Father Athanasius was “only a smile and a comfort”
I met Father Atanasie of Petru Vodă in the spring of 2006. It was the first time I had come to Petru Vodă Monastery, together with my husband (we were just friends then) and some other acquaintances. On the way I was very ill, maybe because of the speed, maybe because of the emotions… who knows?
We arrived at the monastery late, I think it was one o’clock at night, because we went straight to mass. The next day, my indisposition continued. My husband knew Father Athanasius; he had spoken to him several times before and knew that he was in charge of the medical “cabinet”.
I could hardly be persuaded to go to the priest and ask him to give me some medicine for the illness that had come over me. I was ashamed to bother Father with my problems. Father greeted us with a smile, which I later discovered was his normal state: just a smile and a comfort.
We entered his cell, which was full of books and medicines. After asking me what the symptoms were, he found a suitable medicine, then took a cup of water, a kind of glass jug through which cloudy water appeared… I used to find it so difficult to eat in monasteries because I had the impression that the dishes were not washed well enough, but with time I recovered. But then I thought: now that I’ve bothered the priest, I’ll have to drink what he gives me. I couldn’t refuse, even though the thought of that dirty, stale water made me sick. Father looked at me and smiled, took the cup, poured it into a glass, rinsed it out, dumped the water and poured Fanta juice, my favourite at the time, into the glass. I can hear him now saying, “We have Fanta for you”… I was speechless…
From then on, every time I went to Petru Vodă, I went to see Father Athanasius. Each time he would talk to us and give us different advice. He was so dear to me… He had a presence that made you forget all your troubles. Once he gave me and my husband a book, and even though we were married, he made a point of giving each of us a copy. Then he wrote an inscription. She wrote to her husband: “Often a grievous wound / Is easier to bear / Than a poisonous word / That kills a pure thought in us”. After seeing the dedication, my husband said to me: “See how the priest read me, he knows I’m quick to anger! He wrote to me: “Only the wings of good angels / Can be as white and light / As the hand extended in reconciliation / That calms deep storms in us”. The two dedications seem to be a response to each other.
On 1 March 2008, we were preparing to go to church. Our daughter was about to join the ranks of Christians through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. I received a phone call from a friend who had just returned from Petru Vodă. Father Athanasius had died. Tears streamed down my face. They were not tears of despair, but I wanted so much for Father to meet Theodora. The last time I was at Petru Vodă monastery, before giving birth, she gave me so much medical advice about raising a small child. He even recommended a book. And behold, on the same day our daughter was born on earth through the Holy Baptism, and Father Athanasius was born in heaven, announced by the angels. Every time we go to Petru Vodă monastery, we usually pass by the cemetery to light a candle for our beloved parents: Father Gheorghe Calciu and Father Atanasie.
Father Athanasius, bless us too, the unworthy ones!
(Diana Timiș – bisericadincasa.blogspot.ro)