Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, abbot of Putna Monastery, said last Saturday that Patriarch Teoctist viewed monastic life “not as a relic of the past, but as a vital, regenerating force of Romanian Orthodoxy”, as the monastery’s brotherhood officiated a memorial service marking 111 years since the former patriarch’s birth.
“He loved monasticism, because he himself remained, until his last breath, a disciple of obedience, prayer and sacrifice for the Church,” the abbot said.
“Although he followed an impressive administrative path, from a humble monk to the dignity of patriarch, Teoctist Arăpașu never allowed the hierarchical purple to cover his monastic habit. He always remained the monk Teoctist.”
The monastery as the heart of the Church
The abbot further stressed that the late patriarch’s love for monastic life was expressed in concrete action.
“This early love was transformed, in his mature years, into a mission of restoration. Under his protective care, most of our monasteries in Moldavia were rebuilt or beautified and received new life. Every stone put back in place, and every fresco restored was a testimony of his love for these gardens of the Mother of God,” the abbot of Putna recalled.
“Today, when we look at our flourishing monasteries, we must also see in them a part of the soul of Patriarch Teoctist. He understood that the monastery is the heart that pumps fresh blood into the body of our Church, into the Body of Christ’s Church.”
A warm and compassionate soul
Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic added that Patriarch Teoctist’s attitude was exemplary for monks and recalled the warmth of the former primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
“Living his relationship with God in reverence and responsibility, Patriarch Teoctist offered himself entirely, making us as well, his unworthy sons, partakers of this spiritual treasure,” the abbot said.
“Beyond the dignity of patriarch, dear brothers and sisters, there remains the image of a man of rare warmth. He was the hierarch who did not wait to be greeted, but hurried himself to greet those around him, to embrace them and to welcome them with natural affection, thus dispelling fear and bringing light into people’s hearts.”
Patriarch Teoctist and Putna
Patriarch Teoctist is regarded as the third founder of Putna Monastery, after Saint Stephen the Great and Saint Jacob of Putna.
His material endowment was the restoration of the Princely House of Putna Monastery between 1982 and 1987, originally built by Saint Stephen the Great.
His spiritual legacy is linked to the canonisation of the monastery’s first founder, Saint Stephen the Great, solemnly proclaimed at Putna in 1992.
Photo: Youtube / Putna Monastery
