Archimandrite Benedict Ghiuș – “his personality concentrates all that is beautiful and holy in Romanian Orthodoxy”
A luminous figure, a gentle soul, a man of perfect balance, both confessor and theologian, perhaps a little naive, Archimandrite Benedict gave prestige to Romanian monasticism through his participation in the resistance of the faith, his confession in prison and his martyrdom. Although modest, he is still the most beautiful figure of our clergy.
He was a frail monk, weak in body but pure and upright in soul. He was a man of great culture and a great confessor. In the “Burning Bush”, a circle of monks and lay intellectuals dedicated to the prayer of the heart, Father Benedict polarised the work of the whole group by his spiritual life. He refused to climb the rungs of the Church hierarchy, opting for purity.
He spoke beautifully, served with piety, confessed skilfully, built up the soul with strength, and had to be protected from danger because he was naïve enough to be cautious in the face of persecutors.
Although so modest, his personality concentrated all that is beautiful and holy in Romanian Orthodoxy.
(Ioan Ianolide – Return to Christ. Document for a New World, Bonifaciu Publishing House, Bucharest, 2012, pp. 326)