American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

DIscussion and News concerning Orthodox Churches in communion with those who have fallen into the heresies of Ecumenism, Renovationism, Sergianism, and Modernism, or those Traditional Orthodox Churches who are now involved with Name-Worshiping, or vagante jurisdictions. All Forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.


User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

This is a lovely, short video glimpse into the life of a French Catholic from New Orleans who followed his spiritual inclinations and converted to Orthodoxy after high school. The clip gets vague about his family life, but apparently he was married and about to welcome a child when he left at the age of 40 to become a monk, first in a Greek monastery, then at Mt Athos.

The story of how he found his way to Oasa is fascinating ! This is the Romanian monastery at which he has happily remained for many years now.

[ I actually had never heard of this particular one, having visited some famous painted monasteries and convents like Sucevita. ] But there is scenic footage of the grounds and Churches, as well as of the services. The traditional costumes worn by women parishioners are cheerful and tell one right away that this is Romania.

PS - It seems Brother Nathanael somehow came across this and posted it on his channel. Credit goes to him therefore.
I think we should hear many more inspiring stories like this.

PPS - If only this intelligent-sounding young man had heard about True Orthodoxy, I am SURE he would have joined a TOC monastery instead. Such an alert person would be likely to easily grasp the principles.

It's too bad that so many new converts are funneled directly into World Orthodoxy and never realize there is another option. We have to improve our outreach !

User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

One possible parallel would be Elder Makary of Optina who in the world was a bookkeeper. This American, Steven, is described as having been an accountant for a major US bank in North Carolina.

Elder Macarius joined Optina at the nice round age of 30 ; the future Monk Sava left the world at the age of 40.
Both seemed to have been introverts much interested in reading. Life in the monastery, especially when Fr Macarius became the Elder upon the repose of Elder Leo, involved constant interaction with people. Thus both men were drawn out of their shells and transformed into lively, articulate exponents of Orthodox teaching. Though perhaps not speaking more than required by duties.

It was the anniversary of Elder Makary's repose just 2 days ago, Sept 7/20, 1860.

User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

Here is an earlier version of the video which has slightly different information and emphases.

Sometimes the subtitles encroach on other writing beneath.
The subtitles were translated by a Romanian named Tiberiu S. This name alone reminds us that Romania was the Roman province of Dacia. How many other Europeans are named today as a variation of Tiberius, the successor of Augustus Caesar, who spent his later days at the villa he built on the island of Capri off the coast of Italy [ famous for its Blue Grotto ] - ?

In the video, however, Monk Sava explains that learning the Romanian language was by no means easy. It demands quite different ways of speaking than English.

Apparently, Tiberiu S. found the same in reverse regarding the printed word. His subtitles need improvement, to put it politely ! However, they are easily understood if grammatically poor.

The visuals of the interiors of the Oasa Churches alone make watching the video worthwhile. Beautiful !

Last edited by Barbara on Sat 3 December 2016 11:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

A narrative written in early 2011 describing the drive south in Romania to remote Oasa. It even helpfully instructs foreigners how to pronounce the cloister's name. Plus provides much detail to fill in the needed background not covered by either of the videos. For example, the scenic surroundings of Oasa, and the fact that this is not an ancient painted monastery as I had assumed, but a quite new community. [ It seems a curious decision of the Athonite Father to send Father Sava to this small, little heard-of monastery. As more information in English emerges, perhaps catalyzed by the 2 videos, maybe we will grasp the entire scenario. ]

Clues to help decipher the writer's account :

Code: Select all

       1. Klaus is the author's car. 
       2. I have no idea what the acronyms mean !

"I was shown a newspaper article about an American monk named Father Sava who was living at a monastery called Oaşa (pronounced "Wah'-sha"), in Judeţ Alba (Alba County).

On Sunday, 2 January, 2011, I paid him a visit.

I had no way of knowing whether Father Sava would be there that day, but since it was a reasonable distance (under 200 KM) from Cluj, I decided to drive down there into the Southern Carpathians to see if I could find him. Surely he would have a story to tell, and I wanted to hear it. And, Oaşa is in a part of Romania I had yet to visit, high in the mountains some 70 Km south of the city of Sebeş, which is on the road between Alba Iulia and Sibiu. Two third-year FSEGA students, SUTEU Valer Olimpiu of Satu Mare and IMAKOR Simo of Casablanca [ here's an interesting association for Cyprian to ponder ! ], expressed their wishes to join me on this Sunday drive. Hence, at 9:00 Sunday morning, we three jumped into Klaus, and headed south.

There was no traffic on the road south. We were in Alba Iulia by 10:15, and Sebeş by 10:30. This drive could have taken well over two hours under normal conditions. Then, the final 70 Km into the mountains took another hour-and-a-half. Oaşa is in the wild, 1450 meters above sea level, and in territory reachable only by a broken-up road...

The region is heavenly. Tall trees and steep canyon walls border much of the road, and each [of 3] dam has a lake behind it, making for many idyllic views. Probably these beauties explain the choice of this location for the Oaşa monastery, which was founded only about 1982.

Oaşa is not a village on the map, so the GPS could not get us past Şugag, 30 Km south from Sebeş, and still 40 Km from the monastery. There were a number of alternate roads, so we had to stop and ask directions a few times....

At noon, we parked in front of the monastery's wall. A monk and another man were in the road, so I rolled down the window and asked in English, "Do you have a monk here named Father Sava?" The monk departed down the road, and the other gentleman guided us into the grounds, up a flight of stairs leading to the biserica. There, he introduced me to Father Sava, and when I said, "I had hoped to meet you today," he did a "take," and said, "You are American?" "Yes." "Wow! We don't see many Americans here!"

As the Sunday morning service was just ending, Father Sava had duty in the dining hall, where all the church's attendees, thirty or forty local people all dressed up in their traditional Sunday best, were invited for lunch. The Father apologized for not being able to invite us to eat, but said he would be available to talk in about half-an-hour. So, we waited. There were no stores or restaurants within many miles, so lunch would have to wait.... I ate a Snickers from Klaus's glove box [ to get by ].


While we waited, Valer and I received blessings from the abbot, then gathered for group photos.

When Father Sava returned, he explained that they had no place at the monastery to sit and have tea, and again excused himself to go change from his church robes into hiking clothes, so we could take a walk, and talk.

We walked and talked for two hours. The man kept me spellbound. He had, indeed, a story to tell. I will post it soon."

http://dcmcd2.blogspot.com/2011/01/oasa ... -sava.html

User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

I combed through this blog and another of this Professor's about his year in Romania as a Fulbright scholar 2008-9, but found no follow-up on either ! From the subsequent posts, it seems likely maybe he got busy with the Christmas season and never wrote up his account.

Meanwhile, here are some photos of the monastery

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

Interview with Radio Romania International contains mostly the same information. For those who didn't see either of the videos, it's a tidy summary with the addition of recent information.

The interview was posted -- appropriately -- on Old Calendar Christmas 2016 !

Image

"today you are invited to meet Father Sava - Stephen, as he is known in society. He was born in far away America. He was raised in pure Catholic tradition but he discovered Orthodoxy in his teen years...

Father Sava: “In high school I used to be a fan of Dostoesvky. I grew up as a Catholic in New Orleans, Louisiana. As I was reading Dostoesvky I wanted to understand the differences between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Dostoesvky was rather anti-Catholic. He insisted a lot that Orthodoxy was the true Christianity and that Roman-Catholicism was a sort of straying Christianity”.

Intrigued by such a statement Stephen continued to read and he even made a decision that changed his life! After graduating from high school he secretly went to an Orthodox church from his region and converted. In parallel he dreamt of becoming a violinist, but he took his degree in accounting. He worked in one of America’s biggest banks, has had a plentiful life, he loved and was loved back. All this happened until he turned 40, when Stephen decided to swim against the current of material life and decided to become a monk. He first joined an Orthodox monastery in the US.

Father Sava: “Reading books about monks and saints, I started craving for monastic life. In 1999, when I was 40, I decided it was high time I became a monk. I resigned my position at the bank in North Carolina and joined a Greek monastery in Ohio, where I stayed for one year and 4 months. In their library I found a book written by the Romanian bishop Serafim Joantă in which he said that, along the centuries, the Romanian society and culture have developed in close relation with the Orthodox Church.”

With orthodox Romania in his mind, the American monk started for Mount Athos. There, a Romanian father named Vasile talked to him for the first time about Oaşa, a small monastery in the Southern Carpathians, a monastery of young monks, most of whom were higher education graduates.

Oaşa became in 2004 the home of father Stephen or rather Father Sava: “I feel very good here, I have a good relationship with the other monks. I don’t feel a stranger. Frequently I feel more at home than I used to feel back in America. I do not intend to leave the Oaşa monastery. It is safe here. I’ll stay here, and I hope to grow more spiritually and with God in mind I hope to become a good monk”.

‘The American on top of the mountain’, who became a Romanian citizen, prays a lot, there are 6-7 hours of religious service at the monastery, he works and he also likes to make jokes and laugh…he says he is kind of a monastic Tom Cruise, given the media coverage he has received in Romania. People have received him with warmth and care and some even asked for his autograph.

Father Sava: “10 years ago, on Christmas day, we had about 20 up to 25 guests. Now we always have more than 200. Most of them, if not all, are teenagers. I am amazed that they choose to come here instead of staying home with their parents. Christmas is a family celebration, but this points to their thirst for God’s word”.

If back in America Father Sava used to sing in a big choir pieces by Brahms, Verdi, Beethoven or Mahler, in Oaşa he sings psalms together with the other monks. At the end of October, he left the monastery to come to Bucharest to participate, at the Radio concert hall, in the final stage of the annual church music contest organized by the Romanian Patriarchate in partnership with Radio Romania. There were several choirs of nuns and just one choir of monks, that of Oaşa. Although he did not win the jury’s grand prize, he was the public’s favourite; they applauded him for quite a long time and [ there were ]enthusiastic cheers ...."
(Translated by Lacramioara Simion)

http://www.rri.ro/en_gb/father_sava-2541518

User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: American finds spiritual home in Romanian monastery

Post by Barbara »

I did locate the missing second part of the narrative by the Professor above. Like the interview directly above, this informal account was published on Orthodox Christmas, though 5 years earlier.
Each person's version of the story of this brave monastic yields a few different details. Here, for example, Professor McDougall discloses the name of the Greek Monastery in Ohio where Fr Sava spent time before going to Europe.
I had done a search to find out which men's monasteries exist in that state. Only this St Gregory Palamas in a place called Hayesville, and the Rocor-Mp St John the Theologian Skete in Hiram came up. Looking at the history page of the former, I saw no mention of a Fr Sava, so I figured it must have been another monastic refuge. However, it's confirmed below :


"FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

Father Sava's Story

We walked perhaps two kilometers up the snowy road above the lake and between the evergreens, and then turned back. On the way up the road, I asked Father Sava to tell me his tale. I shall relate it from memory....

Father Sava was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Roman Catholic parents who sent him to parochial schools that he says were the best schools in the city. He went on to become a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans, with a major in accounting. I assure you, he has an excellent education, and speaks English with nary a trace of a southern accent.

After college, at some point Father Sava's interests became focused on his Christianity, and his story jumps to when he was in his thirties, and finds him living as a newcomer in the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Gregory Palamas in north central Ohio.
While at the Ohio monastery, Stephen found a book on the Spiritual History of Romania. He says it was so powerful a story that while still in Ohio, he started to study the Romanian language. From Ohio he went to Mt. Athos in Greece (The Holy Mountain, located on a peninsula that juts into the Aegean Sea southeast of Thessaloniki, and on which there are some twenty monasteries), where he spent time in two monasteries, seeking his Place. He was committed personally to a monk's life, but had not yet found his Place. He asked at one monastery to be admitted as a novice, but was told no, because they were a monastery for Greek monks, could not accept foreigners beyond 20% of the population, and had filled that quota already. At a second, very famous and respected monastery, he stayed as a guest for weeks, loved it and its brethren, and asked for an opportunity to meet its abbot, and ask permission to join the flock.

As Stephen tells of the encounter, "The abbot and I had never met. In fact, I doubt he even knew my name before this meeting. I was nervous, but I was able to tell him how many days I had lived there, and how right it felt. Then, before I could specifically request admission, the Abbot said 'Oaşa.' I said, 'Excuse me, Father. What did you say?' He then proceded to tell me that God wanted me in a monastery called 'Oaşa' in Romania. He asked me to go there and see for myself. So, I did. That was ten years ago. I have just celebrated my tenth anniversary here."

Stephen clearly was comfortable in his mountain retreat. He now speaks Transilvanian [< this must be the Romanian spelling ] Romanian fluently, of course, and he never for a second evinced doubt that the Greek abbot that sent him here was simply transmitting God's Will to him.

The rest of the talk got pretty personal, as we shared certain of our experiences as American newcomers to Romania that had convinced us both that there are no coincidences, and that we both are here because we belong here. It was as if we were brothers, which, of course, we are, in many senses of the word."

POSTED BY DUNCAN MCDOUGALL

http://dcmcd2.blogspot.com/2011/01/fath ... story.html


We readers gain a new bit of information in the fact that Fr Sava learned not just Romanian but the TRANSYLVANIAN dialect !
For me the fact that Oasa is in Transylvania is even more interesting because I had traveled throughout the country in the mid 80s, and much enjoyed that colorful region. It is of course most known in the West as where the concept of vampires originated. As I wrote in my article about that trip, the key to avoiding any still haunting the Transylvanian terrain is to carry garlic [ the Romanian folk remedy to ward off the vicious demons ] -- and of course, to pray.

Thus one sees a new aspect to the assignment of this monk to such a spiritually challenging area by the Mt Athos Abbot. Perhaps Fr Sava is helping stop all sorts of varieties of black magic...

However, it would be a marvelous idea if some Old Calendar True Orthodox groups could open their own monasteries here.


About the author of this blog, who appears to have retired as he is described in one place as Professor Emeritus :

"Professor of Business Duncan McDougall received his B.A. in fine arts from Amherst College...He received his MBA with high distinction and later his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. Dr. McDougall was named Graduate Distinguished Teacher for the MBA program in 2004.

....Dr. McDougall teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate business programs. His courses include management accounting and operations management, as well as administrative policy, entrepreneurial ventures and international business.

....Duncan McDougall has many years of experience in manufacturing, including work for General Motors, Rochester Shoe Tree Company, and Rockwell International. He has published a variety of articles on performance measurement and corporate strategy, which have appeared in journals such as Operations Management Review and Harvard Business Review."

https://www.plymouth.edu/department/bus ... mcdougall/

Last but not least of Professor McDougall's accomplishments, he was the proud owner of Klaus - the faithful car who took him and his Romanian students on their pilgrimage to Oasa Monastery [whether they thought of the trip in those terms, or not ] - !

Post Reply