studying at the Theological Seminary in
Chiinàu. Between 1943 and 1947, Roman Braga is enrolled at the
Theological Institute, the School of Letters and Philosophy, as well
as at the Pedagogic Seminary "Titu Maiorescu", all in Bucharest.
He graduated from the Theological Institute in 1947, Magna cum Laude,
and the following year received the teaching certificate for theology
and Romanian language and literature. In the same year he enrolled in
the Ph.D. program at the Theological Institute in Bucharest.
Arrested in 1948, he spent five years in prison. After his release
from prison in 1954 he was tonsured as a monk and ordained deacon by
the Metropolitan of Iai, Sebastian Rusanu. The following five years
were spent at the Iai Metropolia where he serves the Divine Liturgy
with other deacons and monks, sang in the choir, conducted
theological sessions with students discussing the Philokalia and
practices the Prayer of the Heart. All this time he was under
surveillance by the Communist government. In 1959 he was arrested
again and spends a full year under interrogation. The authorities
were not sure what accusations to bring against him. He is finally
accused of having been part of the Burning Bush movement, along with
fifteen other intellectuals of the time. After a mock trial he was
sentenced to 18 years of forced labor for having "discussed inimical
writings of Basil the Great in order to overthrow the government".
The next five years were spent in the labor camps along the Danube
Delta, building dams and cutting reeds. Here, in a dormitory with 120
other people, he meets and lives together with other priests such as
Fr. Sofian Boghiu, Fr. Grigore Bàbu, Fr. Felix Dubneac, Fr. Benedict
Ghiu, and others.
The year 1964 marked the general amnesty given by the Communist
regime to all political prisoners. He is released and returns to Iai
to find that Metropolitan Sebastian was dead and replaced by
Metropolitan Lustin. Not finding employment in Iai he is hired by
Bishop Valerian Zaharia to work in the archives of the Episcopate of
Oradea. This same year Bishop Valerian ordains him a priest.
On January 1, 1965 he was installed priest of the Parish of Negreti,
a village in the northern part of the country, where he will function
for the next three years. Here he organizes the Sunday School and a
100 children choir. Because of the work he does in this parish, the
government transfers him secretly to another village, near Oradea,
where he will function as parish priest until 1968 when he is sent by
the Patriarchate to Brazil as missionary priest for the Romanian
community in São Paulo.
The four years in Brazil were difficult. In 1972, Bishop Valerian
Trifa of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America asked him to
come to the United States. He lived at the Vatra where he was
involved in translating religious texts and music from Romanian to
English, participated in organizing the summer camps for students and
adults, and was very active in the religious education of the
children. In 1979 he was sent to be parish priest at the Holy Trinity
Church in Youngstown, Ohio and in 1982, became parish priest of the
St. George Cathedral in Detroit. From here, in 1984, he moved to
Pennsylvania and becomes priest and spiritual father for the
community of the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood
City.
Today he is the priest and spiritual father of the community of nuns
of the Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Monastery in Rives
Junction, Michigan. Here he is active not only in the busy schedule
of services, but in the rich spiritual and intellectual life of the
monastery. -- The Editors, July, 1996
Read the entire article on the Orthodox Info website (new window will
open). Reprinted with permission.
Posted: 16-Nov-06