Our Church's annual commemorations mark historical, liturgical, dogmatic, and spiritual moments alike, striving to awaken the consciousness of the faithful to an authentic and active spiritual life.
This year unfolds under the auspices of commemorating 140 years since the Romanian Orthodox Church gained autocephaly and 100 years since its elevation to the rank of Patriarchate. On this occasion, the Holy Synod proclaimed the canonization of sixteen Romanian saints in the Patriarchal Cathedral, in the presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. These new saints are confessors who lived in the 20th century, serving as examples of Christian and spiritual living during the persecution of the communist regime, about whom we still know very little, even if many of us witnessed them for a time. In this context, I proposed to evoke, in a few lines, the figure of one of them who caught my attention without being able to say why – perhaps for the naturalness and perseverance of his ministry.
Last year, the excellent Bonifaciu Publishing House released two books about the martyred Father Constantin Sârbu, under the care of Diaconești Monastery: “Tear and Grace. The Martyr Priest Constantin Sârbu” and “There is a Tomorrow. Sermons”, which bear witness to his life and sufferings.
In the synaxarion, Father Constantin bears the cross of a martyr, as one who sacrificed his life for faith, refusing to renounce it even in the face of persecution or death. In the early period of Christianity, martyrs were considered witnesses (Gr. martys) of faith, those willing to die for Christ, and in the spirit of this martyrdom, the image of Saint Constantin receives light.
A Pastoral Model in Times of Persecution
We live in very confusing times, where ideologies of all kinds construct the “artificial” face of man, through new forms of cancel culture, which do not differ much from past forms of persecution – they have become more civilized, but the effect is just as devastating. In this context, the new canonizations bring back into focus both the necessity of the “sacred” in a desacralized world and the valorization of the Romanian spiritual treasure of which these saints are a part. They are models of Christian Orthodox life for those who wish to live the “spirit of the Church” to which they belong. They tell us today that we work for the state of holiness day by day through the way we live our lives – it is not a “textbook” state, but a work to which we are called by our own will, in a freedom that makes us responsible in proportion to our perseverance. Commitment is needed, even if for many the term seems inappropriate.
From among the recently canonized saints, I chose Father Constantin Sârbu, for the pastoral model he left in a time of persecution, in which he became “all things to all people,” with exemplary faith and conviction, but also because in Transylvania he is almost unknown, compared to Father Sofian Boghiu or Father Ilie Lăcătușu.
One of the characteristics of true spirituality is the conformity of faith, doctrine, and life with the teachings of our Savior Christ, and Father Constantin bore witness to them in the most vibrant and authentic way possible. I believe his pastoral model is indispensable for the times we live in, which need deeds more than words. One of his famous discourses stated: “The hungry have grown weary of words; they want bread. The world is tired of sermons; it needs Christ! Why don’t we ourselves understand what we strive to make others understand? And what does this mean? It means, first, to fill ourselves with Christ and His virtues in all our living through deeds, and then to help others reach the same. Not words, but deeds are required! Otherwise, words remain just a beautiful sign, and practically, beyond words, there is nothing. By what will the world then know that we are Christ’s?...”.
In the light of his words, I would like my lines to remain. Father Constantin understood throughout his life that, in itself, contemplation is a gift from God, and the attitude through which it can be bestowed depends primarily on man, because everything that constitutes his Christian nature is contained in Christ. If you look at the life of Christ without the eyes of faith, you see a disaster. That is why he insisted that the eyes of faith always be awake.
An unceasing sacrifice for God and people
In the preface of the book: 'Tear and Grace...', Father Constantin's profile is outlined in a few words: 'His life, balanced between suffering and grace, was an unceasing sacrifice for God and people. An orphan child, raised by a poor grandmother, a brilliant but impoverished student, sleeping on the benches of Gara de Nord (North Station), a worthy priest in Huși and founder of one of the largest churches in Bucharest, a missionary and confessor dedicated to human sorrows, Father Sârbu was arrested in 1954 and sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy against the social order. Imprisoned at Jilava, Aiud, and Gherla, after his release he received another two years of mandatory residence in Bărăgan. Returning to Bucharest, old, sick, and without any means of livelihood, he humbly requested the Patriarch for the poorest parish in Bucharest. He received the Church of Sapienței, which was then in ruins. His gentleness, dedication, and especially the power of his prayer soon attracted a multitude of people of all ages and conditions to Sapienței. Thus, with love and patience, Father Sârbu raised a multitude of spiritual children, becoming all things to all people, until Christ was formed in them.'
He was deeply rooted in Christ and the Gospel, and insisted that Christian life is communal life. He sought to make you responsible in serving your neighbor because, at Judgment, he said, we will be asked what we did for those next to us and we will be judged not so much for the evil we did, but for the good we refused to do.
To see the other as yourself was the creed by virtue of which he defined his pastoral work throughout his life, practicing a theology materialized in acts of bodily mercy, which spoke for themselves about his sacrificial and attentive love for people. From the testimonies of his disciples, we learn about his practical spirit. He taught his disciples to be orderly, not to live with a scattered mind, not to waste time, for time is short, to have a daily prayer program, to be punctual and people of their word, those 'men of humanity' Father Teofil Părăian also spoke of, to be temperate both in eating and in prayer.
He had the gift of 'discerning spirits' in a practical way. He taught his faithful to differentiate between the life of a monk and that of a layperson regarding the rhythm of Christian life, and insisted on the constant recitation of the Prayer of the Mind, as a foundation for a Christian spirit of life. The prayer was displayed at the entrance to the church and had a particular form: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and of the Mother of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
He always explained that prayer in the Church is a divine-human work, and only if we integrate ourselves into the atmosphere of prayer do our souls fill with joy, peace, and hope. He made you understand that neither the candle nor the prayer list saves you, but faith, prayer, and good deeds. This was his 'life project,' which he followed with exemplary perseverance.
An authentic Christian life
In a period when there was obsessive talk about the 'new man,' he insisted that this new man could only be formed in the Church, through a living consciousness of confessing Christ. That is why he always insisted on the practice of confession and communion as the meaning of an authentic Christian life. He did not like to have 'extras' in the church.
A story by Martin Buber from "Hasidic Tales" fits the Father well, concerning confession, when a rabbi was asked how he had such power to influence a sinner who came to him? And the rabbi answered: "When someone comes to me, I descend into the depths of his sin, step by step, I intertwine the roots of my soul with the roots of his soul, and, knowing that his sin is also my sin, I repent before God, and he repents with me."
The Father made you understand that it's necessary to perceive the other as yourself, insisting on conscious prayer, which doesn't mean telling God a person's name, but carrying them in your heart, holding them before the Lord at every moment.
He made you understand that the only criterion to truly know someone is to see how they loved, because whoever has not loved to the end is not a true Christian.
Regarding the power of his love, we have at hand the testimonies of his disciples, the miracles performed, the aforementioned books, and the memories of those who knew him in prison. Disturbing memories!
Regarding his life, we have the "privilege" of possessing a "memoir-confession," which the Father wrote by hand in September 1962, in Bărăgan, where he was under forced residence after his release from prison. He addressed it to Patriarch Justinian, requesting a parish from which he could support his family after the end of his "home" detention. The memoir never reached the Patriarch, being intercepted by the Securitate. In this memoir, the Father details all significant moments of his life, from the hardships of childhood, related to his mother's death, poverty, and other deprivations, to his time at the Seminary, the Faculty of Theology, and the Conservatory, where material shortcomings were compensated by brilliant studies. Much could be said about the journey of his early years in priesthood, about his departure to Huși and return to Bucharest, to a newly established parish, "Parcul Călărași-Vergului," without a church or a parish house. The difficulty of building a church during the turbulent period of 1938-1954 no longer surprises anyone.
The Father envisioned a missionary church, capable of responding to spiritual, material, and cultural needs alike. In the church's basement, he organized the parish's socio-cultural life, from food collections during famine and a soup kitchen for the elderly and poor, to concerts and conferences with a large audience.
A soul in light
His activities were not to the liking of the newly installed atheist regime, and he was sentenced to eight years in prison for "conspiracy against the social order." He was accused of receiving support from Marshal Antonescu for the construction of the church, as well as the crime of commemorating him at memorial services, among the founders.
He spent his period of detention in the prisons of Jilava, Gherla, Dej, and in the labor camps of Poarta Albă and Salcia, where he remained steadfast in his confession of faith, despite the inhuman treatment he was subjected to. After his release from mandatory residence, following lengthy efforts, he received the Church of Wisdom (Sapienței), which had been closed for 40 years, and renovated it, persevering in forming a vibrant community. He harmoniously and tirelessly combined prayer with work, charity with the catechization of the faithful, applying as concretely as possible both the work of "Mary" and "Martha".
Not even here did he find much peace, being constantly under the surveillance of the Securitate and interrogated every three weeks. His integrity and lack of compromise in professing his faith made him so inconvenient for the communist regime that he was explicitly asked, in a way, to choose his death.
Despite the weight of this "choice," the Father prepared everything necessary for his passage "beyond," being convinced by his own teaching with which he formed his disciples: “Whoever has the word of God and always, obediently, guides himself by it, always knows where he will end up. That person knows they are going after God and that they will reach God, because such a soul walks in light. Work while it is day and be a child of the day (I John 1:7).”
The Church, which the Father served with such devotion, is permanently in a state of interval, between this age and the one to come, and is the place where the Christian's existence receives an eschatological character, partaking of the eternal present of God's glory. For this truth, he lived his confession to the end, teaching, “in season and out of season,” that life does not end here, that there is a tomorrow from which no one escapes, a tomorrow when “all that is ours will pass from darkness to light and will be valued not by our measures.”
And the best argument for all this is the life of the New Martyr Constantin Sârbu.
Fr. Cristian Muntean
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