Elder Arsenie talks about humbleness, sacrifice and suffering. He is the archimandrite and abbot of Sfanta Maria (St Mary) Monastery near the Black Sea town of Techirghiol.
The spiritual son of the late and venerable Elder Cleopa (Illie), he was born on August 13th, 1914. He spent some twelve years imprisoned by the communists between 1938 and 1964 and is widely considered one of the greatest Romanian Orthodox elders of our time.
The late abbot of Sihastria Monastery and holy Romanian Orthodox ascetic, Elder Cleopa (Illie) speaks on the importance of prayer and how to cultivate the deep prayer of the heart. Thousands of people from across Romania and southeastern Europe would make pilgrimages to his monastery to seek his advice on all matters of prayer, spiritual life, and daily life. Elder Cleopa reposed in the Lord in 1998 and many consider him to be a saint.
Orthodox in the District 