15 years since the passing away of Father Cleopa Ilie commemorated at the Patriarchate
December 2013
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, together with several bishops, members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, inaugurated the bibliophile and photographic exhibition and confessor dedicated to the spiritual father of Sihăstria Monastery. The event took place in Europa Christiana Hall of the Palace of the Patriarchate, from 11:00 hours.
Further, in Aula Magna Patriarch Teoctist a movie about the life and personality of Father Archimandrite Cleopa Ilie was presented, produced by TRINITAS TV. Evocations of the great Romanian spiritual father were presented by His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, His Eminence Teofan, Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina, His Eminence Andrei, Metropolitan of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj, His Eminence Casian, Archbishop of Lower Danube, His Eminence Timotei, Archbishop of Arad, Grigore Elisei. The moderator of the event was Father Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei, Great Ecclesiarch of the Patriarchal Cathedral and cultural Exarch of the Archdiocese of Bucharest .
During this memorial service, in his word, His Beatitude presented the volume Father Cleopa Ilie – Souls’ light on the path to salvation. The volume printed with the blessing of His Beatitude, coordinated by Father Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei and the Cultural and media communications Department of the Archdiocese of Bucharest is a tribute to the memory of the great confessor of the Romanian people, Father Cleopa Ilie from Sihăstria Monastery.
The Patriarch of Romania emphasised, in his word, also that Father Cleopa was a confessor- theologian of God’s loving presence: “Father Cleopa was merciful and generous. All he received from believers for himself as a gift he offered to others, but with much humility and discretion, to avoid embarrassment of the donor or of the recipient. He did not gather material goods or money for himself, but only kindness in his soul in everything he offered to others. He was generous and free because he was a man of God to people. In particular, Father Cleopa was a confessor-theologian of God’s loving presence in the beauty of humble men’s souls and in the beauty of nature created by Him: in birds, animals, trees, plants, flowers, rivers, mountains, valleys, plains, sun, moon and stars in the sky. Similar to the philokalic fathers of old, he saw spiritually the gracious presence of God the Word in the words of Scripture and the beauties of nature, all being the gifts of God to human beings. And because he enjoyed their light, he spread much joy around him, in the souls of those who listened to him talk about the wisdom of God present in the beings created by Him”, said His Beatitude.
Addressing to those present, His Eminence Teofan, Metropolitan of Moldova and Bucovina, pointed out that the great Romanian spiritual personality, Father Cleopa was a man of asceticism, of sober-mindedness, of the prayer of the heart, and also a serving person to his fellow men with pain and love: “A living confessor to the faith, Father Cleopa is recognised in the Orthodox world as one of the columns of strength of the Orthodox Church in the twentieth century. God has decided to put in this monk His man among the men of the world. Man of God through prayer, Father Cleopa becomes a man of the men by the service he took as a yoke for their salvation. He was a man of asceticism, of sober-mindedness, of the prayer of the heart, and also a serving person to his fellow men with pain and love. In him, simplicity blends harmoniously with the scholar scholarly allure holder of a vast theological knowledge. Under the stole of his confession found their souls’ rest ordinary people and theologians, bishops or professors. Clear and rational man, with warm heart too, Father Cleopa received from God the gift of discernment, knowing without doubt to whom strictness or, on the contrary, flexibility are applicable. Firmness in the defence of pure Christian life was grafted in him with forgiveness given to those with great sins but with the spirit of repentance”.
Further, His Eminence Metropolitan Andrei expressed the hope of the canonization of Father Cleopa Ilie: “We give thanks to God that His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel organised this commemoration and we believe that, as he always said, he went to Heaven and therefore we pray God that Father Cleopa give us a helping hand so that we enter through the door. If Father Porphyrios was recently canonised by the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and perhaps they will canonise Father Paisios of Athos too, it is with hope that we are waiting the moment when, perhaps even in our lifetime the two great monks from Sihăstria, Father Cleopa and Father Paisios be put among the saints”.
In turn, His Eminence Archbishop Casian praised the personality of Father Cleopa Ilie: “Through his memory, by his extraordinary ability to search for models, Father Cleopa contributed to the writing of a Paterikon in the Romanian Orthodox Church, because being always fascinated with the models of our brethren from other Churches, we sometimes forget to introduce the models, similarly clean and Orthodox, in the universal Orthodox Paterikon. As the universal Paterikon starts with the spiritual fathers of the first centuries who continued preaching after Saints Constantine and Helen, it continue with the fathers from Dobrogea, while Father Cleopa made an arc over time and in a dialogue with a great teacher of theology who was not a monk, namely Father Dumitru Stăniloae the Romanian Paterikon came into being”.
His Eminence Archbishop Timotei said the following about Father Ilie Cleopa: “The contact throughout the country has been always maintained, even though we were separated in different provinces, and this brotherly bond was fostered also by Father Ilie Cleopa in that he took to his heart the command coming from the depths of his conscience and directed his mission in that part too”.
“In his life, Father Cleopa was a saint. This we know from the facts that we have come to know in Sihăstria Monastery, because he was talking to people, he advised and exhorted them” confessed Father Victorin Oanele, the abbot of Sihăstria.
“Father Ilie Cleopa was designated to be the voice of his Romanian origins and not by accident, because in his soul all Romanian people’s cleverness melted (…) In addition to being the voice of the Romanian people, Father Ilie Cleopa was first the prayer of the Romanian people”, said Mr. Grigore Elisei.
The time devoted to the commemoration of Father Archimandrite Cleopa Ilie ended with the blessing of a memorial inscription in his old cell in the Patriarchal Residence.
Father Archimandrite Cleopa Ilie is commemorated today, 2 December 2013, at the 15th anniversary of his passing into eternity. The commemorative moment organised by the Romanian Patriarchate began in the morning, in the Patriarchal Cathedral, with a memorial service celebrated by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel and ten bishops of our Church.
