The Characters
SAINT CALINIC
THE YOUNGER CONSTANTINE (SAINT CALINIC)
PIMEN, Saint Calinic’s
spiritual father CASSIAN, Saint Calinic’s
disciple ANASTASIE, Saint Calinic’s
disciple and biographer FATHER MAXIM, a monk at Cernica
Monastery FATHER ZOSIMA, a monk at Cernica
Monastery MARIA, the narrator
, a woman of the people
ION, a man of the people
MARIN, a cart driver
FLOAREA, a woman of the people
THE VOICE OF SAINT NICHOLAS
Act I
Scene 1
In a library setting, with a candlestick, an inkwell and quill, and an icon, two monks are searching through and leafing through dusty books and old manuscripts.
FATHER MAXIM (snorting): Pff, look at all the dust these old tomes have gathered!
FATHER ZOSIMA: Never mind the dust, my good man! That’s how old books are. Look more carefully for the ‘diata’!
FATHER MAXIM: What am I looking for? You didn’t tell me.
FATHER ZOSIMA (emphatically): The ‘diata’… the saint’s will! (rustling) Ah, I’ve found it! (muttering as if reading) Would you like to hear it too, Reverend?
FATHER MAXIM: Read it aloud. Especially as I’ve heard that everything written there paints, in just a few words, his holy passage through this life.
FATHER ZOSIMA: Listen, then!
FATHER MAXIM: I am listening, Reverend, deeply moved by the words of our glorious hierarch.
FATHER ZOSIMA: Here are a few excerpts: ‘Ever since I took the holy and angelic monastic vows at the Holy Monastery of Cernica, …I have gained no wealth… but only books! I have not amassed gold or silver; I have not sought to possess any superfluous clothing, but only that which is necessary for the body. For I have striven, as far as I could, to uphold the monastic way of life through prayer and work, taking no thought for myself, but placing all my hope in God’s providence, which has never forsaken me. …As for the gifts I received and the income from the magistrates, I spent those… on the monastery’s needs, whilst I was archimandrite. Likewise, whilst I was a bishop, I did not hoard the income, but spent it on my own needs and on the needs of my brothers in Christ who were in want, and wherever God commanded me, and on the restoration of the Diocese, which was in a state of complete disrepair.”
The monk’s voice fades as the Narrator enters the frame
NARRATOR: But to fully understand Saint Calinic the Hierarch, let us turn our thoughts back to the days when he was known simply as Constantin… Constantin Antonescu. He had been registered in the registers of the Church of Saint Visarion in Bucharest on the day of his birth, 7 October 1787…
So, let us trace the life of the man who would come to be known as SAINT CALINIC OF CERNICA…
Scene 2
The chirping of birds, the tolling of a bell, the occasional croak of a frog, the sound of carved wood.
MOTHER PIMEN (cheerfully): Hey there, a new face today! The sun’s a bit in my eyes, but I reckon this small, slender lad approaching is the youngest of the Antonești family… Am I wrong, by any chance?
YOUNG CONSTANTIN (SAINT CALINIC): Let us kiss the right hand, Father Pimen…
MOTHER PIMEN: Constantin, I believe that’s your name…
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: Yes, as my godmother, Lucsandra Văcărescu—the mother of the poet Ienăchiță—wished.
ABBOT PIMEN: Yes, I believe you also have a brother?… A lay priest… Is that right?
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: He’s a monk now.
AVA PIMEN: Yes, yes, yes, I remember… The Reverend Acachie… yes, yes, yes… And your parents? Are they well?
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: My mother wishes to set out for Pasărea Monastery as soon as possible.
MOTHER PIMEN: You’re a family with great faith in the Almighty… yes, yes, yes… But what about you, Constantine? It’s been a few years now since you’ve been roaming the orchards and forest paths all the way to Cernica?
YOUNG CONSTANTINE (SAINT CALINIC) (quickly): But only after I’d finished poring over the Book of Hours at the school in the church porch. Even Ava Gheorghe, the holy abbot, knew how hard I worked to read and speak Greek properly!
AVA PIMEN (sighing): Well, whilst our famous abbot Gheorghe was still alive, you were always hanging around at his feet. I can just picture you soaking up his explanations and advice, ‘yes, yes, yes’…
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: They helped me so much! Little by little, they cleared my mind. It was as if they had lit the path I was to take.
AVA PIMEN: Yes, yes, yes… you know what?
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: Here I am! I’ve come to stay!
AVA PIMEN: At the monastery?
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: Yes. I’ve just asked Father Abbot Timotei to take me in.
AVA PIMEN: Did he test you with lots of questions?
YOUNG CONSTANTINE: Not at all! He said: ‘Constantine, I know your spirit; you are like an open book; you walk blamelessly, with righteousness and kindness. You speak the truth in your heart. You are most welcome, my son!”
MOTHER PIMEN: Yes, yes, yes… Is that all?
YOUNG CONSTANTINE: Yes! I mean, no! He also said he’ll summon you to the abbot’s quarters straight away. He wants you to take me on as your disciple, Your Reverence, because you’re one of the most respected spiritual fathers. Then he added: ‘My son, the Reverend Pimen is a wise man, exemplary in his deeds and well-versed in Holy Scripture. You’ll also learn the art of woodcarving. You’ll have plenty to learn from him, my son! You’ll see…”
FATHER PIMEN (laughing): Enough with all this praise! Now, what are you staring at? Get to work; perhaps you’ll manage to carve a little cross by Vespers, yes, yes, yes…
The hammering on the wood grows louder, against the same backdrop of chirping and squawking
YOUNG CONSTANTIN (SAINT CALINIC) (hits himself, blows on his finger): Ouch! What’s the matter with this chisel?! Ugh, I’ve hit my finger again. Ouch! Well, I’ve ruined this lovely little piece of wood too…
AVA PIMEN (laughing): Take it easy, son, you’re not splitting logs for the fire… Look, hold the wood like this… position the chisel… then give it a gentle tap with the hammer. Come on, be brave… that’s it… just wait and see what a lovely little cross you’ll carve!
Musical interlude, bells, possibly a religious hymn
YOUNG CONSTANTIN (SAINT CALINIC) (joyfully): Lord, what joy has poured into my soul! Not even a year has passed, and here I am—from Brother Constantine, I have become the pious Calinic! I owe all this honour to your piety, Father Pimen!
ABBOT PIMEN: No, it is down to your zeal with which you have submitted to the strictest monastic rules, my son… yes, yes, yes…
The chirping, the croaking, the rustling of the reeds
YOUNG CONSTANTIN: Father Pimen, would you care to pause by the water’s edge? I’d like you to explain more of the ways of life to me, so we might ponder the parables of the ancient writings.
FATHER PIMEN: With all my heart, my son! Yes, yes, yes…
YOUNG CONSTANTINE: I would have invited you to my cell, but (embarrassed) I’m a bit cramped…
AVA PIMEN (interrupting him): Oh…! I know, my son, that you live in utter poverty, that you have nothing but a prayer stand for your prayer books, a jug of water and…
YOUNG CONSTANTIN (SAINT CALINIC) (interrupting him): I’ve also got a little wooden stool tucked away in a corner…
MOTHER PIMEN: Yes, yes, yes… a little stool on which you spend, as if it were a bed, the three hours of sleep you allow yourself… the rest of the time, you pray with rivers of tears and fast beyond measure…
YOUNG CONSTANTINE: That is what my soul urges me to do. That is why I fulfil all the rigours of monastic life with joy, with serenity…
MOTHER PIMEN: I do not wish to offer you empty praise, my son, but you must know how much we all hold you in high regard, young and old alike. All the monks say that you have attained such ‘purity of mind and inner peace that, in the eyes of all, you are like a heavenly light’… yes, yes, yes… do everything in moderation!
Scene 3
Musical interlude
NARRATOR: Another ten years slipped by over the waters of the Colentina, over the lake and the forest. For the perfection he had attained, for his gentleness and wisdom, SAINT CALINIC was chosen as the monastery’s spiritual father. Numerous peasants and townspeople, afflicted by Caragea’s plague, sought his counsel and solace, as did the inhabitants of the monastery, whose respect for SAINT CALINIC grew day by day. Even the metropolitan of the land would confess to him. Thus, after Abbot Dionysius—who had succeeded the Most Venerable Timothy—had passed into the world of the righteous, the monastic community at Cernica elected Calinic as their abbot. As frail in body as he was steadfast in all he undertook, the new abbot worked side by side with the others in the fields, in the orchard or on the scaffolding, finishing the painting of the new church on the island of Saint Nicholas. And then came the year 1821, with Eteria and Tudor Vladimirescu’s uprising, brutally suppressed by the Ottoman armies… Times of great turmoil… The people of Bucharest were fleeing; they were all fleeing from the Turks and seeking refuge at the Monastery of Saint Calinic.
Screams, people running, the clatter of hooves, neighing, volleys of musket fire, cannon fire – in the distance – weeping
FATHER CASIAN (panting, having just run): Most Reverend Calinic, a vast crowd is rushing towards us from Bucharest! The Christians are fleeing like the wind, lest the pagans cut off their heads. What shall we do?
SAINT CALINIC: We shall welcome them with mercy and love. The holy monastery will shelter them, and the hand of God will protect them and defend us all from the Ottomans.
FATHER CASIAN: But where will they all fit?
SAINT CALINIC: You shall house them in all your cells on the islet of Saint Nicholas!
FATHER CASIAN: And what shall we do?
SAINT CALINIC (reproachfully): Reverend Casian, since when has a monk of Cernica been afraid of looking after himself?!
FATHER CASIAN (ashamed): Forgive me, Father Abbot! We shall make do wherever we can, near the former cell of Abbot George and near the little old church on the other islet.
SAINT CALINIC: So be it! I too shall come to the islet of Saint George, once I have looked after those poor people who have set out into exile…
Musical interlude, commotion
ION: Father Abbot, save us! Calamities have befallen us!
MARIA: Have mercy on these innocent little children! What if they fall into the hands of the pagans?! Save them from this misfortune! Let them not end up as slaves in Istanbul!
SAINT CALINIC: What’s the matter with you, good people? Why are you weeping now?
MARIA (sobbing): The Turks, Most Merciful One!
SAINT CALINIC: Reverend Pimen, do you know what is happening?
MOTHER PIMEN: Last night I was woken by a great commotion; the clang of weapons, the neighing of horses. I also saw a multitude of fires towards the village of Cățelu.
SAINT CALINIC: Have you heard that a Turkish army has taken up position near the monastery?
MOTHER PIMEN: Exactly! Rumour has it that some spies have reported that the monastery is harbouring Tudor’s rebels…
MARIA: Woe betide us! What are we to do?!
ION: They’ve set up cannons all round. I saw them with my own eyes. They intend to wipe the monastery off the face of the earth, along with every living soul within it.
MARIA (terrified): Lord, protect and watch over us! Only a miracle can save my little ones now!
SAINT CALINIC: The hand and grace of God are upon us! Do not lose hope! Gather together, all of you—laypeople and monks alike—at the church! We shall pray together, with confidence and faith in our deliverance. Come, everyone!
Scene 4
Musical interlude
NARRATOR: Prayers were offered throughout the night. And at the crack of dawn, Monk Damian set off at great speed from the monastery towards the Turkish camp at Cățelu, pleading and assuring them that at Cernica Monastery there were only townspeople with their wives and children. It is not known what went through the mind of Ahmet, the pasha of Cățelu, for he immediately ordered the camp to be lifted. He even posted Turkish guards in the vicinity, lest Cernica be raided by some bandits in such troubled times.
Musical interlude, murmurings
MARIA (overjoyed): Blessed be you, our father! You have saved my little ones! You have performed a miracle!
ION: We kiss your right hand, holy Father Abbot! A miracle has indeed taken place. You have softened the Turk’s heart.
SAINT CALINIC: Not me! He Above has listened to our prayers and shown mercy in His boundless love for each and every one of us…
FATHER CASIAN (rushing in): Most Reverend Calinic! Father Abbot, wait a moment!
SAINT CALINIC: What is it now, Casian? Are you bringing us more bad news?
FATHER CASIAN (panting): Let me catch my breath! Phew… We have absolutely nothing left to eat! Even the mice are squeaking with hunger in the empty kitchens and pantries.
MARIA (lamenting): Oh dear, what shall we do! Oh dear, my little ones! Mummy’s little angels, my little angels, you’ll starve to death… living on nothing but boiled herb broth!
ION (snapping): For goodness’ sake, shut up, woman!
MARIA: What are we going to do? What?!
ION: The Lord’s mercy is great and endless. He won’t leave us in this predicament, you’ll see!
SAINT CALINIC: You think rightly and speak rightly, Christian! Let us not lose hope! I shall retire to my cell to pray to the Mother of God and to Saint Nicholas, he who delivers the afflicted from their troubles, just as he helped those three poor girls.
Musical interlude, creaking of wheels, bellowing, cracks of the whip
MARIN: Come on, Joiane! Come on, Plăvane! May the wolves devour you! Forgive me, fathers… the mouth of a sinner! Come on, you stubborn oxen, pull as hard as you can! Come on! Come on! Give it your all!
MARIA: What heavy carts!
ION: What do you expect—they’re loaded to the brim!
AVA PIMEN: Tell me, good man, are all these five carts, brimming with food, for us? Have you perhaps taken a wrong turn?
MARIN: Not at all, Father. Hey, good folk, lads and lasses, lend a hand with the unloading, for I’m keen to get home!
Stomping, thumping, gasps, commotion
MARIA (delighted): What joy! My little angels will eat their fill…
AVA PIMEN: Most Holy Mother, Saint Nicholas, you have heard our prayers, but especially those of our Saint Calinic, and you have taken pity on us!
MARIA: What a miracle! Lord, I thank You!
ION: Yes, a divine miracle!
MARIN: Here, woman, take this sack, so you may feed your children…
MARIA (happily): What is your name, kind man, so that I may remember you in my prayers?
MARIN: Oh, don’t pay me any mind… I’m just a cart driver, after all… Before I go, I’d like a word with the abbot. Where is he?
AVA PIMEN: There he is, he’s coming this very moment…
SAINT CALINIC: Here I am! What’s the matter, my son?
MARIN: Bad news, Most Reverend Calinic. I believe you’re aware that a pasha has also taken up residence in the village of Pantelimon, with his troops and all.
SAINT CALINIC: I have heard, and this has saddened us greatly.
MARIN: Well, this pasha has abducted a nun from Pasărea Monastery…
MARIA (frightened): Oh dear! A nun!
ION: What an outrage!
AVA PIMEN: Lord, Lord, how long will you put up with these scoundrels?!
SAINT CALINIC: You did well to inform me! This sinful pasha will not get off lightly. And you, Christian, go in peace and be blessed!
The crack of a whip, the creaking of wheels as they drive off
MARIN: Come on, Joiane! Come on, Plăvane! Come on! Come on!
AVA PIMEN: Have you been thinking of something in particular, my son?
SAINT CALINIC: In the utmost secrecy, yet with the utmost haste, the nuns from Pasărea Monastery shall take refuge at Snagov Monastery. Father Pimen, I beg you to see to all this! I shall draw up a petition to the authorities in which I shall expose the lawlessness of this pasha from Pantelimon, whose name, I believe, is Mehmet.
Scene 5
Musical interlude, sound of a cart, mooing, crack of a whip
AVA PIMEN: Well, look at that, cart driver! Have you forgotten something here?
SAINT CALINIC: I see that, instead of provisions, you’ve now saddled us with two splendid bashbazouks! Where did you pick them up, good cart driver?
MARIN: Ho, hooo, you old fools! The ‘bașbuzuci’ picked me up themselves! They turned me back on my way so I could bring them here. They belong to Mehmet, the pasha of Pantelimon.
SAINT CALINIC: And what do they want?
MARIN: They’ve brought you, as a gift from Mehmet Pasha, this bulging pouch full of gold coins. (clinking of coins) Take it, Father Abbot!
MOTHER PIMEN: It must be some trick of Mehmet’s, to take his revenge!… Yes, yes, yes…
SAINT CALINIC: It could be. It certainly wasn’t easy for him to have to release the kidnapped nun, make amends for his deed and face reprimands as well…
AVA PIMEN: Do help us understand, though, what’s this business with the basbazuks and the bag? What exactly is the pasha plotting?
MARIN: Nothing. Just listen to me…
AVA PIMEN: We’re all ears… Yes, yes, yes…
MARIN: Pasha Mehmet, mad with rage, swore that, overnight, he would plunder the monastery and, to the horror of the world, settle the score with the one who sent the petition… Well…
SAINT CALINIC: We’re familiar with the story up to this point. We heard the news and we all spent the whole night in vigil and prayer.
MOTHER PIMEN: It is clear that the Almighty turned his heart from evil to good, for the Pasha left us in peace… Yes, yes, yes…
MARIN: But you don’t know what happened to the pasha on that very night… Well…
AVA PIMEN: Let’s hear it!
MARIN: Before setting out with his army to attack the monastery, he ordered a servant to bring him a filigree cup of piping-hot coffee… Well…
SAINT CALINIC: What does coffee have to do with the bag and the bashibozouks here?
MARIN: It does, because the servant—who seems to have lost his mind—grabbed a rifle and fired straight at the pasha! Well…
AVA PIMEN: Did he at least send him to his Allah? Lord, forgive me! Yes, yes, yes…
MARIN: No, not at all! The bullet lodged itself in this pouch (clatter) he was wearing on his belt. Just look at the proper hole it’s made! Well…
AVA PIMEN: And then?
MARIN: You should have seen the fright on Mehmet’s face! He summoned his advisers and together they decided that this was a sign with a profound meaning. And so, not only did the pasha give up on his plundering, but he also sent the purse as a gift to the monastery, so that they might use the gold coins inside to build a fountain…
SAINT CALINIC: I will not take the purse. Let the pasha hire craftsmen and dig a stone well near the bridge.
ACT 2
Scene 1
Musical interlude
NARRATOR: No sooner said than done. And the fountain, built on the northern shore of St George’s Island, still stands today. And, of course, it is known as ‘the Turk’s fountain’. Following these events, a few years later, through the power of his prayers to the Mother of God and to Saint Nicholas, SAINT CALINIC succeeded once more in providing for the entire monastic community, which was threatened with starvation. And once again the same cart driver appeared, driving his cart laden with flour, concealing, just as before, the name of the benefactor.
Musical interlude, chirping, croaking, rustling of reeds, footsteps on wood
SAINT CALINIC (joyfully): Bless me, Father Pimen! What a joyful coincidence that we should meet right in the middle of the bridge between the islets! You must help me clear up the troubles that have gripped me.
FATHER PIMEN: Here, it is just us and the One Above. Speak, my son, what is the cause of your distress?
SAINT CALINIC: As my spiritual father, please explain to me what has happened to me.
ABBOT PIMEN: Come now, unburden your soul, my son!
SAINT CALINIC: Listen to me! It was not yet dawn when I began – as was my custom – my prayers to Saint Nicholas. Suddenly I felt my eyelids growing heavier and heavier…
AVA PIMEN: Did you doze off?
SAINT CALINIC: Perhaps. I do not know whether what followed was a vision or a diabolical illusion.
AVA PIMEN: I’m listening; go on.
SAINT CALINIC: Saint Nicholas appeared to me, right there in my cell, adorned in resplendent episcopal vestments. He was accompanied by the Great Martyr George, the Bearer of Victory, in his military garb, and the blessed and ever-memorable Abbot George.
MOTHER PIMEN: Did they speak to you? Did they say anything to you?
SAINT CALINIC: All three gave me a command:
VOICE (reverberating): ‘Arise and build a church on the small island in the name of Saint George the Great Martyr. We shall send you everything you will need. Let there be no hesitation or doubt in your heart!”
SAINT CALINIC: What do you think, Father Pimen, what was that?
ABBOT PIMEN: I too had this vision, and not just once, but three times in the same night. Yes, yes, yes… at their command I set out for you, when the first light of dawn had not yet broken…
SAINT CALINIC: That is why we met halfway!
MOTHER PIMEN: Yes, yes, yes… And now to work, my son! A command is a command. It must be carried out!
SAINT CALINIC: Yes, I shall build the church next to the chapel of Saint George on the island. It shall become an infirmary. All round the new church I shall build a belt of cells, so that the whole community may be accommodated. If only I could find the money needed… if only I could find it…
The clatter of hooves, no neighing
FATHER CASIAN: Whoa, little horse! Whoa, we’re home! In a moment I’ll give you a drink, groom you, and hang a sack of barley round your neck…
AVA PIMEN: Just look at Casian, the lovely way he’s talking to him! Yes, yes, yes… They seem to be the best of friends!
FATHER CASIAN: Just be patient a moment, little horse! Just long enough for me to dash off with this letter to the abbot.
SAINT CALINIC: You needn’t rush off anywhere, pious Casian, for here I am! Give me the letter and go and look after your friend!
The rustle of torn paper
MOTHER PIMEN: Who’s it from?
SAINT CALINIC: From His Grace Ioanichie Stratonichia, the abbot of St Catherine’s Monastery. (mumbles as he reads) Yes… that’s right… that’s right… (joyfully) Father Pimen, my vision is coming true! We have the money to build a new church. Take it and read it! He himself will bring us a veritable treasure.
FATHER PIMEN (thoughtfully, astonished): I knew Bishop Ioanichie to be quite a man of means, but to have so much money… I would never have thought it. Yes, yes, yes…
SAINT CALINIC: Well, it’s not money he’s gathered himself. There’s a whole story behind it. His Grace Ioanichie explains it to us in his letter, but you haven’t read it right to the end. Before the uprising of 1821, some boyars set about plotting to end the Phanariot rule with a native one. Had they not succeeded, they would have been forced to flee abroad. So they sold their estates and left part of the money to Bishop Ioanichie, with the stipulation that, if they did not return within ten years, a church should be built with it.
AVA PIMEN: And His Grace became the guardian of the treasure. Yes, yes, yes…
CALINIC: He has also given us his entire life’s savings and would like to come to Cernica whilst we are building the church.
Background music
NARRATOR: In the meantime, Pimen, Saint Calinic’s spiritual father, passed away, and Naum Râmniceanu, former abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Apostles and a renowned chronicler and history teacher, took up residence at the monastery. Saint Calinic himself received countless and wise pieces of advice from him. And because Naum Râmniceanu wished to become a librarian, he was entrusted with the task of looking after the monastery’s library and translating precious religious books, brought all the way from Mount Athos and Jerusalem, whilst several monks were busy copying the manuscripts into multiple copies, so that they might be distributed to other monasteries. And on every book preserved in the library, the following words can still be found today:
SAINT CALINIC: ‘It belongs to Cernica! Let it not be parted from us! Signed Calinic, Archimandrite’.
The scratching of a quill on paper, the rustling of pages, books being placed down with a clatter
SAINT CALINIC: I’ve signed these as well… Casiane, how is the copying going? Do we have enough copies?
FATHER CASIAN: We do! We have enough to send to Pasărea, Căldărușani and Ghighiu. Likewise, there are enough for the parish priests…
SAINT CALINIC: Very good! I want them to reach everywhere, so that as many people as possible may absorb the lofty teachings from the books. (in a practical tone) And, Casian, when you’ve finished, put everything away properly. You know full well that my only possession is these books… (a muffled, laboured voice) Oh, what’s happening to me? Everything’s spinning… It’s as if something’s cutting my legs from under me… I’m seeing black before my eyes and… and… Hold me up, Casiane…
A crash, the sound of running, commotion
FATHER CASIAN (frightened): Come quickly, brothers! Our abbot has collapsed! What has happened to you, Most Reverend Calinic?
SAINT CALINIC (barely able to speak): Oh, it’s as if I’m being stabbed by a thousand knives… I’m burning all over… Casian, take me to my cell; perhaps this will pass…
FATHER CASIAN (shouting): Reverend Ieronim, harness the horse to the little carriage and rush off to fetch Doctor Mayer from Bucharest at once! Are you here yet, Ieronim?!
Musical interlude
NARRATOR: The doctor was brought here in the greatest haste. After examining the abbot thoroughly, he shook his head sadly, shrugged his shoulders in helplessness, then said: ‘Poison! He has been treacherously poisoned! There is no hope!’ Upon hearing the news, the monastery seemed to be engulfed in a wave of unceasing grief, whilst, in his cell, SAINT CALINIC was drawing his last breath, watched over by Casian and his disciples.
SAINT CALINIC (barely able to speak): Reverend Casian, rather than mourning one another and mourning me, it would be wiser for you all to gather together and elect a new abbot… Appoint Veniamin Cătulescu, one of my most worthy disciples, who is studying at the higher schools in Bucharest… And now, go and leave me to pray in peace…
FATHER CASIAN: Very well, Father… Look, I’m off…
Scene 2
Footsteps receding, the door creaks – it closes
SAINT CALINIC (in despair): ‘Lord, God of my salvation, I never thought nor wished to die of poison!’
THE VOICE OF SAINT NICHOLAS (reverberating): “You shall not die of poison… Arise and be well, for before long you shall be bishop of Râmnic-Noul Severin…”
Music
SAINT CALINIC (cheerfully): How light I feel… I’m not in any pain at all… I can see clearly… I’ve been saved! The Lord God has saved me! Forgive me, Lord, for letting despair take hold of me. Now that I am fully healed, I shall go to church to worship, giving glory to Your boundless mercy…
FATHER CASIAN (knocking on the door): Father Abbot, am I seeing things correctly?… (ever more astonished and joyful) Am I dreaming?… It’s true… A miracle has taken place!
SAINT CALINIC: You are not dreaming! I have risen from my bed of suffering healthier than ever!
FATHER CASIAN: Whilst you were bedridden, all sorts of thoughts tormented me…
SAINT CALINIC: And what crossed your inquisitive mind?
FATHER CASIAN: Well, you’ll see. Lately, a great many messengers and letters have arrived from Mr Alexandru Ghica, haven’t they?
SAINT CALINIC: He’s desperate to prop me up in the metropolitan’s seat. But I do not seek honours, nor do I consider myself worthy of such honour…
FATHER CASIAN: But those who feared you might upset their plans and schemes – had you accepted – that is, the enemies amongst the high officials – didn’t know that you didn’t want to be metropolitan. And so they bribed a scoundrel to poison you.
SAINT CALINIC (sadly): You may well be right, but what pains me most is that my trust in those around me has been shattered. And what pains me most is that this wretch, having been deemed worthy to share in our spiritual life—even if only for an hour—could have committed such an outrage…
FATHER CASIAN: Do you have any idea who that scoundrel might be?
SAINT CALINIC: I do not even wish to investigate. In my heart, I have forgiven him and wish to forget him… Come, reverend, for we have much to do. We must build a church worthy of its patron saint!
Musical interlude
NARRATOR: The first church was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1838. SAINT CALINIC did not give up; drawing up new plans, he rebuilt it from the ground up, making it even more imposing, just as we see it today, surrounded by the fortress-like wall of the monastic cells. True to his custom, SAINT CALINIC climbed the scaffolding to finish the vaults with his own hands. He did exactly the same at Pasărea, or at Ghighiu, or at Poiana Mărului, or at so many other foundations. Meanwhile, the monastery had flourished more than ever before. The community now numbered over three hundred and fifty inhabitants, and the road to Cernica was constantly travelled by an ever-increasing number of the faithful, ranging from ordinary people to the leading figures of the day. Consequently, the Ruler of the Country, Barbu Știrbei, would often stop by here. He held a special admiration for Saint Calinic for his tireless dedication to resolving such difficult daily affairs. For this reason, when he ascended the throne of the country, Barbu Știrbei decided to appoint him Bishop of Râmnic, a diocese in which arduous reform was required.
SAINT CALINIC: “But what good deed have you observed in me, Your Highness, that you should place me before all others, at the head of the holy bishopric, as an example of good works?… When I look within myself, I find nothing in me worthy of this office…”
Musical interlude, bells, murmurings, religious male choir
MARIA (weeping): To whom are you leaving us, Saint Calinic?!
VOICES: Bless us, Saint Calinic! Bless us!
MARIA: Lay your hand upon the heads of my children, angel made flesh!
Scene 3
Music
NARRATOR: After he had blessed them all—monks and laypeople alike, who had come to bid him farewell— after he had cast one last tearful glance over what he had built on the two islets during his more than thirty years as abbot, SAINT CALINIC took only a few holy books, those dearest to his heart, and climbed into the carriage that was to take him to the bishop’s seat.
HOLY HIERARCH CALINIC: Come on, Casian, Orest, get in, we’re off! Orest, where is your brother, Anastasie?
FATHER ANASTASIUS: I’m here, Your Grace, Bishop!
SAINT CALINIC (sighing): Well then, let us set off on the road to Craiova! With God before us!
The clatter of galloping hooves, the crack of the whip, bells, music
NARRATOR: Everything that constituted the bishopric at Râmnic had been consumed in a devastating fire, so the episcopal residence had been temporarily moved to Craiova. The news that a bishop, a true saint, was coming to shepherd them had spread far and wide. The road to Craiova was thronged with crowds of peasants and townspeople, all jostling to pay homage to the new hierarch. The bells rang out as on Easter Day, and the Christians welcomed him with an impromptu song that began thus: ‘Wallachia, rise up and rejoice, for behold, the most gentle Calinic is arriving’…
Musical interlude
FATHER ANASTASIE: Not a day had passed before His Grace Calinic set out to inspect his diocese. Reverend Casian, explain to me, why is he so restless and unable to rest until he has finished what he has begun?
FATHER CASIAN: Well, Anastasie, you and Orest have only been his disciples for a few years, whereas I have marvelled at him all my life.
FATHER ANASTASIUS: Do you know who comes to mind when I look at our bishop, seeing how he excels in asceticism, how merciful and gentle he is towards the needy, and how he labours and prays constantly in his mind?
FATHER CASIAN: I think I know, for the very same thought has been on my mind for a very long time: he bears a striking resemblance to Saint Basil the Great.
FATHER ANASTASIUS: Exactly, Father Casian, exactly! (jumping up as if stung) Goodness me, it’s just as well we’ve brought up the deeds of Saint Basil the Great!… I’d forgotten that I was supposed to be at Saint Calinic’s house to organise charity for the poor! Thank God Orest’s been there since this morning! Oh dear! All sorts of wretched souls gather there—the elderly and children, and even people in the prime of life, yet so desperately poor it breaks your heart! Oh, what a tragedy!
FATHER CASIAN: That’s right… Hurry and help Orest, for there are so, so many hungry and sick people!
FATHER ANASTASIE: Well, that is precisely why His Grace’s residence has become a veritable refuge for the poor. But there are also many who come seeking advice and comfort, guidance and even forgiveness from HOLY HIERARCH CALINIC himself. And he welcomes them all, listens to them and restores their courage, showing them that they could live their lives in a completely different way…
Music
NARRATOR: During the Russo-Turkish War in the Crimea, the Ottoman armies occupied Oltenia. It was in the summer of 1854…
FATHER ANASTASIE: Your Grace, orders have come for us to take the entire diocesan archive to Bucharest, so that the Turks do not overrun us…
SAINT CALINIC: We shall indeed move out of their way, but we shall take the route via Râmnicu Vâlcea.
FATHER CASIAN: Ah, Your Grace, you will not find peace until you have restored the Diocese of Râmnic – Noul Severin to its former splendour from the very foundations, is that not so?
HOLY HIERARCH CALINIC (jokingly): As if I could keep anything from you, Reverend Casian?!
Musical interlude
NARRATOR: And so it came to pass that, in just two years, the new episcopal church was built, and the bishop’s buildings, the infirmary and the seminary were rebuilt from the ground up. During that same period, with financial support from Metropolitan Andrei Șaguna, SAINT CALINIC also established a printing press. It was there that the Monastic Rule, compiled by SAINT CALINIC himself, rolled off the presses for the second time. Among the numerous religious books printed there were also works by Anton Pann.
SAINT CALINIC: Just listen to what he’s writing to me and what he’s asking of me. Without even suspecting that everything he sent me has already been put into practice…
FATHER ANASTASIUS (puzzled): Who is writing to you, Your Grace? I don’t understand!
SAINT CALINIC: Who else? Anton Pann, of course! Listen, Anastasie! ‘Please help me, just as you have never before left me without help with all the books I have printed, for the adornment of the holy churches and the enlightenment of our people.’
Musical interlude, the scratch of a quill on paper, pages being turned
FATHER CASIAN: What has the paper ever done to you, Anastasie Baldovin, that you should rage against it with I don’t know how many goose quills?!
FATHER ANASTASIE: It’s no use trying to tease me, pious Casian. I’m poring over these pages because I can barely keep up with putting down on paper everything I’ve learnt. I don’t want to let a single thing slip away! After all, I have set out to write about ‘The Life and Ascetic Struggles of our Holy Father Calinic’.
FATHER CASIAN: Your deed is most honourable, Anastasius!
FATHER ANASTASIUS: That may be so, but I’ve got myself tangled up counting the monasteries, hermitages and parish churches—whether new or restored through the saint’s efforts—both in the Craiova region and in that of Râmnic. Likewise, I no longer know how many priests he found guilty of various sins and sent to the monastery for correction, nor how many he raised to honour.
FATHER CASIAN: Don’t worry, I’ll sort it out somehow. There are, after all, so many of those wretched registers… In any case, I’ll say it again: what you’re doing is truly praiseworthy!
FATHER ANASTASIUS: Despite his life as a hermit, I also wish it to be known that our bishop did not stand aside even when the fate of the Romanian Principalities was being decided, even though other high-ranking hierarchs hesitated to reveal their thoughts.
FATHER CASIAN: Well, did I not myself accompany His Grace to the meetings of the Ad Hoc Divan of Muntenia which, just like that of Moldavia, was to decide on the Union in 1859, electing the same prince?!
FATHER ANASTASIE: Look here, Reverend Casian, what I’ve come across!
FATHER CASIAN (rustling of paper): Just look at this! Well, this is a copy of an order sent by His Grace, back in those days, to every corner of the diocese. Listen to what it says: ‘I summon all the archpriests and abbots…’
Mix of voices, music
SAINT CALINIC: “…all archpriests and abbots to ensure that services and vigils are held in every church for the unity of the Romanians in a single will, so that they may demand, through lawful means, the life of their homeland!”
FATHER ANASTASIE: You understand me then, and why I was so delighted when I also came across a letter in which Patriarch Cyril of Jerusalem had words of praise for – look, I’ve copied it exactly – (emphasising) ‘the lofty virtues’ of Saint Calinic, ‘which have been beneficially bestowed upon the community’.
FATHER CASIAN: Since I’ve promised to help you, look what I’ve found too!
FATHER ANASTASIUS (curiously): What’s in that little box?
FATHER CASIAN: Open it!
FATHER ANASTASIE: Well, look at that! A medal! Whose is it?
FATHER CASIAN: It is the Cross of Saint Vladimir, awarded to Saint Calinic by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia himself.
FATHER ANASTASIE (proudly): Well, I’ve written enough for today. Now I’m going to pop over to the new hermitage, where I know I’ll also find SAINT CALINIC! Shall we go together, Reverend Casian?
FATHER CASIAN: Just a short way, then I’ll turn off towards the village of Muiereasca. Father Ioan is waiting for me with some tasks.
Musical interlude: birdsong, rustling of fir trees
SAINT CALINIC: Have you finally appeared, Anastasie, my worthy disciple?
FATHER ANASTASIUS (concerned): Your Grace, you seem a little sad, don’t you?
SAINT CALINIC: I look upon the Frăsinei Hermitage with great joy, yet also with a tinge of regret; I have a feeling this will be my final foundation… And I also wish to reveal to you a secret dear to my heart…
FATHER ANASTASIE: I am waiting and listening, Your Grace.
SAINT CALINIC: Ever since my youth, when I walked the paths of the Holy Mountain of Athos and received Holy Communion at the altars of the churches there, and later came to know at first hand the angelic life of the monks in the Garden of the Mother of God – as those places are called – an immense desire blossomed in my soul…
FATHER ANASTASIE: Is the Frăsinei Hermitage, in a way, the embodiment of that desire?
SAINT CALINIC: Exactly, my son, exactly… After that journey amongst the holy monks of Athos, not an hour or a day has passed without my soul yearning to establish, even on our own soil, at least one hermitage with rules like those there…
FATHER ANASTASIE: Now I understand why the rules established at Frăsinei are of such strict asceticism! They are just like those on Mount Athos!
SAINT CALINIC: If… And only those with a deep, pure and wholehearted calling to dedicate their lives to Christ, far from worldly temptations—only they will find their place in this hermitage.
FATHER ANASTASIE: The inhabitants of the hermitage understand that they subsist only on greens and, rarely, on a fish tail or a small jug of milk. They live in fasting and prayer, cut off from the world, do they not?
SAINT CALINIC: Yes, Anastasie…
FATHER ANASTASIE: Right, I’ve figured out the meaning of that boundary stone between the lands of Frăsinei and those of the village of Muiereasca, on which is inscribed a stern prohibition—under severe punishment—issued by Your Grace, that no woman’s foot should dare to pass that way.
SAINT CALINIC: That’s right! Never! Not now, nor for years and years to come! For otherwise, woe betide any woman who were to break the commandment by crossing the Frăsinei boundary.
FATHER ANASTASIE: Since we’ve been talking about the hermitage, I came across a letter amongst the papers, signed by Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza himself, which referred precisely to this foundation of Your Grace.
SAINT CALINIC: Ah, yes… It dates from the time when Cuza passed the Law on the secularisation of monastic property. Oh, how I fought with all my might, even in the country’s Divan, even before the Prince himself, so that Frăsinei might be allowed to keep everything it had acquired through donations and what I had endowed it with. In the end, I convinced Cuza that Frăsineiul could only uphold its rule as an exemplary model of spiritual life if it were self-governing.
FATHER ANASTASIE: In fact, Frăsinei is the only monastic settlement untouched by the Secularisation Act.
Music
SAINT CALINIC: Yes… but all this, and so much more besides, has worn me out… Yes… I shall ask permission to entrust the episcopal crozier to a stronger hand, whilst I myself retire to Cernica. I sense that my time in this world is drawing to a close, and I wish, after more than sixty years of monastic life, to meet my end where I began it…
Noise, commotion, whingeing
SAINT CALINIC: What on earth is all this commotion at the doors?! Anastasie, I beg you, go and find out the reason!
FATHER ANASTASIE: Father Casian is coming running, followed by Ioan, the priest from Muiereasca, and a few villagers…
The door swings open, the creaking of planks, heavy breathing
SAINT CALINIC: Are the Turks attacking?… Has a great fire broken out?… Is the mountain collapsing? What on earth is the reason you’re all running for your lives?
FATHER CASIAN (panting): A young girl from the village ran after a cow that had gone mad and… Oh! I can’t go on! I need to catch my breath!…
FATHER ANASTASIE (frightened): Did she cross the boundary by any chance?
FATHER CASIAN: Yes… And she collapsed on the spot as if struck by lightning!… The poor thing has come down with what children get!
VOICES: Heal her, Saint Calinic!
FLOAREA: Free her from the curse, Saint! Perform a miracle! Heal my little girl!
FATHER CASIAN: It is within your power, Your Grace! I saw it with my own eyes, and there were other worshippers present in the church when you healed that wretched woman through your prayers…
FATHER ANASTASIUS: Pray for the child’s healing, just as you succeeded with Master Costache’s son! I remember the incident well! He too had that dreadful illness. Then I found him safe and sound, as he was praying before the icons in thanksgiving. Yes, yes, he was well and healthy! I saw him in good health when you yourself, Your Grace, sent me to him with the relics of Saint Mercurius, so that he might touch and kiss them…
SAINT CALINIC (sadly): ‘What a sad turn of events! The barrier I set up to help the monks has harmed an innocent soul! Let us go and pray for the child…’
Musical interlude, murmurs, weeping
FATHER CASIAN: We have arrived, Your Grace.
FLOAREA (in tears): Mum’s little girl, my priceless treasure, look, our holy bishop himself has come to see you!
SAINT CALINIC (gently): Do you recognise me, little one?
FLOAREA: The little one cannot speak, but look, look how she smiled when the saint stroked her cheek!
FATHER CASIAN (whispering): She even nodded slightly, as if to show she recognised him…
SAINT CALINIC: Have faith, child, and you shall be healed… Well then, I have forgiven you! Let us pray to God that He too may forgive your thoughtlessness…
FLOAREA (whispering): Look how HOLY HIERARCH CALINIC is still praying! And how he’s holding his hand on my little girl’s head!
FATHER ANASTASIE: He is praying with his eyes closed, and rivers of tears are streaming down his face, which seems to be illuminated by unseen rays! Look, Reverend Casian, he seems to be transfigured!
FATHER CASIAN: I see… and I also see that the sick child has calmed down, her face has brightened, and she has stretched out her arms towards her mother, who has taken her tightly in her arms.
FLOAREA: Holy Lord, I thank You! My child has been forgiven! My child has been healed! Glory to the One on High! Bishop, let me kiss your blessed right hand! You have performed a miracle!
SAINT CALINIC: And I bow down, Lord, before Your boundless mercy, for You have heard my prayer!
Scene 4
Musical interlude, rustling of papers, scratching of a quill as it writes
SAINT CALINIC: Casiane, if only you knew how much joy I have carried in my heart since we returned to Cernica, you would not stand there so long, watching over me and keeping an eye on my every step… I am no longer quite as broken as before, though I feel the moment of parting from you drawing very near… Shh! Be quiet! Don’t ask me anything! When I feel my hour has come, rest assured that I shall confide in you…
FATHER CASIAN: Anastasie, stop rummaging about so much in the cupboards full of books and rags; you’re stirring up the dust from… from… ha, ha, achoo… them. Don’t go and upset our holy father, for he’s already in a very delicate state!
SAINT CALINIC: Leave him to his own devices, Casian! I’m glad to see him such a lover of books… I’m glad to see him following in the footsteps of Naum Râmniceanu…
FATHER CASIAN: Judging by how many goose quills he’s worn out, judging by how many pages he’s filled just now, I’d say he’s set to enrich our monastery library with some precious chronicles…
SAINT CALINIC: Do not tease him, Venerable Casian, do not tease him… He has no idea what a distinguished writer my disciple will soon become… Anastasius, now that we’re on the subject, when you set about describing my life and my ascetic struggles, why didn’t you come to ask my permission for this action of yours? Come now, confess, my son, why?
FATHER ANASTASIE (ashamed): Do not reproach me too harshly, Father… I should have realised you would have found out straight away. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time you’ve penetrated people’s thoughts, reading them like an open book, or performed miracles.
FATHER CASIAN: As far as I recall, you didn’t seem to possess these gifts when you first entered into obedience under the Venerable Pimen?… Or am I mistaken?
SAINT CALINIC: You are not mistaken, Casian. The Lord’s grace poured out upon me as I cast my sins from my soul and acquired ever more Christian virtues… Oh, but what am I doing now? Am I preaching to you?!
FATHER ANASTASIUS (joyfully): And I shall write as follows: ‘I was with His Grace day and night…; therefore, I knew his holy life. I marvelled at such a chosen life, blessed by God, just like what I had read in the lives of the Holy Fathers, and now I saw that I was serving a living saint.” Yes, I shall set it all down, word for word, for all to know!
SAINT CALINIC (gently): No, my son. You shall reveal these mysteries only after I have passed from this life, and only to those worthy of understanding them. Otherwise, you will confuse the less faithful with bewilderment, with error, or with the temptation of vain glory… But after I have passed into eternity, the gifts I have acquired may become a foundation for spiritual growth…
Scene 5
Music, bells
FATHER ANASTASIUS: Saint Calinic has passed into the realm of the righteous, just as he had foretold… He passed away on the eleventh day of the month of Prier, in the year 1868, to the tolling of bells and mourned by crowds of people.
NARRATOR: And more than eighty years later, he was numbered among the ranks of the saints. His reputation as a benefactor to those in distress still draws countless believers today, who come to pay their respects and light a candle at his relics, which are housed in the very church he built on the islet of Saint George in Cernica, at the Archiepiscopal Cathedral of Râmnic, or at his labour of love, Frăsinei Monastery.
The narrator’s voice intertwines with the voices of the two monks whom we see in the opening library scene; the narrator steps out of the frame
ZOSIMA: And this is how his whole life is interpreted, left to us as an example of how to live. How simply and nobly he depicted his struggles and way of life. Listen to how simply and directly Saint Calinic testifies…
SAINT CALINIC: “I have not amassed wealth or worldly goods for myself, but only holy books… Whilst I was abbot of the Holy Monastery of Cernica and bishop of Râmnicu-Noul Severin, I did not collect gold or silver from benefactors or officials. Everything that was given to me I spent on the needs of the monastery and on the poor, distributing it as God commanded me. I leave nothing behind, neither for my burial nor for a memorial service. ‘So that monastic poverty may be all the more evident to God at the end’…
FATHER MAXIM: Allow me, reverend one, to read the very end myself. The Saint says … (a mix of the monk’s voice and that of Saint Calinic – reverberating) … ‘This is my will and my spiritual letter; this is the declaration of my estate. And should anyone disbelieve this and begin to search diligently for gold and silver, even if they labour greatly, they will find nothing. And the Merciful God will judge. Amen!”
FATHER ZOSIMA: And he signs: ‘In the year 1860, written by us, the humble Bishop Calinic, Bishop of Râmnic and Nou Severin’.
FATHER MAXIM: Thus we come to understand what Nicolae Iorga wrote about Saint Calinic of Cernica: ‘In the nineteenth century, SAINT CALINIC OF CERNICA worthily brought to a close the line of pure monks without wealth, of the founders of books and places of worship, of souls with the spirit of bishops, who never for a moment imagined that their deeds or thoughts might escape the watchful eye of God”.
The monks close their ledgers and exit the stage, leaving behind the books and the icon of Saint Calinic.