Archimandrite John — A play in four acts

The characters

IOAN THE ARCHIMANDRITE, abbot of Hurezi
Monastery IOSIF, hierodeacon, painter, disciple of Archimandrite Ioan, later abbot of Hurezi
Monastery IOANICHIE, Hierodeacon, painter, disciple of Archimandrite John
SAVA, Hieromonk, Abbot of Strehaia
Monastery PORFIRIE, Monk of the Hurezi
Lavra ȘTEFAN, Archimandrite
PAHOMIE, Archimandrite
METODIE, Monk Librarian
DAMASCHIN, Bishop of Râmnic (1708–1725)
PAHOMIE, Ecclesiarch of Cozia
Monastery ATANASIE, Spiritual Father and Pro-Abbot of Cozia
Monastery MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU
FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ, Military Engineer at the Court of Vienna
HERDEGEN, Captain, commander of the troops at Cozia
STEPHAN STENVILLE, General, Supreme Director of the Province
EUGENIU DE SAVOIA, Prince and Field Marshal of Imperial
Austria FILUMEN, Churchwarden
BISHOP CLIMENT OF RÂMNIC, (1735–1748)
A PRIEST

Extras: ȘTEFAN, ARCHIMANDRITE, abbot of Arnota Monastery, and A NOVICE

Act I The Character

Setting: The year 1719 at Hurezi Monastery, the hierodeacons Iosif and Ioanichie, together with other pious fathers, are painting in the narthex of the church of the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul the portrait of Archimandrite Ioan, the abbot and their spiritual father. (A dimly lit interior, walls painted with icons; evening; the faint light provided by a candle and lamplight; on the floor, sketches and painting tools—crucibles, paints and brushes).

IOSIF (almost in a whisper): Eh… what a priest! What a spiritual presence! The Mother of God has sent us a great blessing upon our ascetic endeavours!… A holy man!

IOANICHIE: You speak well, brother! I pray fervently to the Mother of God to grant me the gift of perfect attention, so that I may not in any way diminish the spiritual beauty hidden within this radiant face! What do you think? Is it all right like this? (showing the painted portrait)

JOSEPH: Hmm! Let me see! Yes! Hair cascading over his shoulders, a closely cropped beard, eyes with broadly arched brows… Without a doubt! …That’s him! Yes. …Yes, Reverend! (brief pause) Those eyes… That living light in his pious gaze…

IOANICHIE: Yes. The light of Christ that illuminates and caresses our faces too.

IOSIF: It took a great deal of persuasion to get him to have his portrait painted… A true monk!

IOANICHIE: Who on earth managed to persuade him? He was adamantly against it. He used to say: ‘The Lord knows! That’s enough!’

IOSIF: The Lord’s mercy, reverend father! The Lord’s mercy and the tears of Father Sava, the gentle old man from the Great Infirmary…

IOANICHIE: Did he persist in his pleas?

IOSIF: He pleaded with him and won him over.

IOANICHIE: He humbled himself!

JOSEPH: It must have been a time of great sorrow, I imagine, when he left the monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in the city of Matei Basarab.

SAVA (enters the frame; the hierodeacons leap for joy): Yes, yes! Yes, brothers! Yes. Prince Brâncoveanu. May his name be glorified amongst the martyrs of Christ! He saw how, from his youth, he upheld the holy paternal order of the monastery according to the Apostolic canons. …He recognised him as a holy man.

IOSIF (approaching them both to receive a blessing): Father Sava! What joy! …We’re working on the portrait. …Here it is!

IOANICHIE: Bless us, Geronda!

SAVA (blessing them, then kissing the tops of their heads): Oh, my children!… Young… devoted… and full of vigour. Yes. He was your age when, with holy longing, he cast aside worldly cares and died for the world in the monastery of Negru Vodă.

IOANICHIE: In Câmpulung?

SAVA: Yes!… a monastery with a school dating back to Radu Udriște in 1669, the first in the country… A printing press… modelled on the holy and great Lavra of the Mother of God at the Caves of Kiev…

IOANICHIE: A monastery following the order of the ancient monastic tradition. He had a place to live like an angel.

SAVA: Exactly! He lived so detached from the flesh that, before long, the community unanimously wished him to be abbot, even though he was very young in years, yet deep in thought and wise beyond his years.

IOANICHIE: What a life! What a man! Truly a saint!

SAVA: I saw him with my own eyes, sent by His Highness the Prince as abbot to this monastery of the Hurezis some 27 years ago, on 20 September in the year 1692.

IOSIF: We’re barely twenty years old ourselves. Tell us, Abba, a word about his youth, for he is poor in speech but rich in deeds!

SAVA (sighs): As we all ought to be… I came here by command, not out of any need. After some three years as abbot at Câmpulung, seeing his zeal and holy way of life, Prince Brâncoveanu appointed him abbot, but also a counsellor to the princely household.

IOANICHIE: I realise that the connection between the two monasteries was by no means coincidental. It’s as clear as water. Prince Brâncoveanu followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Prince Matei Basarab.

SAVA (taking a seat on a bench supported by the two young men): Of course. Unbound by any ecclesiastical hierarchy, the monastery in Câmpulung has, since ancient times, been an important centre of culture, a spiritual garden… and a fragrant flower.

IOSIF: And he served as abbot for three years!?

SAVA (A monk appears briefly, bowing in the narthex. Recognising him, the hieromonk Sava addresses him): When the lamb arrived at the new monastery of the Hurez, the construction of the great church of the Holy Emperors had only just been completed. … Do you still remember, Father Porfirie?… Do you?… Is it only Your Holiness?… (a ‘Yes!’ is heard… he is reassured) That’s right!… Do you remember when you met at the great gate near the forest and he asked you why you were weeping?… Oh, how young we were!… You smiled through your tears when he promised you that he would give neither his eyelids sleep nor his temples rest until he saw the bride, the great church, ready for the wedding.

PORFIRIE (enters discreetly): Bless you! (receives a blessing) How could I ever forget? I saw him labouring so hard and sleepless until he found the Lord’s house with all his heart. May his memory live on forever, as well as that of his ancestors, Negoiță and Stana, and his entire family! (bows)… And this, just one year after he arrived.

IOANICHIE (marvelling as he looks at the others): A year!?!

SAVA: Yes… And then you’ll learn that the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Virginwas marked with great royal pomp at the consecration service, celebrated by a large assembly of clergy, including Bishop Ilarion of Râmnic and Metropolitan Teodosie of Wallachia; may their memory be eternal!

IOSIF: And was the painting of the church finished?

PORFIRIE: Eh… It was finished by the end of the church year. The great church bears the daily traces of the church year through the labour of the painter Constandin and his guild.

IOSIF: Constandin!… Yes!… A great painter!… I saw his name discreetly inscribed on the sword of a saint painted in the great church, and judging by the way the faces of the royal family are depicted in the fresco, I realise that his iconographic arrangement is deeply imbued with symbols and mysterious depictions. …He has rendered it all. …There, you can read everything simply by looking. (mysteriously) …And you come to realise so much.

IOANICHIE: Yes! …What a dialogue with viewers across the centuries! …He has bequeathed the truth to history. Father Archimandrite Ioan has arranged what was best for this monastery.

PORFIRIE: And afterwards, as a lover of monastic life and one pleasing to God, he laboured with great zeal to establish the basis of the divine services according to the order of the monastic rule of the great monasteries. …So, children of God, (receive a blessing from Sava the hieromonk) I am going to my hermitage, praying to the Lord to sustain you with His gifts and grace for the work you have undertaken.

SAVA (blessing the monk Porfirie): Exactly!… We were part of the community back then. I remember that, through the care of Mrs Marica Brâncoveanu, the hermitage was added to the infirmary to the east of the great church, just as it stands today, with a small church and cells built …and a fine gazebo for the care of the health of the fathers, the brothers, but also of the frail elderly abbots, as well as ‘my sins’, I who served as abbot at Strehaia Monastery.

IOANICHIE: Yes. …It seems the Archimandrite has not forgotten you, and you now have swift solace in your old age.

SAVA: Yes. A comfort in this hour of my suffering. May the Lord grant him salvation!

IOANICHIE: He cares deeply for all the fathers. For their sake, he also built this hermitage dedicated to the Holy Apostles.

SAVA: Built with great toil, with the help of the boyars and the villagers.

IOANICHIE: Exactly!

SAVA: It seems only last year that you took part in the repainting of Sărăcinești Monastery, didn’t you? It was you! You showed great dedication to the monastery’s restoration.

IOANICHIE: The fire two years ago meant that the labour of love put in by the Sărăcinești boyars went unrecognised… Restoring the frescoes took less time – just six months of the year.

SAVA: Eh, children! Through his mercy and hard work, almost all the great churches of Râmnic and beyond have been restored. Well, …after the Prince bought back Polovragi Monastery, around 1693, and it was given as a dependency to the Hurez family, Father Ioan, seeing it abandoned and dilapidated, put a great deal of effort into repainting the church.

IOSIF: What devotion!

SAVA: He restored the church, rebuilding the iconostasis and the altar, the refectory, the cells, the bell tower, the hermitage, the well, as well as the surrounding wall.

IOSIF: Were these works carried out at the same time as those at the Hurezilor Lavra!?

SAVA: Exactly! Besides that, he took his orders from the blessed founder Ștefan, the second son of Prince Brâncoveanu, and built him a hermitage on the western side of the monastery, so that it might be a source of peace for the fathers and a cause for the glorification of Saint Archdeacon Stephen.

IOANICHIE: What a beautiful building!

SAVA (raising his hands to his forehead): Yes! Now I realise that Father Ioan’s words were prophetic for Ștefăniță, when, in the wisdom of his old age, he said to him: ‘You will not labour for many years!’

IOANICHIE: Just as Abba Varlaam said to his disciple Ioasaf…

SAVA: Exactly!

IOANICHIE: He looks after everyone, even the servants.

SAVA (smiling): Yes! …Well, who on earth has ever built churches for servants, and stone ones at that? Not just in the village of Romani, the Church of the Holy Archangels. Likewise on other estates bestowed by the prince upon the Hurez family …I think even at Șirineasa. (he thinks) …Hmm!

IOANICHIE: And in Baia de Fier … in Stoiceni … in Topolog … in Runcu…

IOSIF: Or at Puțuri, on the banks of the Jiu…

IOANICHIE: But he also helped all the holy monasteries.

SAVA: Of course he did! … Cozia Monastery! … He built the All Saints’ Chapel, two vaulted rooms and the belvedere which, standing as a testament to this day, can still be seen. Then the Fedeleșoiu hermitage, a dependency of Cozia. What love he put into it! … It was as if he were building it for Hurezi!… But… he was building it for the Lord! … And with such love for his brothers!

IOANICHIE: The same goes for Govora… and Sărăcinești.

SAVA: Eh, so many!… The surpatele, …‘Out of a Single Piece of Wood’… and many others which history will preserve as achievements of great value. …History will keep his name alive, like an everlasting candle.

IOSIF: Amen, we say, Geronda.

SAVA (rising from his seat): May there be peace! …For, with the arrival of the Habsburgs on our doorstep, I see nothing but turmoil.

IOSIF: How so?

SAVA: Bishop Damaschin believes that all will be well once the Crescent is removed from our midst. He has even sent letters to the villages and market towns calling for people to embrace this liberation from the pagan yoke… All will be well! We hope so!

IOSIF: And?! How can you see things so clearly, Elder? Surely it isn’t really like that?

SAVA: I don’t know what to say, children!… Perhaps I speak sinfully. …The Ottomans isolated us, but they respected our prayers! Apart from the annual tribute and the payments in gold coins to the local officials, they did not really touch the things of Christ, considering them alien to their own law. They merely subjugated them by force, regarding them as too weak to do them any harm. …My sins!… The Habsburgs have not only bound us hand and foot, but are also taking the food from our mouths.

IOANICHIE (looking at Iosif): I don’t understand what you’re saying, Geronda!

SAVA: Listen!… To take a mother’s child and give it to some stranger, as if she knows what to do with it, just because she’s raised children before! Well, there’s only one mother for a child! Heh!… This isn’t right, children! …These people want to send us to Belgrade!

IOSIF: What do you mean, Geronda?

SAVA: You heard me right! Two summers ago Belgrade was liberated from the Turks, and the Habsburgs there want to make us submit to their authority. …Even if she’s our good sister, it won’t do to have the Pope’s watchful eye over Wallachian Orthodoxy, for the Habsburgs’ official faith is Catholic, isn’t it?

IOSIF: Perhaps they’ll spare us from all this!

SAVA (beginning to withdraw): Do you really think they’ll leave you in peace after decades of fighting to win souls in Transylvania? Just look at what the Church of Christ, united with Rome, is intent on doing! Lord, have mercy on us!

IOANICHIE: Lord, have mercy!

SAVA: I’m going, Father’s children … I’m going to my cell … I’m going to my penance. May the Lord enlighten you and bring you joy in the work you are preparing! This image you are painting will also bring us solace in our longing for our abbot and spiritual father Ioan, the archimandrite and worthy craftsman of Râmnic and of all the Wallachian people.

IOSIF: We rejoice!

SAVA: May it stand as a testimony for ever that here, in the Hurez Monastery, there was a burning torch and a lamp illuminating souls for ever and ever!… And for those who labour here, a haven and a token of salvation!

IOSIF (both are blessed): Blessed be!… …We have hope, Elder! We place our hope in the Mother of God. She has never forsaken anyone… She will not forsake us either.

SAVA (exits the frame): She won’t forsake us, children!… She won’t forsake us! I’m off with my old age. May the Lord be with you!

IOANICHIE (resuming his work): Amen. …Let me see, brother, what have you been working on?

IOSIF (shows him): Not much… just this, the outline. I listened with all my heart.

IOANICHIE: Yes, brother. Well! It can’t be quite like that. Unlike those with the pagan crescent… at least these ones might still know of Christ’s mercy.

IOSIF: I don’t know what to say, brother! I’m even starting to feel afraid!

IOANICHIE: We have nothing to fear! We have a strong guardian in the Archimandrite! And, on the other hand, I think that since the Habsburg is a Christian, he brings God’s peace. Better that than the Turkish caftan and their pagan souls; I think it’s better this way.

IOSIF: I don’t know, Reverend! There’s also that saying from our forefathers! Do you know it? ‘For better or for worse’?!

IOANICHIE: I don’t know it.

IOSIF: It’s been said since ancient times, and most of the elders say that evil is with evil, but worse is without evil!

(the lights fade out gradually across the entire stage)

Act II: The Memoir

Setting: The year 1719, in the Library of Hurezi Monastery. Archimandrite Ioan, together with other abbots led by Bishop Damaschin of Râmnic, meet to draw up the ‘Memorial on the Organisation of Church Life in Oltenia’. (Evening; candles lit in candlesticks; many books on the shelves; a large table in the centre; documents and many papers on the table)

ȘTEFAN (enters the frame alone, marvelling): Great and blessed God! What a library!… (almost syllable by syllable) What a li-br-a-ry! Lord, count Prince Brâncoveanu amongst the saints! What a man! What a sacrifice! What a testimony! What hard work on the part of Archimandrite Ioan! What obedience!!! Heeeh! …A unique library! Desired nourishment for the soul, this house of books beckons with most wise abundance! (he takes a book from the shelf, examines it and kisses it) …The Bible! …The Bible from Bucharest! …Complete collected works! (looks at them intently) Origen! Clement of Alexandria! Saint Basil the Great! Saint Gregory of Nazianzus!… Oh my!!!… Maximus the Confessor! (He touches another book and tries to pull it off the shelf) Procopius of Caesarea, Nicetas Choniates, Zonaras, Constantine Manasses, Charles du Fresnes!!!

METHODIUS (enters the frame carrying some books, which he places on the shelves): Don’t touch them!

STEPHEN (timidly): Errr…!!! Please forgive me!… How could one not marvel at this literary paradise?

METHODIUS (turning towards the character): Ah!… God bless you! Father Stephen! I didn’t realise who you were! Have you come from Bistrița Monastery?

ȘTEFAN: God and His Saints! Indeed! I was summoned to come. Bishop Damaschin called us to draw up a memorandum, and seeing the room open, I entered… and I cannot stop marvelling.

METODIE: I am Metodie, the librarian. By the grace of God, a monk in the Hurez community.

STEPHEN: I know a great deal about your brotherhood. Ever since I became abbot at Bistrița, I have heard nothing but wonderful things from the fathers about your holiness’s self-sacrifice… And especially the help you gave the brothers with Tasso’s latest work.

METODIE: Ah, yes! Hmm! Jerusalem Delivered! Eh!… I am unworthy!

STEPHEN: You have put a great deal of self-sacrifice into this work… It is unique!

METODIE: By the Lord’s mercy, most reverend one! Archimandrite John, our abbot, founded this library at great expense in this most beautiful monastery, built by His Holiness by royal command and filled with a variety of most useful books.

STEPHEN: It far surpasses all the libraries in the entire region!

METODIE: It is as well known throughout the world as the Marciana Library in Venice, established by Cardinal Bessarion after the fall of Byzantium.

STEPHEN: Yes. Similar to the one at Mărgineni.

METODIE: Aha! Yes. That of the mattress-maker Constantin Cantacuzino. It was a source of inspiration for Prince Brâncoveanu in his youth. Yes!… This library is its sister. The one here was modelled on and copied from that one. But… I think there are more books here.

ȘTEFAN: Certainly!… What a library! There are few like it in the world!… I know of one more!… The Serai Library. Many manuscripts were collected by the ambassadors of the Sublime Porte from France and Russia…

METODIE: They took some from here too, years ago. At the time of the abduction of the Prince and his children.

ȘTEFAN: And Lady Marica Brâncoveanu. Since then, not a word has been heard of her. We pray she escaped with her life from Ediculè. Nothing more is known of her.

METODIE: How long we’ve been waiting for her! Rumour has it she’s wandering about in Hungary.

ȘTEFAN (brief pause): Only the Lord can know! But what books have you brought back, brother?

METODIE: My sins! Not that I wish to boast, but I have brought another 90 or so titles! 32 of them came from the presses of the blessed Antim, who disappeared three years ago without a trace. It is said that his life was taken. We have heard nothing more of His Grace.

ȘTEFAN: Oh! Lord, God! Yes. We sheltered him for a few days here at the monastery before the quarrel with Prince Mavrocordat. Oh!… What plan might the Lord have in store for us? That’s how it is!… Keep your eyes fixed on what lies ahead and… set your mind on the Lord and His Resurrection!

METODIE: I’ve got another fourteen titles fresh off the press from Bishop Mitrofan of Buzău!

ȘTEFAN (brief pause): Oh my! Are Lavrentie and Rafail still here?

METODIE: Yes. They are very obedient. They have returned from their studies and have been tasked with revising the Services to the Mother of God and the Teachings of Theodore the Studite in time for the feast day. On the abbot’s orders, they have completed Agapius of Crete’s The Salvation of Sinners.

STEPHEN: And the Commentary on the Apocalypse?

METHODIUS: By Saint Andrew of Caesarea?

STEPHEN: Exactly!

METHODIUS: It has long been ready, along with the Paterikon of the Kiev Lavra.

(Archimandrite John appears in the frame, humble yet alert, carrying several books in his arms)

JOHN: Have you arrived, Stefan?

STEPHEN (bows deeply): Geronda!… Blessed One!… My dear Father!

JOHN (to Methodius): Here, Brother Methodius, take these books! (He helps Stephen up from his prostration and embraces him)

METODIE (looking at the titles): Aaaa! The ‘Eulogy to the Holy Emperors’… by Saint Eftimie of Târnovea is finally here. How long we’ve been waiting for this commentary!… (looks at the others as well) The Life of Saint Fevronia! We have a portion of her holy relics in our church, a gift from Prince Brâncoveanu! (steps back to place them on the shelf, then exits the frame) What a joy!

IOAN (looking on admiringly): Yes, brother! These little books sweeten not only the mouth but also the heart and soul from the bitterness of human nature! Just as the psalmist says: ‘…How sweet are Your words, sweeter than the honey on my lips!’

STEPHEN: My dear Father, you have opened up the lives of the saints, which were previously hidden in a foreign tongue.

IOAN: Brother Ștefan, we are living in terrible times! Our sins have multiplied, and so have the evils inflicted upon us!

STEPHEN: What did the apostle say today at the Divine Liturgy? ‘…In perils from robbers, in perils from lying brethren!’

JOHN: Brother Ștefane, I trust that the Mother of God will not forsake us! And I also place my hope in the prayers of the hermit brothers for the protection of Holy Orthodoxy!

STEPHEN: Your Holiness’s disciples from the Hermitage of the Holy Apostles?!

JOHN: My brothers… and my fathers!

ȘTEFAN: May the Lord grant you according to your example and labour, Geronda, for you have toiled so much! Ever since you became abbot and guardian of this holy monastery, you have left no task undone! May the mercy of the Lord God be upon you for your toil and gentleness!

IOAN: What toil, reverend father?… What gentleness?… I have done nothing! Only what I was commanded to do! As for the rest… the Lord knows! There is no room for boasting!… The Lord!… Let our thoughts be on the Lord… and on His Resurrection!

(There is a knock at the door of the room and the words: ‘Most Holy Mother of God!… Most Holy Mother of God!’)

JOHN (a priest enters): Have mercy on us! Oh! Most Reverend Pahomius! What a joy, dear Father! How was your journey?

PAHOMIE (embracing him): God bless you, Geronda! I galloped over the hill with my brother and realised that the Habsburgs had posted a heavy armed guard! I barely managed to get through without being questioned!

STEPHEN: That’s right! I, too, had the ‘pleasure’ of encountering the Austrian soldiers.

IOAN (short pause): Dogs! As greedy as they are dangerous! Take a seat, for the Turks won’t give in! And as we say back home: ‘either the shadow of the caftan or the eyebrow of the divan!’

ȘTEFAN: That’s right! Reverend Pahomie, is the painting of the great church at Govora finished?

PAHOMIE: By the grace of God. I don’t know what we’d have done if Father Ioan, here present, hadn’t helped us.

IOAN: It was God’s mercy, Father Archimandrite! It was just what was left of what we’d collected for Sărăcinești Monastery! And me too!… What am I to do with the remaining bags? I shall go to the Lord with my deeds, not with my bags! I have put them to good use for Govora and your brotherhood!

PAHOMIE: May the Lord grant you salvation precisely for this diligence!

IOAN: May the Lord grant it as He wills!

STEPHEN: Such humility! Now I understand that, in fact, your reverence’s refusal of the archbishopric led to Joasaph, the archimandrite of Argeș, being sent as bishop to Buzău!

IOAN (brief pause): Forgive me, Father! How could I ever be worthy of such a calling? I certainly did not do these things for the sake of a seat of power! Never!… And besides… can’t you see the times we live in? One must simply not be a bishop! I can think only of the suffering of Bishop Damaschin, who sees the Church of Râmnic cast under foreign rule and torn from the bosom of its mother, Ungrovlahia!

ȘTEFAN: The Mother of God will not forsake us!… She will not let us perish!

PAHOMIE: ‘The Lord has chastised me, but He has not given me over to death!’

IOAN: The Habsburgs know no bounds! Five years ago they attacked Venice! They conquered the entire Peloponnese peninsula!

STEPHEN: Yes! Only the island of Corfu held out valiantly! It was as if they were invincible!

IOAN: Then the Habsburg realised that the old man on the bank by St George’s Church, who had turned their ships back with great waves, as if by a miracle, was Saint Spyridon!

PAHOMIE: I hope that Saint Spyridon’s miracle convinced General Eugene of Savoy that one must not trifle with God’s providence!

IOAN: Eugene of Savoy!… Yes!… They granted him the title of prince two summers ago for his crushing victory over the pagans at Petrovaradin!

PAHOMIE: He who raises the sword out of greed shall perish by the sword!

IOAN: This Eugeniu announced through his general Steinville, just two years ago, in a manifesto at Deva, that he wished, before God and the world, to conquer Wallachia and save from utter destruction the inhabitants who groan under the yoke of their tyrannical master!

PAHOMIE: Who knows? I don’t know what to say! And the road to hell is paved with good intentions!

ȘTEFAN: We hope that, under the Habsburgs, things will at least be easier than under the Sublime Porte!

PAHOMIE: It was that very motive that drove the Austrians to crush the Turkish and Tatar troops all the way to Bucharest, taking the Prince captive and tormenting him for some two years until last year!

IOAN: The curse of mockery, Father, of the betrayal and murder of holy blood! He cared nothing for Vladyka Antim! He falsely accused him in the synodical decree from Constantinople! He forced his defrocking and his murder!

PAHOMIE: He shouldn’t have! He was faithful to him! The Pope feared Vladyka Antim! He was the most fervent defender of the Orthodox faith beyond the mountains! Vladyka Antim! Saint Vladyka Antim!

ȘTEFAN (bows his head): May his name be glorified with the saints in Heaven!

IOAN (short pause): The Saxons of Sibiu and Brașov, in whose homes the Romanian boyars have taken refuge, have sent word for us to pray for them! The imperial troops have razed everything to the ground in Transylvania! So much for ‘liberators’! And, if they are liberators, why are they ‘liberating’ us of our horses… and our cattle… and everything else that catches their eye and might be of some use? Is this liberation? To make our sweat run like blood?

(bells ring)

PAHOMIE: The bells are announcing the arrival of Bishop Damaschin!

A PRIEST (enters the room in a hurry): The Bishop has arrived! He is at the belfry! He is accompanied by Archimandrite Stephen of Arnota! Father Ilarion, the churchwarden, has welcomed him on behalf of the whole congregation!

IOAN: Yes! With joy! We await him with great joy!

(Bishop Damaschin enters the frame accompanied by another priest. In the background, from outside, the tinkling of censers and the hymn ‘O Lord, preserve our Master and Bishop for many years’ can be heard!)

IOAN: How delighted we are, Your Eminence, at this blessing!

PAHOMIE: Remember us in Your Holiness’s prayers, for we are deeply troubled!

DAMASCHIN: Peace be with you, my sons! I am glad to see you at this sacred hour in this blessed monastery!

STEPHEN: And we, too, are delighted to see you in good health and full of vigour!

DAMASCHIN: What health, Ștefan? I am crushed by the sorrow of being separated from our canonical metropolis! Just listen! To tear the child from its mother’s breast and hand it over to a mere mother! Just listen!?! Just listen!?!

IOAN (invites them to sit down… The Bishop and Ioan remain standing): I say we calm our souls so that we may think without malice… the cause of so much madness!

DAMASCHIN (brief pause): Wise, just as I have always known you to be! That is precisely why I chose your abode! Yes! Yes, my brothers! The Church is in dire straits! And for that reason we must fight to save Corabia!

IOAN (leaning in closer… almost in a whisper): Imperial Austria rules these lands! Vladyka Antim was right when he told Prince Mavrocordat at Călugăreni that the Habsburgs were coming! And they have come! No one believed him!

ȘTEFAN: I have fears! Great fears! He will suffocate us with papist demands!

PAHOMIE: God forbid!

DAMASCHIN: For this very reason, I wish to draw up a memorandum to be addressed to Imperial Austria, in which we shall set out the Orthodox aspirations of the ‘Principality of Chezariceștii Vallahii’, now known as the region of Wallachia on this side of the Olt!

IOAN: Yes! Charles VI now rules the lands from Râmnic to Severin!

DAMASCHIN: That is so, Reverend Father! Exactly! Two summers ago, the Turks were routed at Belgrade and, so that the people might not lose their lives, they were granted permission to withdraw and leave the city freely! This Eugene of Savoy was appointed prince by virtue of this conquest!

PAHOMIE: A peace treaty was signed, I believe!…

DAMASCHIN (sitting down thoughtfully): They hammered it out about three months ago at Passarowitz, where the Morava flows into the Danube! They met for negotiations!

ȘTEFAN: In Bucharest, the throne of Wallachia was bought at the Sublime Porte by Mavrocordat! I’ve heard he cares about the Church!

IOAN: Nonsense! If he’d cared, he wouldn’t have listened to his (ironically) ‘sincere’ friend, Nicolae Thelys, the interpreter at the Dutch embassy! He wouldn’t have let him persuade him to cede the five counties on the right bank of the Olt!

PAHOMIE: Rumour has it they were lured with gold ducats and pocket watches! The negotiators had 6,000 ducats and 12 gold pocket watches with them! For this ‘advice’, Thelys is said to have taken 1,150 ducats! That’s about 11 bags of gold coins!

IOAN: About 30 silver coins, Your Holiness! That’s about 30 silver coins!

ȘTEFAN: In Moldavia, they tried to capture Prince Mihail Racoviță! Only the mercy of the monks at Cetățuia Iașilor was able to save him, hiding him and his family in the cellar’s recesses!

DAMASCHIN: Brothers, at Passarowitz they’ve attached us to the newly conquered Metropolis of Belgrade! That’s what I’ve heard! I don’t want us to remain passive!

IOAN: You used to aspire to better things! You had faith in change!

DAMASCHIN: It is true, Your Reverence! I rejoiced at being freed from the yoke of the Sublime Porte! Yet I readily observe that one must come to terms in life with the cross one has been given! One must not seek another, easier one!

STEPHEN: All the princely monasteries—Tismana, Cozia, Bistrița, Hurezi and all the others—have come under the administrative control of the Court in Vienna! They appoint the abbots and they reap the rewards!

PAHOMIE: The same goes for those under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Patriarchates!

STEPHEN (brief pause): It’s clear! We have become slaves to the Habsburgs! But the Mother of God will not let them! Oh, Lord! The Holy Churches! The monasteries! The monks! The nuns!

JOHN: Not the churches, reverend, but their wealth! Not the monasteries, but their lands! Not the monks, but the fruits of their labour and their sweat!

PAHOMIE: They will stop the printed works we have prepared to comfort the Orthodox in Transylvania!

JOHN: Do not forget, Despot! Do not forget that the Habsburg is a Catholic! He will not be swayed! Let us not forget the sovereign wishes of the Pope!

DAMASCHIN: That is precisely why I have brought you here, Geronda, to Hurezi, to Your Holiness, as one who is older in years and in wisdom!

IOAN: The Bishop of Râmnic ranks higher in the diptychs than the Metropolitan of Belgrade! He has long been the Metropolitan of Amasia! It is not canonically correct for him to be subordinate to Belgrade!

DAMASCHIN: I have been instructed to cut back on ordinations too! There you have it! This meddling in the spiritual affairs of the clergy and the monasteries! This is simply unacceptable!

IOAN: In such matters, the canon stipulates that only the local bishop is to be the hierarch and the ruler, and not the emperor’s men!

DAMASCHIN: They want to set up a Latin school in Craiova!

IOAN: Then why shouldn’t we be free to establish a Romanian seminary in Râmnic as well?

ȘTEFAN: And there must be no outsiders at the head of the monasteries!

PAHOMIE: That is indeed how it ought to be!

ȘTEFAN: Exactly!

DAMASCHIN (signals to Father Ștefan of Arnota to write and dictates): For this reason, we have decided to draw up this memorandum setting out these desired measures! Write! A memorandum on the organisation of ecclesiastical life in the Principality of Wallachia Cissalutane.

IOAN: I believe it would be lawful to elevate the Diocese of Râmnic to the rank of a metropolis! After all, this is where the Metropolis of Severin has been situated since ancient times!

DAMASCHIN: That would be in accordance with canon law! Let it be noted! The bishop is to be consecrated by the Ecumenical Patriarch!

IOAN: We can no longer be dependent on Constantinople! That was forbidden at Passarowitz! And no connection whatsoever with the Eastern Patriarchates whose territories are under the rule of the Sublime Porte!

DAMASCHIN: The Ecumenical Patriarch! He alone! He alone shall ordain the future Metropolitan of Râmnic, who shall not remain under his jurisdiction as a vassal! In this way, at least in the Spirit, we remain within their prayers and rites, as the centuries-old tradition requires of us!

IOAN: We must also lament the fact that the Bishop of Râmnic was not consulted by the boyars acting as deputies who, in Vienna, enticed by the gifts of the Archbishop of Bălgrad, voted to place the Diocese of Râmnic under his authority!

DAMASCHIN: Yes! May this enlightened statement be blessed! They took this decision without the counsel of the bishop, the boyars or the clergy of these lands!

ȘTEFAN: And the Bishop of Râmnic himself is to be the abbot of the monasteries! No one else, mind you!

DAMASCHIN: The bishop to be endorsed by two abbots! Yes! Let that be written down too!

PAHOMIE: And the office of abbot shall be given to hieromonks! And not to just any monk! The abbot must celebrate the Divine Liturgy and look after the monastic community!

DAMASCHIN: Exactly so!

IOAN: The despot, that papist, comes with talk of development and splendour! I say ‘Amen’ to this: let none of the monasteries’ assets, whether movable or immovable, of whatever rank, be diminished! Nor should anyone seek to build a monastery without the bishop’s consent! There is a danger that any newly built monastery might be annexed to Rome!

DAMASCHIN: This too must be written down! And the Holy Liturgy must be a daily obligation in monasteries and churches! Let there be no curtailment of the Holy Praises, the Holy Mysteries and the Holy Liturgy!

JOHN: Furthermore, without the bishop’s approval, no priest is to be admitted to any church or monastery! They are to be examined on the basis of the ordination certificate issued by the bishop who ordained them! Let us not, through foolishness or foolish deceptions, be led into any communion or forced fellowship with schismatic priests!

DAMASCHIN: Let our agreement to establish a school of Latin in Craiova also be recorded! We must show humility! But let it be supported by the boyars and the provincial authorities!

IOAN (all the abbots murmur in agreement): Humility! Yes! But let this agreement be accompanied by the intention to establish a Romanian school in Râmnic as well! We, the monasteries, shall support it! Subject in all things to the archbishop’s commands!

PAHOMIE: Only in this way!

IOAN: And in the monasteries, let the bishop appoint, alongside each abbot, a young sacristan and an elderly spiritual father! In this way, every abbot will bear spiritual fruit in full bloom, with a sweet fragrance!

DAMASCHIN (gestures to Father Ștefan of Arnota, who is drafting the document): Let these things be written down too! Yes! Of course! That should be about it! Let everything we have decided be written down exactly as it is, so that we may sign it! (Father Stefan, the secretary, nods in agreement and continues writing)

IOAN: Let these at least be enshrined in law, and then we shall see!

PAHOMIE: Of course! Very well thought out! But who will present this memorandum? Please give your blessing, Despot!

ȘTEFAN: I certainly think we must all be there! The entire signatory committee!

IOAN: Let this honourable committee be reinforced with a few boyars to demonstrate the peace and fellowship we have in these parts!

DAMASCHIN: Well, well! Do you see, Most Reverend? Though your body is worn out by fasting and asceticism, your words are like thunder, Geronda!

IOAN: I am merely advising on the proper arrangement of Your Holiness’s memorandum, which is one of truth! And I say that it is fitting for a shepherd to set right, in truth, the errors that have arisen amongst the flock!

DAMASCHIN: I have already, through this memorandum, openly declared myself opposed to the new regulations!

IOAN: The truth must be a flame within us, ready to burst forth from our parched lips!

DAMASCHIN: I welcomed them with trust, brothers! I helped them with the nobles and the common folk! I supported them with great hope, but now I find myself compelled to oppose them!

IOAN: The truth. Christ demands it!

ȘTEFAN (admiringly to Ioan): Your faith is a strong foundation, Elder! And your words—what a roar that stirs and stirs the spirit!

DAMASCHIN: Pious one! Wise one! Prince Brâncoveanu knew of no one more skilful in word and deed! Nor did I! You were truly the Prince’s pillar of support! And I wish to be of service, in my own humble way, in this hour of tribulation for Wallachian Orthodoxy!

PAHOMIE: Geronda, Your Holiness knows this land well, with all its thickets and clearings! Especially as you are known throughout the Wallachian people!

IOAN (bowing his head thoughtfully): Vienna is hard to penetrate, my brothers! The Imperial forces are unyielding on their own soil! The Emperor will not receive us!

ȘTEFAN: It’s all for nothing that they’ve carved odes in gold letters above the city gate, in praise of the Christian cause!

PAHOMIE: Their Christian cause!

DAMASCHIN: The Holy League! Their league, perhaps! God knows how holy it is! They’ve razed Transylvania to the ground with all its holiness! And so, the League remains holy, whilst Transylvania lies plundered! Surely you’ve read the laments of the Saxon boyars!

IOAN: In Vienna, victories are weighed in gold, Despot! Lots of gold!

DAMASCHIN: And Wallachian Orthodoxy is poor! And, especially now that our monasteries and their riches are being coveted, it will be even poorer!

IOAN: We have always been poor! Let us not lose our faith! Nor our souls! After all, for many years our Prince Brâncoveanu was an example of devotion to us!

DAMASCHIN: Yes! We cannot prevail in Vienna, but we can seek the intercession of the supreme governor of the province, who is temporarily based at Cozia Monastery! Stefan, the Count of Steinville, enjoys the highest trust in the eyes of Prince Eugene of Savoy!

IOAN (sighs): He is renowned throughout Hungary for his fairness! I met him ten years ago at Cozia Monastery, whilst we were restoring the cells and the chapel in the northern corner of the monastery! He was a captain at the time! He marvelled at Wallachia whilst visiting it! That was when I first realised it would not be long now! I informed Bishop Antim! But to no avail! Mavrocordat deposed him shortly after he had told him!

DAMASCHIN: I know exactly when that was, Geronda! I had just arrived from Buzău, newly appointed as bishop! Through your Holiness’s recommendations! You showed great humility! Bishop Antim almost forced you to succeed him in the see! The Prince was rather saddened at the time by your Holiness’s refusal!

IOAN (looking down at the ground, towards the bishop): Hmmm! You were and are worthy, Despot! You have built up our souls through your words and gentleness, ever since you were a disciple in Buzău under the worthy Bishop Mitrofan, the printer! Ever since our youth we have held you in high esteem! Such patience and wisdom! Truly, Your Grace! Axios!

PAHOMIE: Such self-denial!

DAMASCHIN: And later, when Bishop Antim believed that Your Holiness wished to go to Buzău, to be closer to him in Ungrovlahia, you once again refused the bishop’s see, recommending Ioasaf, the archimandrite of Argeș!

IOAN: Despot, I say this time and again: the office of Bishop is not attained by the number of churches built! It was the work of God, funded by the Prince, the nobility, and the toil of the people! Let us take this to heart with the utmost care! He who builds churches in people’s souls is worthy to be a Bishop! I am not worthy! My sins!

ȘTEFAN: Such humility, Elder!

PAHOMIE: May Heaven inscribe you for salvation, and may you never cease to remember us in your prayers!

DAMASCHIN (seeing that Ștefan, his secretary, has finished writing the document): Well done, Ștefan! Bring the document here, so we may sign it! (the document is brought forward)

IOAN (glances at the document): A space is to be set aside for the signatures of the scribe Grigorie Băleanu and the steward Pană Negoescu! From what they have told us, they too have been to Sibiu with a petition, in a spirit of obedience and loyalty to Emperor Charles VI! They were taken in by friends of the imperial chancellery! Their signatures carry more weight! And for this reason, I shall send word at once, so that they may come to us together for the Feast of the Nativity, to advise us and sign of their own free will!

DAMASCHIN (hands him the document): Thank you, Elder! Thank you for the support and love you have shown from the very beginning and which has never waned! Please intercede on behalf of this petition at their abode in Cozia Monastery, at least once this winter has passed! Judging by the way the moon hangs low in the sky, this winter will be a harsh one! That is why we have chosen this day in November to draw up the document!

(all sign the memorandum)

IOAN: So be it! I accept, Despot! May God’s will be done in all things!

DAMASCHIN (the fathers say: Amen! Let us go, then, fathers! (returns)): It is a joy in our hearts to have such support and spiritual guidance as your brotherhood, Geronda! May the Lord see and ordain, for our salvation! Aaaaa! I mustn’t forget! I have brought you, on this occasion, my pastoral message for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the start of the New Year! (the secretary hands them out to each person) I keep you all in my prayers! (they all receive his blessing and kiss his hand)

IOAN (bowing his head): Remember us, Despot! And may the Lord act according to His holy will!

DAMASCHIN (blessing): Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen! (He exits the frame alongside all the priests; John remains in the room. Outside, the bells ring out again and the chant is heard: ‘O Lord, preserve our Master and High Priest for many years!’)

JOHN (kneels in prayer before the icon of the Mother of God): Most Holy Lady, Mother of God, in my old age do not forsake me, but support and strengthen me so that I may bring the obedience I have received to a successful conclusion! I have no strength, but I long for your victory! I find no wisdom save by trusting in your intercession with your Son on behalf of His servant! Pray, O Lady, that He may gird my loins with the sword of His righteousness, that I may defend the true faith with the word! Help me, that I may not fear, even if, in order to defend the true faith, I am compelled to meet the same end as my spiritual father Antim or our lord, Prince Brâncoveanu, together with his sons! Holy Martyrs, pray for us!

(the light fades slowly)

Imagine

Act III: The Meeting

Scene 1

Setting: Spring 1720 at Cozia Monastery, on the River Olt, in the northern chapel of All Saints; Archimandrite Ioan enters to pray together with his disciple, the hierodeacon Iosif. (A dimly lit interior, walls painted with icons; evening, with the faint light provided by candles and oil lamps)…

JOHN (gazing admiringly at the frescoes): Winter has passed, Brother Joseph!

JOSEPH: It was rather harsh and bitter, Abba!

JOHN: So here we are again at Cozia, Hierodeacon Joseph! It’s been a while since I’ve been here! It’s true! About three years!

JOSEPH: It’s been about ten years since you brought this chapel to life, along with the belfry and the two rooms! Much devotion has been poured into this place too!

JOSEPH (shining a candle and reading the inscription on a wall, deciphering the letters): ‘Just as the thirsty stag longs for the spring, and, finding shade and cold water, rejoices as it drinks’…

IOAN: I longed for this and have done what you see, so that my wretched soul might not be forgotten!

JOSEPH (bows): In remembrance of salvation, Abba!

JOHN: Ever since then, and for all time, I have been waiting, year after year, for at least a small remembrance from the inhabitants of this holy monastery!

JOSEPH (still shining the light on the wall towards the inscription): “…and once again I pray humbly that on every Thursday throughout the year, once a week, the Holy Liturgy may not be missed, so that my soul too may rejoice in that prayer of your holiness…!” How beautiful! Just like on Athos.

JOHN: Exactly! That is precisely what I am thinking, Father Joseph! I shall not be with you much longer! So, I hope that I may at least be on the lips of my brothers, so that my wretched soul may not be forgotten!

JOSEPH: Amen, Abba!

JOHN (gently touching the fresco with his hand as if for the last time, caressing the pews, bowing): I built this chapel dedicated to All Saints with love—the frescoes, the woodwork, the gilding, the icons, the floor, the chandelier, the books, the vestments! All for the glory of the Good Lord!

IOSIF: And the two vaulted houses next to us! And the little arbour, built and fitted out with everything we need! A lot of work here too, Avva!

JOHN: Yes! That was ten years ago! How time flies! It feels as if it were only yesterday!

JOSEPH: A great deal of effort and expense, too!

JOHN (brief pause): Nearly 600 thalers and a year without sleep! Please, go and tell the elders whilst I rest a little after my journey!

JOSEPH (exits the frame): As you wish, Geronda!

(Unexpectedly, a priest appears who, hearing voices in the chapel, realises they are there, recognising the voice of Archimandrite John)

PAHOMIE (joyfully): All this, and so much love poured out upon our souls! Blessed be you, Geronda!

JOHN: Pahomie! Father Churchwarden, my friend and brother in the priesthood, how glad I am to see you again!

PAHOMIE: No less so for me!

JOHN: I am truly delighted! Especially as you remain the same faithful guardian of the Lavra!

PAHOMIE: Of course, Geronda! You yourselves told us: ‘Have such love and fear that, even if the walls were to fall, you should not flee, but persevere with holy struggle in fervent prayer!’ That is the covenant you left us with regarding this holy monastery!

IOAN: Yes! And I can see that you are making great sacrifices to fulfil it!

PAHOMIE: I’ve just come back from the Fedeleșoi hermitage this afternoon! Only Your Holiness knows its beauty, its holiness and the tranquillity it offers!

JOHN: Well! Yes, it was precisely for this reason that we had that church’s frescoes restored ten years ago! A beautiful and holy place! What else is happening there?

PAHOMIE: A terrible state of affairs, Geronda! Our abbot was removed from his post and sent to the metochion for disobeying the new regulations! I went to comfort him in his solitude, even though he is a good soul and beloved by the community!

JOHN (sitting down in a pew): Oh dear! Well, well! One should have realised that, with these changes, things like this would happen. I’m sorry to hear that.

PAHOMIE: Yes! Yes, Geronda! And so, until the Emperor appoints another abbot, they have seen fit to make the monastery their general headquarters.

JOHN: Ever since I entered the monastery, I have observed the zeal of the Austrian soldiers, as they sought to discover the reason for my presence—a poor, wandering old man who, together with his disciple, wishes to be spiritually nourished through fervent prayer in this holy chapel.

PAHOMIE: I’m not surprised! They want to know everything. Who’s coming… Who’s going… Where!? Why?! Everything!

IOAN (brief pause): Oh! Well! And how many of you are left?

PAHOMIE: Just the other day, the salt ration request for the saltworks was rewritten for the 15 residents we have left. Including the novices and brothers. Four went with the abbot to the dependency, to ease his loneliness and meet his daily needs.

IOAN: Oh, oh, oh! How true the saying is: A change of rulers is a dog’s delight!

PAHOMIE: Exactly!

IOAN: Are Ianache, Sima and Mihail still living at the metochion?

PAHOMIE: Preda the painter’s sons?

IOAN (affirmatively): Mm!

PAHOMIE: Yes. They took such a liking to this holy monastery that, as soon as they had finished repainting the nave of the great church and part of the altar, they withdrew to the tranquillity of the metochion.

IOAN: They persuaded me then to add the open porch to the great church.

PAHOMIE: Of course I know. I was there. They didn’t get round to painting it. You hired Constandin and Gheorghe. I remember it well.

IOAN: And Filia and Efrem the Hieromonk…

PAHOMIE: Ah! Yes!

IOAN: I never fail to mention them in my prayers for the swift help they gave in completing the work that very year. Such self-sacrifice!

PAHOMIE (brief pause): Oh dear! Yes! And what occasion, Geronda, has brought you here to comfort our souls with your presence and your words?

IOAN: I come on a holy mission on behalf of Bishop Damaschin. I have come to present to the new authorities the petition of the Church of Râmnic. So that everything may be done in Christ, and not without Christ.

PAHOMIE (bows): Nothing without Christ! Everything through Him and with Him!

IOAN: Under the imperial rule, we enjoyed religious freedom, which Bishop Damaschin had demanded as a guarantee a year before these places were conquered.

PAHOMIE (smiles): What a fine sort of freedom, Geronda!

JOHN: Yes. But we are not free, Reverend! They want us to be attached to the Metropolis of Balgrad.

PAHOMIE: That cannot be. It is not canonical. We have had a Metropolis here since ancient times: the Metropolis of Severin. And the see also belongs to Amasia. In the diptychs, it comes before Bălgrad. It is not canonically correct to be attached to it!

IOAN: That would not sting so much, Reverend, as the far more humiliating political yoke imposed by the Court of Vienna! How can they appoint the bishop? The abbots of the monasteries?! How can they exploit the labour of the monks and nuns? How can they put a yoke upon us? We belong to Christ! Free and independent!

PAHOMIE: I cannot say. Our abbot roared like a lion over this matter. And he was driven out; he bellowed like Prince Brâncoveanu before the Sultan.

IOAN: He has strong faith and hope to match!

PAHOMIE: They drove him out! Like a discarded rag!

IOAN: Rather than see the Church of Râmnic stripped and plundered by strangers, let them cast me out too!

PAHOMIE: The general will listen to you, Geronda! As one who has grown old in love and gentleness. He seems a good and righteous man, from what I saw of him, this Ștefan, the Count of Steinville.

IOAN (slightly ironically): I know him. He was passing through here when we finished building this chapel. We put him up at the monastery for a few days. He was a captain then. Now he’s a general! He may be a good man, but let’s not forget whom he serves. The Imperial House of Austria sends its devoted men.

PAHOMIE: May they have mercy. May the Mother of God grant you the Good Word! Amen.

IOAN (brief pause): I don’t know what to say! We shall see! And… what is the ‘patron saint’ of this monastery?

PAHOMIE: Since last year, they’ve established their military unit here. The commander is Captain Herdegen. Very proud and arrogant. He’s racked up great victories, his chest full of decorations.

IOAN: Wasn’t he the one who fought alongside Captain Ștefan Dettine when they crushed the Turks advancing from Bucharest and held the Prince captive for a couple of years?

PAHOMIE: That’s exactly the one! Then they came this way, along the Emperor’s Road. Via Carollina! Along here, on the new road, they brought him to Sibiu, where he languished until a year ago, when they ransomed him for many bags of gold coins.

IOAN: So that’s their campaign base, you say?!

PAHOMIE: And not only that. The monastery is also a staging post for the Imperial Post.

IOAN: I’ve seen the formidable fortifications surrounding it. I didn’t know about them.

PAHOMIE: They have skilled men. They were built by an engineer very close to the Viennese Chancellery. Friedrich Schwantz… He’s always accompanying the general, acting as both his friend and his adviser. He draws maps, sketches everything from memory and produces impressive drawings.

IOAN (brief pause): They’ve achieved a great deal. Yes. Impressive! But let them not touch the Church!

PAHOMIE: By building the new road through the mountain, they’ve made the journey to Transylvania much easier. What used to take us two days on foot or on horseback across the Cozia Mountains can now be covered in less than half a day.

IOAN: Is that any wonder!? Until now, this widened road was unusable. A narrow pass where even a single horse could barely make its way, along the river’s edge, with great peril, caution and fear, for the river had a deep and very turbulent channel.

PAHOMIE: Exactly!

IOAN: And the river, the way it roars in spring when the ice melts, is like a huge wave from the great sea.

PAHOMIE: And all this here, in a backwater at the edge of the country.

IOAN: A backwater, you say? They knew all too well the importance of this place. Look! Just yesterday a remote corner of the country, and today the most important link to the wider world.

(A very old, stooped priest enters the frame, assisted by a young novice. He bows before the icons and spots Archimandrite John. He looks at him as though he no longer recognises him.)

PAHOMIE (raising his voice): Abba Athanasius! Look and let your heart rejoice at such a marvellous sight! Our Father John has not forgotten us!

ATHANASIUS (approaching them): What? What did you say?

PAHOMIE: Father Ioan Hurezeanu is with us. Do take a look and see for yourself!

ATHANASIUS (glancing at his disciple): What’s he saying, lad?

THE DISCIPLE (whispering close to the old man’s ear, glancing at the elders, pointing to his eyes): Father John of Hurezi is here! Forgive me! His eyesight isn’t very good. And for the past couple of years, his hearing hasn’t been much use either.

PAHOMIE: Father John, Abba! Just a few days ago, you were planning to send him a letter you said was important.

(Outside, the toaca is heard, followed by the bell)

PAHOMIE (receives a blessing, exits the frame): Please forgive me, but Vespers is calling me! Please stay with the pro-abbot! After the service, I’ll put out some refreshments.

IOAN (discreetly): May the Lord bless you, Reverend!

ATANASIE (agitated, spotting him): Ioan?! Archimandrite Ioan? Avaaa! My Abba! Those eyes! Come into my heart, my child, for these are my final days! I’m dying! It’s over! I can die at peace! How much I have to confess to you! How wonderful!

JOHN (joyfully, kissing his hand): Abba Athanasius! Why such joy? I feel as though I have suddenly grown younger, and I can see myself 15 years ago installing you as abbot of Cozia Monastery.

ATHANASIUS (weeping): How the years have flown! And just when I thought I might die in peace as spiritual father of the monastery, the Habsburgs have ousted my disciple from the abbot’s seat, and now he wanders outside the flock.

IOAN: Father Pahomie said that at the metochion his brothers care for him with love and he will be all right. Don’t worry, Abba!

ATHANASIUS (worried): Which little lamb is safe outside the flock? Surely he is not afraid of the wolf or other beasts? Poor thing! A worthy child!

JOHN: He’ll be all right, Abba!

ATHANASIUS (like a child): That’s right! If you say so… I pray that your words may prove true, a balm of myrrh for my soul.

IOAN: It will be!

ATANASIE: My soul rejoices to see you, reverend one. Man of God!

JOHN: And my soul is comforted too, Abba!

ATANASIE (to the disciple, giving a knowing command; the disciple nods in agreement and exits): Go and tell the one we know!

JOHN (surprised): Who should he tell?

ATHANASIUS: I shall give you great joy! Who do you think has crossed our threshold these past few days?

JOHN: I cannot say, Abba. Many come to mind.

ATHANASIUS: I shall bring you great joy, reverend one! And this joy shall also be a cause for the enlightenment of many paths.

JOHN: May the Lord also resolve the trouble that has brought me here!

ATANASIE: What is it?

JOHN: With the new regime, Bishop Damaschin has drawn up a petition on behalf of the Church of Râmnic, and we wish to present it to the supreme commander, General Steinville, who has taken up command here.

ATANASIE: Oh my! How marvellous, how marvellous! God has ordained all this at once. Do you see? The Lord God does not allow anything to be other than as it ought to be. He will bring you joy. You shall prevail!

IOAN: The wonder and joy I see on your aged face, Abba, make me curious to hear the news you have.

ATHANASIUS: I thought he would never appear again. And the news I’d heard that the accursed, mindless Turk had spared nothing.

IOAN: I am overcome with wonder, Abba!

ATHANASIUS: After far too much wandering and fleeing from the pagans, he chose to settle in Hungary at Herghelia near Sâmbăta.

(the sound of a door is heard, as if someone had entered the room)

IOAN (realising, stammering, almost paralysed): You’re not saying that, are you?! I don’t know if…! Maybe…! It can’t be…!

(Maria Brâncoveanu appears on stage)

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (hearing Ioan’s stammering): Yes! It is I, Most Reverend! Maria! Maria Brâncoveanu!

IOAN (deeply moved, embraces her, looking up to the sky): Madam! Madam Marica! The angels are singing in my heart. Alleluia! Glory to You, Who have shown us the Light!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Most Reverend!

IOAN (to Atanasie): Some were saying that you had not escaped. I prayed day and night. Lord, glory to You! Yes, yes, Abba! Indeed! The mercy of Christ our God. The country is not lost. Nor is the Church. May God’s mercy be with us all!

ATHANASIUS (cheerfully, singing softly, murmuring as he steps out of frame): …God rises, scattering His enemies…! See? When a man falls into despair, the Lord appears and lifts him up. Death, where is your sting? I’m off to the service. And I’m going happily! If I die, I die fulfilled!

(Abba Athanasius withdraws joyfully, assisted by his disciple)

IOAN (embracing her again): My lady, how glad I am!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: And so am I, Geronda! And so am I!

IOAN (curious, astonished, discreetly): What? What happened there? How did you escape?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: After Mustafa Aga arrived with the firman of dismissal, we were all taken away. Robbed of everything we had and taken to the Bosphorus. What sorrow, reverend one! What sorrow!

IOAN: We all prayed, madam! With fear and trembling…

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I remember the tears of the people and their cries of grief as the carts carrying us in chains passed by. Ottoman soldiers on horseback surrounded us. My husband cried out loudly: ‘Do not be afraid!’ and told us to be strong and not to lose hope! Oh! Oh, Geronda! The grief still overwhelms me even now.

IOAN: Rumour had it that they tortured you all in full view of everyone!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (sighs, in a grave tone): My husband and I were in the first carriage. Then came the carriages carrying our sons, our sons-in-law, our eldest daughter-in-law and our little grandson Constantin. What sorrow, Father! What fear!

IOAN: The Mother of God saved you, madam!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (weeping): They locked us up at Fornetta and then, after subjecting us to terrible torment, we were taken to Ediculè and later to the Pit of Blood. What a dreadful place…

IOAN: Good heavens!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (weeping): They tortured us for a long time, trying to find out where our wealth was hidden. And on the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, they cut short the lives of my husband and my four sons.

IOAN: Let us not lose hope! They are counted amongst the saints!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (bows her head): May the Lord grant it!

IOAN: Amen.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (weeping): I cannot take my eyes off, Father, my husband, whose body I saw, to my great horror, being dragged through the town in utter mockery, then beaten, tortured and, finally, beheaded. He cried out loudly: ‘Lord, Thy will be done!’ He cried out to that madman Ahmed who cut short my children’s lives. I too cried out from the Great Tower. I cried out: ‘Have mercy!’ At least for our children. I howled until I could no longer speak. Until I could no longer speak…

IOAN: The monks of Halki conveyed, through other brothers, the care they had shown for their founder, burying him alongside the children in their monastery.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: The Turks desecrated their bodies, Geronda, and then threw them into the Bosphorus, into the sea. And they killed our son-in-law, Ianache, too.

IOAN: Good heavens! You escaped! Glory to God, the Merciful!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (sighs): Hearing my cries, the pasha ordered us to be moved to Bostangibașa prison where, alongside the rest of our family, we were tormented for seven months. Seven months, Father! Seven months! I’ll just tell you where I hid the treasure of gold coins…

IOAN: The Turk knew everything.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Ianache made a mistake. He had coins struck bearing the Prince’s image to celebrate his 60th birthday, but this aroused the wrath of the Sublime Porte.

IOAN: The Cantacuzinos’ intrigue! Surely they would not have let such princely achievements go unreported!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I felt the Mother of God close by, Geronda.

IOAN (brief pause): We prayed all the time, madam. But how did you manage to escape from there?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Seeing that he could not extract a single word from us, the Grand Vizier heeded the pleas of the fathers at Halki, as well as those from the Church of Saint Nicholas in Galata, andwere released in exchange for 100 bags of gold coins. We had only just given them those bags two years earlier to repair the monastery.

IOAN: What goes round comes round. Here’s the proof!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Yes. But when they took the bags, they told us to wander a while longer in exile on the shores of the Black Sea. With guards ever at our side. After another three months, they set us free once and for all.

IOAN: Through whose intercession, my lady?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Through the intercession of the Venetian Doge’s secretary and our faithful friend, Antonio Maria Del Chiaro.

IOAN: Praise be to God!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Yes. Praise be to God! Thus we have kept all that we have amassed safe and sound, and, ever by my side through my suffering, was my nephew Constandin, the only man now who is heir and successor to the Brâncoveanu family.

IOAN: Yes. That’s right. He must be set free.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: That is why I did not send word, Father! These past three years have been very hard on my soul. We were hounded by the Sublime Porte the whole time. We pleaded with the new prince who, after making certain promises, helped us to come to Bucharest.

IOAN: You mustn’t place too much trust in him, madam! He will undoubtedly betray us! He is the Sublime Porte’s man!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: That is precisely why, in exchange for his help, I handed Mavrocordat a genuine firman which mentions the so-called buried treasure. It’s designed to sow confusion. Written by Ianache in the Prince’s name, whilst he was still alive. To quell their thirst for gold a little. And I named Mavrocordat as the sole keeper of this secret.

IOAN: The firman of Băii de Aramă, hidden in the Văcărești cave!? A brilliant idea! Yes!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Do you remember? It was a great help to me! Having been built by the Prince upon the ancient tunnels dug by our forefathers, the church stands on land riddled with unknown cavities and recesses. And so they’ll search and find nothing!… Just stories!

IOAN: Did you say that’s where the treasury is?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Yes. That’s right.

IOAN: That’ll put a bit of a damper on their hopes.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Exactly! Meanwhile, he has helped me reclaim the estates and the princely palaces, signing decrees of confirmation recognising us as their rightful owners. He promised that this year he would arrange for my husband and the children to be brought from Halki so that we might give them a proper burial!

IOAN: Of course! That is the most important thing. The tomb awaits him at Hurezi. It is ready!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: There has been great turmoil over the estates.

IOAN: There was much turmoil over the princely tributes and the estates held in fief. And here in Hurezi, Commissioner Gheorghiță, upon hearing of the dismissal, thought perhaps none of us would escape with our lives, and so he set out to seize the monastery’s estate at the headwaters of the Jiu, dragging us to court at the Craiova bench.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: When we were taken away, our letters of grant were also burnt, for we had already been subjected to severe punishment. For this reason, I asked the Prince to grant me a firman of authority for our estates. Once I have them, I shall rewrite them for confirmation, along with a letter concerning the estates granted to the Hurez family.

IOAN: We are glad you are alive! That is all that matters, and it brings joy to these parts. Where is your grandson, Constandin, now?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I sent him to the estate at Sâmbăta. He is perfectly safe there. Last year, I managed to secure his legitimisation with the help of the Ecumenical Patriarch.

IOAN: Well done!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: And I also managed to appoint him to half of the remaining treasury.

IOAN: A wise move, madam!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I interceded with the Emperor of Austria to have him recognise at least some of Mavrocordat’s wishes, as well as the withdrawal of Austrian troops from Muntenia.

IOAN: This also implies, to some extent, Mavrocordat’s authority in Muntenia. He recognises him to some extent.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Something like that. And, knowing of the tears shed by the boyars who had fled to Hungary because of his predecessor to the throne, I managed to secure their peaceful return to their estates, paying 100 bags for this.

IOAN: Quite a bit of diplomacy, madam! And I imagine even more was required to repatriate the treasury.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Charles VI, the Emperor of Austria himself, my lord! He provided all the assistance needed to bring the treasury of gold coins back from Vienna, Amsterdam and Venice.

IOAN: Without knowing about the agreement with Mavrocordat?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: He knows nothing, Elder!

IOAN: I cannot say! It is easy to lose one’s soul in diplomacy. It is said that the Emperor is proud and vengeful by nature. The spirit of truth is better in these times. At least at the heart of truth lies Christ.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (bows her head to receive a blessing): Diplomacy, Geronda, is a double-edged sword. It is a Byzantine attitude, but if the country stands to gain peace, I confess this in the hope of forgiveness.

IOAN (blessing her): May you be blessed, madam, so that you may also help the Church in these parts, which is undergoing a severe trial!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: How so? The Imperial forces are on our side. They have shown such understanding so far…

IOAN: With the new regime, Bishop Damaschin has drawn up a petition at Hurezi on behalf of the Church of Râmnic, and we wish to present it to the supreme commander, General Steinville, who has established his headquarters here. I understand he has arrived.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Of course he has! We travelled here together along the new road, the Via Carolina, the finest road linking us to Transylvania and the New World.

IOAN: A fine piece of work, I think!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: This road via Turnu Roșu, which takes travellers from Sibiu to Wallachia—once exceedingly narrow—was, by imperial decree, following the subjugation of the Craiova region, was widened and extended by the renowned military architect Schwantz, so that even the widest carts can now pass along it, something which was previously impossible.

IOAN: Transport, trade, yes! But so much for the tranquillity of these parts! This holy monastery, following the Athonite way of life, has shattered the monastic harmony it had enjoyed from the very beginning.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Perhaps! But now it is easier to reach Wallachia. They’ve also carried out works to regulate the riverbanks, making it possible for transport barges to sail between Turnu Roșu and Râmnic. And all this was done by that captain, Friedrich Schwantz, under the command of General Stephan Steinville.

IOAN: He probably built these fortifications around the monastery as well. I didn’t know about them. It looks like a fortress. A spiritual one, where we can defend the Orthodox faith of these parts.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Exactly, Geronda! Just today we were expecting the return of General Steinville, who had temporarily gone to Craiova to resolve the disputes and complaints before the court. He is expected to arrive this evening. He has an easy journey ahead of him, across open country, taking only a quarter of a day.

IOAN: The Church must keep itself safe from the papal influence, my lady! You must have heard of the misfortune that has befallen the See of the Metropolis of Ungrovlahia. Bishop Antim fell prey to papist intrigues. He was removed from his see and, it is said, murdered.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I heard about it when I arrived in Bucharest. Quite so! A holy man! I still remember his life’s journey, from his liberation from bondage to his elevation to the episcopate. Yes! A worthy man! A man of God!

IOAN: In honour of his struggle and for his eternal remembrance, this petition must be approved. The Orthodox Church must be shielded from political interests and kept unharmed.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (Ioan shows her the petition): Of course, Geronda! Especially since Prince Brâncoveanu left his will for all to hear: ‘Let us not lose our souls, even if all we have gathered were to be scattered!’ Yes! Let us not lose our souls! Let me see the memorandum! So that I may intercede as is fitting. And we shall see how and what we can say to secure his release.

IOAN (unfolds the memorandum, reads): Exactly, madam! Let me read to you what was signed at Hurezi: ‘Memorandum on the Organisation of Church Life in the Principality of Wallachia Cissalutane!’

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (speaking ever more softly): So… ‘The Diocese of Râmnic is to be elevated to a Metropolis… the metropolitan see of Severin used to be here.’ Yes. That is what I too believe ought to be done.

(the lights gradually dim on the two characters; they can be heard murmuring to one another until the scene fades to black)

Scene 2

Setting: Spring 1720 at Cozia Monastery on the River Olt. In the monastery’s abbot’s quarters, Archimandrite Ioan, assisted by Maria Brâncoveanu, meets with General Stephan Steinville—and subsequently with Prince Eugene of Savoy and his captains—to present the memorandum. (A lavishly decorated interior in 18th-century Viennese style, a large chandelier, a large table covered with maps, paintings and books; evening, plenty of light, a palatial atmosphere).

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ (enters the frame accompanying General Steinville): The road to Craiova is superb, sir! The landscape is so restful. It felt as though I were strolling through the old Springfels region.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (hands his coat to Friedrich, who places it on a chair, and takes off his gloves): Of course, Mr Engineer! Just a few hours and here we are back in Cozia. Beautiful Cozia!

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: Cisleithanian Wallachia is a great gain for our Emperor. At Passarowitz, divine grace was felt, sire!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Imperial Wallachia will flourish like a new Vienna. Our Emperor wishes this principality to reflect his entire development policy. With the new appointments in Craiova and Râmnic, the new province is, I believe, in good order.

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: What a joy, Your Excellency! Ever since you took charge of this principality, everything has been going well, and you are a venerable presence in these parts!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (ignoring the flattery, deep in thought, summarises): Let’s check once more! Last autumn, all the county officials were put in order. I gave them their instructions regarding the organisation of the local authorities. Now, the new decrees from the Court Chamber as well. Yes. That’s it! I hope the enlightened prince will be delighted when he arrives from Timișoara.

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: And this spring you took the bench at the trials in Craiova. I think it’s a very good start in your new role as supreme director of the Principality of Cisleithanian Wallachia.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (approaching the table, looking at the maps): Eh! All for our Emperor and for Imperial Austria! And for us, temporary military duties!

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: Fine achievements, in less than three years, sire! The diversion of the river behind the monastery is complete, as are the surrounding forts; the Via Carolina is also nearly finished.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: We could not have achieved this without your calculations and hard work, Mr Engineer!

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ (bows): Your humble and devoted servant, Your Excellency!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: I believe the Emperor will also be pleased with your efforts over the past four years in producing these modern maps, which so clearly illustrate the newly acquired provinces and, in particular, the border regions.

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: The Court War Council, sire! Prince Eugene of Savoy commissioned these maps from me in the utmost secrecy so that he might gain the best possible understanding of the new provinces.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: I seem to recall that Christian von Schierendorf also produced one of this sort more than 12 years ago. Is that not so?

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: You are quite right, sire! He was then a counsellor to the Court Chamber. I am familiar with that map. Ink and watercolour. It was commissioned for Emperor Joseph I. But Christian never set foot in the region, not even as a traveller. It’s a copy!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: How so, Mr Engineer?

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: That map is a copy based on the Greek map by the scholar Constantin Cantacuzino, and it was printed some twenty years ago in Padua. I’ve seen it!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: That’s an interesting point…

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ (praising his own work): My maps are far more accurate. I have traversed this region on foot for over ten years. I know this province well. Every nook and cranny.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: That is precisely why Prince Eugene of Savoy recommended you and the Emperor entrusted you with this important mission.

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ (pointing to the map): As you can easily see, I have noted all the details of the terrain, the watercourses, and all the monastic settlements together with their estates.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Impressive!

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: Everything has been surveyed with great precision, following the Praetorian model, and drawn in accordance with the actual layout and proportions.

(A new character enters the scene and salutes in military fashion)

HERDEGEN: General! I have completed the census of Cozia Monastery. Including all movable and immovable property.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Captain Herdegen! I’m glad to hear it! Well then! How did it go? Was the abbot honest?

CAPTAIN HERDEGEN: Very much so! Exactly as he said. It’s all perfectly true. Four villages. Here in the county are Călimănești and Sevestreni, with a total of 200 families; then in Romanați County, two more villages, Frăsinet and Orlea, totalling 61 families… the mountains… the forests… the vineyards… everything!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: That’s right! Yes! Exactly 261 families! He spoke the truth!

HERDEGEN: There’s one more thing.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Yes. Go on!

HERDEGEN: A priest is waiting to speak to you. He’s outside, accompanied by Mrs Maria Brâncoveanu.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (turning his attention away from the maps towards Friedrich Schwantz): Very well!… Let him in! Mr Engineer, just a moment!

HERDEGEN (stepping out of shot): I’ll go and tell them to come in.

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ: Allow me, however, to retire for the night. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Yes. I’ll sort out the audience and stay to pay my respects to the illustrious Prince. He is in the vicinity and should be arriving from his estate in the city of Timișoara. At dawn we shall visit the construction site of the new road together, and then set off for Vienna. In two days’ time the Emperor awaits us in the Hofkammer, the Court Chamber. We shall present the annual report and take the maps with us.

FRIEDRICH SCHWANTZ (bows): Of course, Your Excellency!

(Archimandrite Ioan enters the frame, accompanied by Maria Brâncoveanu)

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Frau Maria! As promised, I have arrived! You were right! From above Craiova, the Turkish turban is lurking!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Sire, rumour has it that the Turk has not come to terms with the loss of the five counties. He smoulders in secret like a roaring lion, ready to pounce on anyone who shows weakness.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: You are quite right, madam! I have seen them stationed at the borders with their bands of scoundrels. They have robbed this land of its very last breath. Madmen!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Exactly!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: By liberating these lands, all the inhabitants who were groaning under the yoke of their tyrannical master have been saved from utter ruin.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: And now we are being hunted down, Your Excellency! For the so-called tributes we supposedly owe them. I am not aware that my family and I have ever owed them anything. And so, in their rage and stupidity, they have laid waste to everything.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (looking at Ioan): Yes! But this face seems familiar to me from somewhere! Where do I know him from?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: He is Archimandrite Ioan, abbot of Hurezi Monastery and exarch of the Râmnic region. He is here on an important mission. I hope you will hear his plea, as you are our friend and a faithful servant of Emperor Carol.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: His face is very familiar to me. I look at him and it seems as though I have known him all my life.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (looks at Ioan admiringly, smiles): Hmm!

IOAN (playfully): About ten years ago, I took in and sheltered an imperial captain here at Cozia Monastery. He was wandering through these parts dressed as a peasant. He marvelled at everything in sight. His name was also Stephan.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (smiles, recalling the memory with gratitude): Ten years ago! Aaaah! Yes! That captain was saved from certain death. The Turks had captured him and were ready to behead him. Until a priest with a voice like thunder commanded them to leave his servant in peace, ‘for he is mute and deaf anyway and doesn’t really understand what is being said to him’.

IOAN (smiling as one might expect): Hmm!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (grabbing him by the forearms): Father Ioan!

IOAN: Brother Stephan!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: How the years have passed for you!

IOAN: And on you too, Mr ‘Captain’!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (surprised): Geronda, you are the very picture of discretion! How is that possible? Do you know each other? You didn’t say a word!

IOAN (jokingly): I didn’t know how captains who’ve become generals behave! It is the work of the Mother of God!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: And not just any general! The supreme commander of Wallachian Chezaricești!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (laughing): Mm! What petition are you talking about?

IOAN: General, I come on a holy mission. For the good order and spiritual joy of the 48 monastic communities, but also of the entire Orthodox community in these blessed lands.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Let me see!

IOAN (takes out the petition and hands it over): Here! This is it! Bishop Damaschin drew it up at Hurezi at the start of winter, and it is signed by all of us. Emperor Charles VI must also take note of our aspirations, those of the Church!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Bishop Damaschin! Yes! I knew he would be pleased by our presence here. He even firmly declared his church’s support for the imperial movement.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: And we are delighted too! And we hope for the best!

IOAN: We all hope so! But let it be in peace and the true faith!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (reading from a memorandum): But you have the religious freedom that was promised to Bishop Damaschin as long as three years ago! We guarantee the unaltered observance of the Orthodox faith!

IOAN: General, what sort of freedom would that be if not one restricted by foreign whims? Such as making the Church of Râmnic subordinate to the Metropolis of Bălgrad.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Yes. The Metropolis of Bălgrad is a sine qua non! There can be no other! It is of the Orthodox faith. The only one within the Empire’s jurisdiction.

IOAN: Is that the only way?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: That is the only way! How else? Should the Church of the imperial territory be subject to the whims of another metropolitan see, whose territories lie under the influence of the Sublime Porte?

IOAN: General, we do not choose our priests! We respect them as they are!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (thoughtfully): Hmm?

IOAN: Whether you like it or not, Orthodoxy has different boundaries! We have a different Emperor! And that is none other than Christ! Even the Sublime Porte has failed to understand this. Although the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch is in Constantinople, they have never managed to subjugate Orthodoxy.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (astonished, pointing at Marica): What are you saying? They’ve killed rulers… metropolitans… they’ve tormented souls!

IOAN: But Orthodoxy has grown even stronger. They have filled Heaven with saints. And so, our unseen army has been strengthened.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Perhaps that is true! But it is impossible to elevate Râmnic to the rank of a Metropolis. And above all, for the Emperor to approve this.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Can nothing be done? A petition of supplication? Some form of mediation?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: This matter is no longer open to negotiation.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: How so?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: I must inform you that last year, around February, Prince Eugene of Savoy firmly decided in the Privy Council to remove the Diocese of Râmnic from the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Wallachia and to attach it to the Metropolis of Belgrade. This is not open to negotiation or challenge.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: But it has not been made public. A decision of the Privy Council becomes law following its publication – by announcing it to the people and the Church. Couldn’t something be done?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Nein! It is not possible! A decision of the Court Chamber becomes law and is treated as sacrosanct. Failure to comply entails severe penalties.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: But what if, when the decision is published, it states that the Diocese of Râmnic is only spiritually subordinate to Bălgrad, whilst retaining its autonomy?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (searches for the document and looks through the decisions of the Royal Chamber from February 1719): The Diocese of Râmnic enjoys autonomy. That is what it says here.

IOAN: Here, from time immemorial, there has been the Metropolis of Severin, and the metropolitan has also borne the title ‘of Amasia’, which in the diptychs takes precedence over the Metropolis of Bălgrad. The ‘grandfather’ cannot be forced to obey the ‘grandson’! It is not possible! It is not fitting!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Yet the ‘grandfather’, who holds the ‘grandson’ in such high regard, may well be dependent on his youthful, vigorous care! Yet, of course, he retains the same thoughts and views befitting his age. Can this be accepted?

IOAN (shakes his head in displeasure, in a grave tone): Another puzzle: the ordination of the Bishop of Râmnic. Why the Serbian metropolitan? This has traditionally been the prerogative of the Ecumenical Patriarch, accompanied by many blessings but also curses.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Two years ago, at Passarowitz, it was decided, amongst other things, that the Diocese of Râmnic should no longer have any connection with the Eastern Metropolises and Patriarchates whose territories were under the rule of the Sublime Porte.

IOAN: No one can break the synaxis we have or our liturgical communion!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Father Ioan, some matters are beyond the provincial director’s power. However ‘supreme’ he may be.

IOAN: The royal monasteries, as well as the dedicated ones, have also come under the control of the Court in Vienna.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: All 48 of them.

IOAN: You should know, General, that only the bishop can be the hierarch of these monasteries. It is his right, upheld by the canons and by his role as guardian of the proper order of the Church.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Richting! Ja! It is within my power to do this. In the coming days, I shall recommend to the Privy Council that the bishop be consulted on these matters. He will propose three candidates for the position of abbot. However, the right of appointment will rest with the Emperor.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: What a joy! It seems solutions are being found!

IOAN: It is only right that the lists for the abbotship should contain only hieromonks. In this way, the new abbots will be able to care for the entire community, both physically and spiritually.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Of course! That is a very important matter. Even if the Court makes the selection, it should do so from amongst the worthy candidates nominated by the local clergy and nobility.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: The Court reserves the right to select and appoint. As well as the right to elect the new bishop.

IOAN: This is acceptable provided that the list of candidates for the episcopal see is drawn up following elective assemblies comprising representatives of the local clergy and nobility.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Yes. Three candidates. And from among them, the Emperor shall choose one.

IOAN: And if he is appointed, he must be allowed to shepherd the flock in accordance with the faith and the canons, and must be consulted on any matter that may arise. He is the sole bishop of the diocese, father and master of souls.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (reading from the memorandum): I see that you also endorse the idea of a Latin school in Craiova. This is in accordance with Emperor Charles’s wishes.

IOAN: It is accepted! But on condition that it is supported by contributions from the boyars and the provincial administration.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Thank God! We shall also contribute a few bags. A knowledge of the written word is much needed in these times.

IOAN (pointing to the memorandum, closing it): On this occasion, the signatories of this Memorandum undertake to support a Romanian school in Râmnic, which is necessary for the pursuit of learning and the training of future servants of the Church and of the local administrative offices.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: I agree with that.

(Outside, trumpets are heard announcing the arrival of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Captain Herdegen enters the frame)

HERDEGEN: General! The sentries at the southern watchtower report the arrival of Prince Eugene of Savoy’s carriage. I have ordered the trumpeters to sound the bugle.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Very well, Captain!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I think we ought to withdraw.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: No! Stay and hear the Prince’s opinion!

HERDEGEN: Your Excellency, the Prince does not grant audiences at night!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (looking at Ioan with a smile): Were it not for this priest’s intervention ten years ago, I would not be alive today. I am merely trying to repay a small part of my gratitude.

HERDEGEN (with his head bowed): Natürlich, sir!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: You are truly a man of integrity, Your Excellency!

(commotion outside, the sound of horses’ hooves, neighing, the coachman shouting; Eugeniu of Savoy enters the frame arrogantly, looking agitated)

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (saluting): Long live our Prince!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (arrogantly to Captain Herdegen): Captain, go and water the horses and put them in the stables to rest! We set off tomorrow!

HERDEGEN (exits the frame): Understood!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (taking the Prince’s cloak): We are delighted by Your Highness’s presence, Your Serene Highness!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (in a commanding tone): Is the Via Carolina ready?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Almost ready. As far as just outside Arxavia, Your Highness!

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA (impatiently): And the rest? The rest! When will the rest be ready?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Engineer Friedrich Schwantz has done everything possible. Rock is rock. It’s difficult to blast through. The soldiers are working even in the little light the moon leaves them at night.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: It should have been finished by now! I will accept no excuses!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Field Marshal, this is all that remains of the task you set us!

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA: Hm!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Last autumn, all the county officials were organised. I gave them the orders regarding the organisation of the local authorities. Now there are also the new decrees from the Privy Council.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: Yes. But the Via Carolina is our main concern.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: It will be ready by the time we return from Vienna, my Field Marshal!

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA (ignoring the reply, looking at the table): The maps! The maps for the Emperor! Are they ready?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (showing them on the table): Of course! The engineer has put in a great deal of effort and Praetorian precision, and vouches for their quality!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (looks closely at the maps, with arrogance and pride, raises them admiringly): Yes! This is marvellous! Our Emperor will be delighted! ‘The greatest general ever to serve the House of Austria’, who crushed Silâhdâr Ali Pasha’s immense army at Petrovaradin, who conquered Timișoara, Lugoj, Caransebeș, Cladova, Orșova and Belgrade – Prince Field Marshal Eugeniu brings the maps of his conquests! Yes! We have conquered them all! We have liberated them with my sword!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: And now part of Wallachia, sire!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (nodding approvingly, proudly): Ah! So this is where you are, Frau Maria? For the moment, yes. Part of it. But I shall not leave my imperial plans half-fulfilled. Some thirty years ago, Imperial Austria sought to expand not only into Wallachia but also into Moldavia and Bugeac.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: If I recall correctly, Your Excellency, General Federigo Veterani, commander-in-chief of the imperial troops in Transylvania, admitted that these plans had not been realised due to the outbreak of war between the Imperial Austrian Empire and France.

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA: Yes. Soon we shall share a border not only with the Ottoman Empire but also with Crimea. I shall have no peace! In the name of the Holy League!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Certainly, mein Feldmarschall! We are prepared for this.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (looking at Ioan): Have you appointed a new abbot, General Stephan?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Your Serene Highness, this is Father Ioan, the Archimandrite of Hurezi, Exarch of the Râmnic region and our family’s spiritual father. We met again today, after several years, right here.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (sarcastically): And what is he doing here? Do you need a confessor in the dead of night?

IOAN (firmly): The tears of the Church of Râmnic have sent me, Your Highness! The ‘child’s’ weeping for its lost ‘mother’.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: What on earth are you rambling on about? I don’t understand!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: The Father wishes, if at all possible, to hear his lament…

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: Now? In the middle of the night? What complaint?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: He has a petition with him.

IOAN (shows it to him, opens it): Bishop Damaschin of Râmnic, together with several boyars and all the abbots, have drawn up this petition for the all-powerful rulers of these lands.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (glances at the memorandum): Was ist das?

IOAN: The Orthodox Church is suffering, having been uncanonically attached to the Metropolis of Bălgrad.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: Aha! That was to be expected! Did the Turk send you!? How many bags did you take? What did he promise you?

IOAN: I have come of my own free will, having been sent by our own Bishop Damaschin.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: You Orthodox folk want too much! When we were about to free you from Mavrocordat’s tyrannical yoke, you clapped your hands. Now you’re kicking up a fuss? That won’t do!

IOAN: At the very least, we can join with our Orthodox brethren from Brașov, Făgăraș and Țara Bârsei to form a single Autonomous Orthodox Metropolis based in Râmnic, just as the Metropolis of Severin once was.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: We decided on the autonomy of the Diocese of Râmnic back in February in the Chamber of the Court, Your Serene Highness!

IOAN: We were unaware of these decisions. We have made this request through this memorandum.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: As they were not made public, I took the liberty of interceding to bring comfort to the entire Orthodox community in this region.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: You kept it unpublished, General! Knowingly. You are attempting to renegotiate matters on the ground. That is not within your remit. I shall inform the Emperor.

IOAN: Your Highness, we do not wish to trouble you. These are the tearful aspirations of a peaceful Church. Our struggle is in prayer against the unseen powers.

EUGENIUS OF SAVOY (angrily): You are cunning! Prayer? An unseen struggle? I shall have you all arrested! You are plotting against the Emperor!

JOHN: You cannot put prayer in chains, Your Highness! We want nothing more than a small sign of the Christian love that binds us together.

EUGENE OF SAVOY (looking towards General Steinville): What love? The law! What Christian love? Too much leniency has been shown in these decisions, which, I see, you have not even bothered to make public.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (emphatically): Nicht! I strongly disapprove, sire!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: We ask for a little love, Your Excellency…

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: The Court has shown you plenty of love. The Emperor himself helped you, madam, to regain your estates and wealth. Is that not all love?

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I have repaid you with many bags of gold coins. Do not forget that Brâncoveanu gold gleams on the main gate of the Viennese entrance. And I have ceded estates to Imperial Austria.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: Just as you did with the Turks at Baia de Aramă?

(they look at one another in astonishment)

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: What is this about Baia de Aramă?

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: We are accused by the Sublime Porte of having plundered the gold of Baia de Aramă before Mavrocordat arrived to collect it. What was there? Our envoy even told us about a firman that you handed over to Mavrocordat. You are conspiring with the Church to sell off the monasteries’ assets.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: It may well have been found somewhere in the Văcărești Caves. But it was a firman drawn up to mislead the gold-hungry Turk. There is nothing to it.

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA: No, madam! It was true! You have been playing a double game. This will cost you the Emperor’s trust. From now on, go and seek favours in Bucharest! That is where you left most of the gold. Take your family’s bodies there for burial as well. You are no longer permitted to do so here.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: I am telling the truth. It is not a genuine firman.

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA: You pleaded with the Emperor to help you retrieve the treasury of gold coins from Amsterdam, Vienna and Venice, so that you might negotiate with the Turks for the liberation of Wallachia. And for this, you entrusted him with the gold from Baia de Aramă.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: That is not true! I was, and still am, delighted that Imperial Austria has come to rule these lands. It was the Turks who took my children, my husband and my sons-in-law. They tormented us in the Pit of Blood… Who would ever negotiate with them again?

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: Byzantine diplomacy is very common in these parts. But we shall discuss this in the coming days in the Privy Council and see what Emperor Charles has to say.

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU: Is it only what the Aulic Chamber says that matters? But what do Your Highness think? It takes a little forbearance and Christian love to understand that we speak the truth.

EUGENIU DE SAVOIA: The Privy Council will debate and pass judgement in the Emperor’s presence.

IOAN: If tomorrow the Privy Council were to forbid you from loving your family, your wife and children, what would you do? Would you strike down the love you have for them with your sword? Was not the Apostle Paul clear enough when he said: ‘Love never fails’?

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: It was made clear at Passarowitz. The five counties along the Olt River are to come under the rule of Imperial Austria, along with their churches and monasteries. We decide their fate and their possessions, not you!

IOAN: Orthodoxy knows no borders or politics, Your Highness! Orthodoxy is guided and defined by Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Imperial Austria, too, believes in Christ alone.

EUGENIUS OF SAVOY: Yes, we have Christ and His Vicar, the Pope!

JOHN: We believe in One God in Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!… The Trinity, of one essence and indivisible!

EUGENIUS OF SAVOY: The Emperor decides for the nations! And if not, the sword decides!

JOHN: A nation is bound together and united through the Church, sire! That is to say, through Christ! And not by the decree of any earthly emperor. Christ is the One and Only Emperor!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: You could be severely punished for such insolence! I have the power to do so!

JOHN (firmly): You would have no power at all, sire, if the Lord did not permit it!

EUGENE OF SAVOY (to Steinville): General, what are you doing? Have you brought this trouble upon me? Or are you conspiring with them against the Imperial Authority?

STEPHAN STEINVILLE (shaking his head in disapproval): Not at all, Your Serene Highness!

JOHN: We cannot remain at the mercy of Belgrade, Your Highness! In Vienna, the boyars serving as deputies, enticed by the gifts of the Archbishop of Belgrade, voted for this without even consulting the canonical bishop of the see.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: What gifts? What are you insinuating? You mad monk!

JOHN: And the monastic estates and assets, together with their community, are the canonical responsibilities of the local bishop!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: The House of Austria takes whatever it wants from the conquered territories!

JOHN: Know this, Your Highness: only the bishop can be the spiritual head of these monasteries. It is his right, upheld by the canons and by his role as guardian of the proper order of the Church.

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: General Steinville, I order you to remove this insolent and meddlesome abbot from his post!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: We shall discuss this! Not now. There is no need to get worked up.

IOAN: I am not concerned with positions of power or any other worldly matters, but the abbots of these places are appointed by the community and confirmed by the blessing of the local bishop.

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: The abbots are appointed by the Court! That is what has been decided!

IOAN: From a list of three names decided upon by the monastic community and blessed by the local bishop. Does the Court know the monastic communities better than their spiritual father, the local bishop?

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (shouts; Herdegen enters the frame): The audience is over, gentlemen! Captain Herdegen!

HERDEGEN: Ja, mein Feldmarschall!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (pointing to Maria and Ioan): Show these two out! Maria Brâncoveanu is guilty of plotting against the policy of the Imperial House of Austria, and as for the monk, he is not to set foot here again!

IOAN: The Lord is the sustainer of my life; whom shall I fear?

EUGENIU OF SAVOY: General Steinville, this will not stand!

STEPHAN STEINVILLE: Let us not be troubled, Your Serene Highness! We shall see in the coming days in the Hoffkammer in the presence of the Emperor!

MARIA BRÂNCOVEANU (stepping out of frame): I shall request an audience with Emperor Carol, gentlemen! The Church alone is the mother of these lands!

EUGENIU OF SAVOY (in a stern tone; thinking aloud): The audience has come to an end! Do you hear that!? The Orthodox Church suspended uncanonically! Hm! It’s as if we’d deprived them of their mother!

JOHN (imposing, his voice echoing, shouting): Whoever does not have the Church as their mother cannot have God as their Father! Anathema! May the wrath of the Lord be upon you!

(the lights go out suddenly)

Imagine

Act IV: 1739 – News of the Liberation

The year 1739 at Hurezi Monastery. Joseph, the disciple of Archimandrite John, now Abbot of Hurezi, and his brother Philumen, together with other pious fathers, await the arrival of Bishop Clement of Râmnic. They gaze wistfully in the narthex of the great church, near his grave, at the image of Archimandrite John, their abbot and spiritual father who has passed away to the Lord. (A brightly lit interior, walls painted with icons, evening, the light of a chandelier with many candles).

JOSEPH (to the churchwarden): Most Reverend Fathers! I ask you to take your places to welcome Bishop Climent! Father Ioan, take the Holy Gospel and step forward to welcome him! Deacons, step forward with the censers! He should be arriving shortly. He has an important announcement to make.

FILUMEN (pointing towards the tomb of Archimandrite John): Don’t worry, Father Abbot! I don’t think it’s anything bad. It can’t be any worse than it is now, with us being plundered and robbed by the Austrians! And with this war between the Habsburgs and the Turks. Take heart! We have our own Father John right here! He’s watching over us!

IOSIF (looking at the tomb, gazing at the fresco bearing the image of Archimandrite John): Yes! He is watching over us! Those eyes. Those pious eyes. That living light in his devout gaze.

FILUMEN: What a joy that we have his image painted! Yes! The light of Christ that illuminates and comforts our faces too!

IOSIF: Behold, now we gaze upon him with all our longing! Now I understand perfectly, Reverend Father. I was with His Holiness at Cozia whilst I was his disciple and a hierodeacon, and I witnessed his love for the Church of Christ. He roared like a lion at Prince Eugene of Savoy. He defended the Orthodoxy of these lands with all his might.

FILUMEN: All this time you have remained silent. Nearly 20 years have passed since then. You have said nothing. You served him faithfully until his very last breath. He left you as abbot of the monastery with his dying breath.

IOSIF: I vowed to remain silent!

FILUMEN: At least for the sake of the community, and especially the younger members. So that they might come to know this marvellous figure that was Archimandrite Ioan. What happened at Cozia?

IOSIF: At Cozia, we found understanding from Steinville, the supreme director, who was an old acquaintance of his. Even Mrs Marica Brâncoveanu interceded; to my great astonishment, having fled from the Grand Vizier, I found her in that monastery. Several points in the Memorandum were resolved with great diplomacy, much to the delight of Bishop Damaschin.

FILUMEN: But the issue of Bălgrad remained unresolved.

IOSIF: Yes! Prince Eugeniu’s obstinacy has rendered all our efforts in vain.

FILUMEN: How so?

IOSIF: They accused us of attempting to sabotage the decisions of the Court Chamber and the Emperor. And so the commotion began…

FILUMEN: And what happened next?

IOSIF: Within just a month, Stephan Steinville, the supreme director, was replaced by Damian Hugo, Count of Virmond.

FILUMEN: But he, too, was a good and fair man who respected the monasteries and the abbots.

IOSIF: Yes. For this very reason, after just one year, he too was removed from office and replaced by Count Karl Joseph von Königseegg.

FILUMEN: A tyrant! He plundered the monasteries of everything they had left. A heartless man.

JOSEPH (angrily): But to Prince Eugene’s liking. Just like that wretch Franz Anton, the current supreme director. They plundered us of everything we had left. Everything!

FILUMEN: The Habsburgs have brought so much misery that we can’t take it any longer!

A MONK: But what of Lady Marica? What became of her after the meeting at Cozia?

IOSIF: Lady Marica Brâncoveanu was accused of conspiring with the Turks to liberate the region from Austrian rule in exchange for the gold from Baia de Aramă. On this charge, the Court of Vienna declared her persona non grata.

FILUMEN (pointing to the empty tomb of Constantin Brâncoveanu): Ah! Now I understand! That’s why this tomb remains empty. The Prince could not be brought here.

IOSIF (thoughtfully, after a brief pause): Yes! An empty grave! A sign of the Resurrection! The following year, Lady Marica arranged for him to be buried alongside her children in St George’s Church in Bucharest.

FILUMEN: That is where she too passed away and was buried ten years ago.

IOSIF: That, and so much misery, malice and opposition, is why Bishop Damaschin passed away shortly afterwards.

FILUMEN: Father Ioan once again refused the episcopal see.

IOSIF (looking down at the ground, pointing towards the fresco): Yes. Elderly and suffering from gout, just half a year after Bishop Damaschin’s passing, our Father John also left us orphaned. With great honour we laid his body to rest in this church, on the southern side of the narthex, where his image has been painted, as you can see, with a cross in his hand, for he truly became the second founder of this holy monastery.

FILUMEN: And since then, 13 years have passed, filled with prayers and hopes for better times. We await deliverance, Father Abbot! It is coming! The Mother of God will not forsake us!

IOSIF: He died with the hope that the Diocese of Râmnic would one day return to the bosom of its mother, Ungrovlahia. And that the Habsburgs would depart from these lands.

FILUMEN: Good heavens! He fought until his very last breath!

IOSIF: He blessed us and wished that at least we might live to see the day when we receive the news of our liberation from the yoke of the tyrannical Habsburgs.

FILUMEN (bows): Amen.

IOSIF: I confess, most reverend fathers! In my great anguish, I could not restrain myself and committed the sin of rejoicing at the death of Prince Eugene of Savoy when I heard the news last year.

FILUMEN (looking towards the icons): His pride has done much harm to these lands. Endless plundering and oppression. How long, O Lord? How long?

(the bells begin to ring; the hymn ‘To Our Lord and High Priest’ is heard in the background… Bishop Climent of Râmnic enters the frame, blessing all those present in the great church)

IOSIF: What great joy, Your Grace! Your arrival is like dew upon our souls, parched by oppression and tribulations.

BISHOP CLIMENT (blessing; murmurs, despair): May the Lord bless you, most reverend Father Abbot, together with the entire community of this holy monastery! May the Lord grant you peace of mind!

JOSEPH (sadly): We can’t go on any longer, Despot! The Habsburgs have taken everything from us! We don’t even have oil for the lamps any more, Master! We are desperate!

BISHOP CLIMENT: All things come to an end through the mercy of the Good Lord, brothers!

JOSEPH: They have cut us off from our Orthodox brothers! They have banned our printed works—our spiritual nourishment—which we used to send over the mountains to our brothers, who are sorely afflicted by the oppression of the Papists. We can’t go on! We are lost!

BISHOP CLIMENT: Brothers, the time has come!

(astonishment, murmurs and whispers)

JOSEPH: What? What is it, Despot?

BISHOP CLIMENT (with tears; joy and shouts of happiness): Twenty years since the Habsburg yoke gnawed voraciously at the throats of the monasteries, twenty years of plunder and bondage, after 20 years of audits and thefts from the monasteries’ assets and their consecrated estates… after a further 10 years of tributes paid to the Court of Vienna by the entire Orthodox clergy, after threats and prohibitions… We have a way out! The Sublime Porte will free us from this yoke!

JOSEPH (joyfully): Lord! Lord, have mercy!

BISHOP CLIMENT (opens a document and reads): The Austro-Russian–Turkish War has come to an end! Imperial Austria lost the Battle of Grocka in July this year. Following negotiations near Belgrade, under the auspices of Emperor Louis XV, through the French ambassador in Constantinople, the Marquis Louis de Villeneuve, the five counties of Cisalutan Wallachia return to the rule of the Ottoman Sublime Porte under Prince Mavrocordat!

IOSIF: Angels sing in our hearts, Despot! Glory to You who have shown us the Light! Glory to You, Lord, Glory to You!

BISHOP CLIMENT: I shall now read out Article IV of the peace treaty concluded near Belgrade a week ago. It states: ‘…His Majesty, the Emperor of Austria, cedes to the Ottoman Porte the whole of Austrian Wallachia, including the mountains, as well as the fortress known as Perișani, built by His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, on condition that its fortifications be demolished so that they cannot be rebuilt in the future by the Ottoman Porte!”

A PRIEST: Thank you, Your Grace! May you be blessed for all your intercession with the Prince! Now we understand the call you made to us last year to help supply the Turkish armies so as to save the country from disaster. Yes! Look, it was the Turks who saved us after all! As the old proverb says: ‘Bad is better than no good at all!’

BISHOP CLIMENT (pointing towards John’s grave): Exactly, brothers! Perhaps one day the breath of independence will blow over these places. Who knows? These were built with much sweat and fear. We had the example of Father Ioan, the archimandrite of Hurez, our holy model.

JOSEPH (astonished): You were at Cozia. Now I understand everything.

BISHOP CLIMENT: Yes, Most Reverend. I was a disciple of Abba Athanasius. Father John’s courage served as both an example and a calling for us. We grew up with this desire to carry on his struggle.

JOSEPH: How unfathomable are the works of the Lord of Hosts!

BISHOP CLIMENT (gazing at the fresco depicting Archimandrite John; bowing his head): I saw in him an example! Abba Athanasius, with his dying breath, bound me to be his support and help. If only for his strength and courage. I was a young disciple. I read in his gaze the immaterial fire of the unseen struggle. This fire has consumed my heart ever since my youth. Now I have come to put it into practice.

JOSEPH (short pause): Lord, Your Grace! If only our father Ioan were still alive to see these days when the Diocese of Râmnic returns to the bosom of its mother, Ungrovlahia… To see the soldiers departing from these blessed places.

BISHOP CLIMENT: He lives, reverend one! And he shall live for ever! I pray to the Mother of God to intercede for him to gain Heaven and attain Paradise amidst the joy of the saints! For his labours, both seen and unseen, history will commemorate him as a worthy soldier of the Kingdom of Heaven.

JOSEPH: This was indeed his aspiration. He had no: ‘…fear and dread of the beginning, but all the more concern and peril of the end!…’ So says the verse on his tombstone.

BISHOP CLIMENT: Brothers, just as it is inscribed in verse by the reverend himself on his tombstone, let us all speak to history:…

(the lights dim gradually; all the characters turn towards the audience and speak in the voice of history)

ALL CHARACTERS: Take heed, brothers, to John Hurezeanul, the archimandrite: ‘…Lest he be forgotten, for that would be our sin! …For through the many labours he undertook …Now he lies surrounded by earth!’

The End

Imagine