In the life of saints there is no tomorrow. Maybe just a night. Or a continuous today. A truth that I understand the Archdiocese of Râmnic Stânişoara Monastery, listening to Father Abbot Lawrence, with whom I walked the paths of Pious Saint Neophytos and Meletios, who had some cracks in the rock here. This “last night” or “continuous day” is temporarily boundary marker which defines only the saint’s life here on earth. For where he is now there tomorrow, but forever.

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church passed this year among the saints Sts Neophyte and Meletios, Monastery Stânişoara having feast day on September 3rd. These saints were called hermits in Mount Savage, and their disciples founded the monastery, which at first was called Hermitage Nucet. Not over several days will be proclaiming their canonization. For that reason, we wanted to find work and know the places where her away from the world, and they kept grinding souls until they came to incandescence and broke windows of time, “escaped” beyond the ocean without shores eternity. The road to the caves where hermits have been an attempt not only physical but also an initiatory journey, because in the end we have received the gift of a piece of joy the need of saints. Even if after a few hours, we had to descend into the world-the world wasting what little clumsy we acquired fortune.

Most live with bears

Pious Saint Neophytos was born in the sixteenth century. The couple received the angelic face of monasticism in the monastery tails. After several years of listening in community, desiring perfect life, he received the blessing of the abbot to go into solitude. He dug a cell the west side of the mountain. There was only forced into harsh labor and in unceasing prayer. Fasting and praying all week, and only occasionally, on Sundays and holidays, descended from the hermitage of Turnu be confessing to the Pious Daniil, listen Mass and partaking of the Holy Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ. After a life given completely to the monastic life and reached high levels of holiness, she received the gift of the Holy Spirit tears and intercession for the world. After 30 years spent in wilderness places, suffering the harshness of winters, enduring great temptations of the devil, and gave his soul in God’s hands there in the cave, no one knew. His body was discovered by a monk at the monastery Cozia, appointed to lead the hermits food. He took the body of the saint and brought him to the monastery to bury him. But at night, I was Neophytos appeared in a dream and scolded him, commanding him to bring his body back. That same night, the holy abbot was shown urging him to put into place ascetic his body. The next day, Venerable monk and took the body, along with another monk led him into his cave. Angry trouble he had made, the monk said: “The bears have lived with the bears to stay!” But soon I was back head back. Then, with great cries, he fell to a monastery, confessing their sin. Parents, along with the monastery’s abbot, Neophytos prayed to forgive the sinner and he was healed. In this way God glorified His pleasure showing it before all miracle worker and healer. The news was soon spread to nearby villages and many faithful turned their steps toward his cave, where he worshiped and received spiritual comfort and healing diseases. Neophyte relics are preserved today in the church of the Monastery.

“Last night” Father Lawrence

The road through the woods, on the brink, to the grotto of the hermit, traveled with Father Lawrence, abbot of the Monastery, was accompanied by a dialogue in which I had to learn not only details about the saint’s life and relics, but also to understand the depth of thoughts and deep sense of living like this forever. Without good at first, wondering what you, the parent report to a neutral “last night” life’s entry into monasticism, years of service, everything. Later, I was to comprehend why. Arriving at the notch in the rock, the father abbot told us: “Here was forced Pious Saint Neophytos. And here stood some of his holy relics long: the head and a few fragments of flesh. Some say that some of them were taken by locals who came here to pray. I heard that His Eminence Irenaeus, Metropolitan of Oltenia, when he was a brother to Frăsinei saved the head of the saint. And all His Eminence was occupied by the canonization of the two parents pious hermit here. And we thank for this care. See this wooden cross? It has a disturbing story. I do not know when it was made and brought here anyway was spent long ago. Now they painted a brothers John and George, who smoothed the rock to lift this small chapel in which they built cell. Before coming here so-called tourists were fire roasted small, who knows what they were doing, as people did not give importance to things. At one point they made the cross and set it on fire! State and Brothers, cross the jar almost all night. But has not it caught fire, as it turns out. Those people were scared, they went to Father Cornel Oprescu, who looked around, and told him the story. Father told it’s a miracle. Then people took the cross, mounted it and brought it back. Now here I live two blood brothers, John and George, the former city workers. Now I’m not home. They all came to the monastery, were attached to the church. Cleopas Father told me to do here a church. And these two brothers were leveled, they broke the rock and carried it piece by piece. And Dumitru Panu, a benevolent, now gone to the Lord, raised metal church, “says Father Abbot.

The place seems unreal. From the old grotto of Saint Neophytos left just a wet cut into the rock, where brothers light candles and pray. Metal church and cell wall beneath it, they live two, triangular table outside, two apples and a knife that rest on it, collected wood for winter and mountain crevices in the rock fig tree sunrise remember Athonite cells. And above all this, an unearthly silence predisposes to silence.

On the way to the other grotto continue the dialogue started with Fr. Lawrence, trying to find out what is this “last night”.

“Well, brethren, in the world, people are time with the minute, by the day. We, here we are with life. We never hurry. In our time is measured entirely alive. We must prepare permanently to serve God. And my life and ministry and nevoirea happened last night about here. The rest was not much. My whole life, our whole life of the monks, means a last night or something. And that short. Meaning of life do not look now, here. We will discover when we leave the earth. And we will see if we have a favorable response only up there. For it will not be favorable, there was nothing but an unsuccessful transition from yesterday to today! I mean, kind of a waste of time, “confesses father.

Fountain born of prayer

Arriving back in the cloister, I passed the other side of the mountain, climbing to cave Venerable Meletios, in an arduous uphill through my screen rolled up.

This saint lived in the hermitage Stânişoarei at the turn of the centuries XVI and XVII century. It is believed that the place was in a village near the Cozia Monastery, where he entered as a dweller from infancy. Here was forced in fasting and prayer until the day when, at his request, the abbot gave him the blessing to go to parents and to hermits need beyond Olt. Ven has dug a cave in the south of Mount Savage.

There was labour for over 40 years. Six days shall need the cave and on Sunday went to Daniil, from Turnu confessor, and received Holy Communion. Every day she brought a pitcher of water on, to trouble himself and at the same time to pray more. In his old age, however, unable descend from the cave, was prayed to God and the Virgin care, water flowed just before his cave, water flowing today, called “Spring Meletios”. God glorified him with this holy miracles, healing and consolation of sorrowing souls, pious came to be known for his holiness. Happily ever after, and God has entrusted his soul. Part of his venerable relics, who rested a long time in the grotto were later divided believers, and the place is revered today.

“After a while, veiţuitorii monastery caught source. Now the monastery is supplied with its water, which flows through prayer. And it is one of the best water in the area. Is healing, “says the father abbot.

Grotto of St. breathes light of a very concrete wellbeing and tranquility. Tight space resembles an eagle’s nest. Icons, candles, cross caught the entry arch, beneath which you must pass penetrate inside, forcing you to humility and worship. In this place, you know how it can be gathered sky in the heart of stone and how small can be when there is no tomorrow, and eternity is just a “last night” or “an ongoing today.”

Do not pull the earth for you

I then descended to the monastery tired, but still, at heart, because we had two pious hermits in their ongoing site today, giving us a bit of their experience free from errors.

On the way back, careful not to spend anyway gift received, God ordained into the woods to meet the two brothers, John and George, a wooden table on the roadside, eating bread with cherries. Returning from town, from the doctor. We stopped and listened to their stories. John is 70 years old and Gheorghe 55.

“I worked on Electromontaj. But little went in monasteries, “says John. “Then, discovering the place, I retired there. 20 years stand at the Grotto of Saint Neophytos. In 1992 I started work on preparing the ground for cell and chapel. I would have wanted to lift the stone church, but God has ordained otherwise. Living in the place where the saint had a very good, only if the ‘do not you land “, all of the wastes, you, as we do people. Together with my brother, who is suffering and who followed me a year ago, we do our prayers, read Chapel of Our Lady, one unsettled. We do everything that obligation. And that allows us to stay there. There have been others who wanted to settle in the area but came without the blessing with “earth after her,” and did not resist. I went to Father Cleophas. His Holiness told me that if I stand there I am not allowed to eat anything but bread and water. And when I răzbeşte hunger, to ask a blessing and to get away from that place and consumer else. When I worked in his cell, in the evening I went and ate at the monastery. Father Abbot told me that neither should still prostrate, because breaking the rock hammer 5kg is that if I make a thousand prostrations! Then Father Gelasius from Frăsinei told me to eat wheat. I grinded beans and chewed them up. But you know how much force I used? I gave hammered … But it is not easy the monastic life. About Saint Neophytos know I never did fire. He enjoyed the grotto that as it was. We live under the chapel’s do fire eating fruit, eating and convent, and make food because we can not survive otherwise. I do not consider myself a hermit. Being a hermit means talking to God, as St. Arsenius the Great spoke. What happens to us is the mercy of God. At that sometimes last is first, and the first may be the last. When I decided to settle down here, Father Lavrete from Frăsinei not gave me a blessing. But when I went to his piety and I said I temptation and can not finish what I wanted, she told me that gives me this time blagolovenie to remain there until everything neck. And when sanctify work, I can leave. Worthy to remember when Gherasim, Archbishop Râmnic climbed to the cave, I thought that everything is ready and can not leave. But His Eminence asked me if I know what to do. I looked at some canon hard as father gave Cleopas. But he said, ‘Stay here, eat and pray as you know!’ And I was, “John tells his brother.

This is how we lived in the caves of the saints from Stânişoara, where we returned with something better, we believe, even with inefficiency, what little fortune we gained from saints …