A moment is worth as much as
all of time.
Saint Calinic
As it happened (?), whilst I, being a great admirer of Hermann Hesse, I had just finished reading, in a proof copy, the translation prepared for publication by RAO – the publisher of my own works – of the book dedicated by the famous Swiss poet, novelist and playwright to Saint Francis of Assisi; chance, I repeat, and now I emphasise the question mark – that the Archbishop of Râmnic, Dr Varsanufie, in the middle of a telephone conversation in which he had emphasised to me the exceptional importance of Saint Calinic to the history of his Diocese, to ask me abruptly whether I might not be tempted and inspired to try, within the scope of a short story, to portray the aforementioned patron saint of my Râmnic, whom the greatest pro-European Romanian Orthodox hierarch of the nineteenth century served for almost eighteen years, restoring to him the identity and splendour of a bishopric in its own right.
I, in turn, returned unexpectedly to what I myself knew – admittedly, very little – about the legendary bishop, who, throughout his life – so pure and humble in spiritual matters, yet also astonishingly rigorous in his stewardship and deeply involved in social causes – was, at the same time, universally recognised as a saint.
I also knew that he had been one of the great advocates of the Union of the Principalities and of the election of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Prince; the latter held him in high esteem as a friend and, at the same time, as his spiritual father, and to whom the abbot of Cernicahad heeded his request to step down from the abbot’s seat, at least for a time, and come to Râmnic to take his place on the bishop’s throne at a time when the whole of Oltenia, Little Romania – as Cuza put it – was facing a dramatic threat to the very existence of the historic diocese of Râmnic and Noul Severin, which at that time comprised Mehedinți, Gorj, Dolj, Romanați, Olt, Vâlcea, Teleorman and the Voivodal Court of Argeș.
But that was all I knew.
And yet the influence of His Eminence Dr Varsanufie, now Bishop of Râmnic, took root, as His Eminence Gherasim—himself the author of a modest and humble biography of the saint—might have said, in my soul and in my mind. All that remained was for me to convince myself that the rich, legendary biography of the monk from Cernica had also left traces in documents, attestations and testimonies of his contemporaries—traces that would take root and inspire the virtues of a biography which, as far as I am concerned, lay, above all, beyond the work of the minister of the altar—a subject otherwise well known to the many researchers of the archpriest’s theological writings and deeds.
And so today I have come to understand, following my own research and reading—facilitated in solidarity by His Eminence Dr Varsanufie— the miracle of Bishop Calinic’s ascent into the realm of holiness, climbing with dignity and vigour the steps of a life lived amidst the full social and political turmoil of his time, always a direct participant in the history that was being forged through his zeal, his keen intellect, the resolve of his upright character and his high sense of civic duty, for Saint Calinic was, during his lifetime, a towering figure in the history of Romanian Orthodoxy in the mid-19th century, a gifted builder and architect, a diplomat in the politics of his time and a parliamentarian in the modern sense of the term, a prominent member of the Ad Hoc Council and the General Assembly, a thinker and a philosopher in one, a penetrating analyst of the soul and a disturbing yet clear-sighted and far-sighted prophet of events yet to come, and, above all, a great teacher of the Orthodox Christian faith. This biography of the Man amongst men was, even during his lifetime, and has remained a model of patriotism, civic-mindedness and, subsequently, of courageous integration into the demands of the civilisation of his time and, above all, of attunement to the needs envisaged for the future of a nation, so isolated at the very beginning of its establishment as a distinct identity within the European landscape.
This biography of the ‘Man amongst men’ was, even during his lifetime, and has remained a model of patriotism, civic-mindedness and, subsequently, courageous adaptation to the demands of the civilisation of his time.
Here I am, then, today, captivated by a unique figure in our history and national identity, and by his spirit, and this fascination compels me – I hope I am making myself clear – to consider whether it was merely a coincidence that I read Herman Hesse’s book at the very same time as I received the challenge from His Eminence Dr Varsanufie.
It remains to be seen whether the time ahead of me will also be on the side of my aspirations and my will.