St John the Romanian (the New Chozebite) and His Censored Life

It's strange. Some people recognize the holiness of the men and women of God, but they don't keep their teachings or emulate their lives. "Ye call me Lord, Lord, but ye do not the things which I say" (Luke 6:46). And in addition, they sometimes muzzle the teachings of the Saints in a very provocative way.

The life of our holy father John the Romanian was published recently in Greek by the Sacred Monastery of Gregoriou of the Holy Mountain, Athos. Since the good fathers of the monastery are educated and erudite, they did a very commendable job to a certain degree.

Our holy father, Saint John, was one of the rare spiritual personalities of the twentieth century. His holy relics were fragrant when they were uncovered from the earth, and to this very day they remain incorrupt.

The new calendar Patriarchate of Romania has recognized him as a saint and included his name in the canonical list of saints of the Romanian Church. This, however, is quite ironic. Saint John was a zealot. Neither in Romania, nor later in Jerusalem, did he ever give the Holy Mysteries to new calendarists. He told everyone that the new calendar churches had no grace and he considered their sacraments invalid ⎯ and this at a time when the heresy of Ecumenism had not yet progressed as it has today.

Consequently, when the Patriarchate of Romania declared him a saint, it signed its own condemnation. The Athonite fathers of the Monastery of Gregoriou also signed their own condemnation since, although they recognize his sanctity, they do not follow his teachings or example. They include themselves among all those whom Saint John ⎯ for the entire span of his brief life ⎯ declared to be schismatics and out of the Church.

Let us, however, return to the purpose of this article. The Athonite fathers translated most of the biographical details of Saint John's life. Nonetheless, there are significant omissions, and these are worthy of note, especially since they deal with matters of the calendar issue and the Orthodox Christian Faith. Saint John considered these matters to be extremely important and he was absolutely consistent in applying his beliefs on these issues. This, apparently, presented some difficulties to the Athonite translators of his life ⎯ especially since many Athonites are "old calendarists" only out of necessity. So, strangely (or perhaps, not so strangely), our Athonites decided to conceal some facts under the bushel. Obviously, these facts bothered the Athonite commemorators of the ecumenistic, new calendar Ecumenical Patriarch.

For the sake of our readers, we would like to supply these omitted portions. These details, which are part and parcel of the original Life of Saint John, were recorded by his disciple, Father Joannicius, and it was this Life precisely which the Athonite translators had before them when they prepared the Greek edition. This Life, by the way, has been translated in its complete form into English.

So now the pieces, which are missing from the puzzle (in the Greek translation), are put into their place and we get the complete picture. Note the content of the missing pieces. They may be the most important part of Saint John's life and message to us:

The following is missing from page 15 of the Greek edition:

At the monastery, [Father John] befriended the oldest and most learned fathers, with whom he discussed the salvation of the soul and, also, the calendar change, which then constituted a major topic. He befriended a brother from Bukovina, which for many years was an Austrian-occupied territory where the Orthodox suffered violent persecution from the Latins. This brother, whom the abbot wanted to enter the monastic order, desired first that he should be truly baptized by immersion, as the Holy Apostles directed, and not by sprinkling with water, as it was then the custom in Bukovina. After the baptism, Elias [Father John's secular name] was tonsured a monk. He decided to go to Mount Athos where the true Orthodox Calendar was observed. 

The following is missing from page 16 of the Greek edition:

In the fall of 1936, he was on his way to the Holy Land, where they keep the Orthodox Calendar unchanged, as it was inherited from the Holy Fathers and the Eastern Church.

The following is missing from page 20 of the Greek edition:

After some time, the Patriarch Nicodem [of Romania] passed away and, according to tradition, all Orthodox patriarchs were to offer forty days of memorial services. When the Patriarch of Jerusalem also was to offer a panikhida, Archimandrite Victorin called on Father John to take part in it. He did not go, however, because Patriarch Nicodem had persecuted those who continued to follow the truly Orthodox calendar. Father John had received his ordination here in Jerusalem, where the true Orthodox calendar is celebrated; and, for the zeal of keeping pure and undefiled his vows, he refused to serve or to communicate with other priests who did not follow the true calendar.

The following is missing from page 23 of the Greek edition:

From the moment he was ordained to the end of his life, Father John had not concelebrated with another priest. When he was celebrating the holy liturgy, he did not mention at Proskomide the names of certain priests who, he had heard, were Masons.

As far as we can ascertain, these are the parts that were left out ⎯ censored? ⎯ by the Athonite translators.

The truth sometimes slips by the censors and reveals itself. And those who wish to call themselves Orthodox are left with empty titles! They claim that they "follow steadfastly in the steps of the Holy Fathers," but in actuality, they cut and paste the teachings of the Saints according to their own heterodox measure.

 

Source: Orthodox Christian Witness, October 2001, Vol. XXXVI, No. 2/1509.