“During the dark years of communism, Antim Monastery was a lamp that remained continually burning, a light of resurrection here in the heart of Bucharest, while St Sofian was a prophet, an apostle and a father of this city, to whom both the most accomplished intellectuals and ordinary people would turn, seeking his kindness, forgiveness and wise counsel,” Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești said on Wednesday.
The Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St Anthimos Monastery on the feast of St Sofian.
His Grace emphasised that the saint’s pastoral and missionary activity was accompanied by his vocation as a church painter.
“This required great skill, so that at a time when the faith was being persecuted, an icon or the painting of a church could truly become the alphabet, the book, the Gospel that people could read without the aid of words.”
“This material painting was always accompanied by the painting of the image of Christ in the hearts and souls of those who entrusted themselves to St Sofian’s pastoral care,” the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop added.
The legacy of St Sofian
The bishop recalled that while St Sofian served as abbot of Plumbuita Monastery, he also taught at the school of church painting.
“St Sofian took care that his disciples should be formed according to the image of Christ, attaining the measure described by the Holy Apostle Paul when he says: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.’”
The Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop emphasised that the icons St Sofian painted convey peace and serenity to those who contemplate them.
“The icons preserved from him reveal to us the world of peace, harmony and goodness of the Kingdom of Heaven, which can nevertheless be foretasted in this world if a community, such as the one he shepherded, truly lives the faith in Christ and strives to fulfil His will.”
A blessing for Antim Monastery
Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești highlighted that St Sofian remains a blessing for Antim Monastery.
“It is a great joy and a great blessing that we have here, in the church of this monastery, the precious relics of St Sofian, placed in this beautiful reliquary, made through the care of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, who himself lived at this monastery for a period of time.”
“St Sofian influenced not only the lives of those who laboured at this monastery and the faithful who came here to worship, but all the hierarchs who lived here for a time found in Fr Sofian a spiritual example to follow,” the Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop added.
At the end, His Grace urged the faithful to pray to St Sofian and St Antim Ivireanul, the monastery’s founder.
St Sofian of Antim
St Sofian was born on 7 October 1912 in Cuconeștii Vechi, Bălți County. In 1926, at the age of 14, he entered Rughi Monastery in Soroca County as a novice.
He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest. In 1942, he enrolled at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest and graduated in 1946.
In 1958, he was arrested as part of the Burning Bush group and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Released in 1964, he returned to Antim Monastery, where he remained until the end of his life. He reposed in the Lord on 14 September 2002 and was buried at Căldărușani Monastery.
He was canonised in 2024 together with 15 other Romanian Orthodox clergy and confessors of the 20th century.
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Photo: BASILICA / Raluca Ene
