Father Ioan and the gift of foresight

This material is an excerpt from the book “The Diary of Conversion” by the well-known theologian Danion Vasile. This testimony is written from the perspective of a man who, although under the influence of esoteric teachings alien to the spirit of Orthodoxy, was still searching for the truth. As he returns to Orthodoxy, we see how the author radically changes his erroneous beliefs, including those about certain people and events. What we want to highlight here, however, is the gift of foresight of Father Ioan Iovan:

16 May 1992

After so much waiting, what I had waited for so long happened: I went to St. John the Evangelist[1] in Recea. [In the city [Alba-Iulia n.n.] some Christians, who did not ask us for money, gave us shelter; they saw that the nuns were with us and gave us alms. Tomorrow there will be a Liturgy in the cathedral, the Patriarch will preside. The nuns are very angry with him because of the destruction of the churches during the Ceaușescu era. They say he’s the devil’s man.

I like the clean life they lead. They read prayers all evening and commented on Mother Veronica’s writings. What a pity they’re so persecuted[2]. Nor do they want to boast of the higher heaven[3] from which they were born.

I could tell them that I am the incarnation of Rama, that I was the spiritual leader of the East, but I don’t want them to think I’m boasting; they are higher in the cosmic hierarchy anyway.

I can’t wait to get to Recea: what did St. John the Evangelist look like? What an honour for us to go to the beloved disciple of Jesus, the one who laid his head on the Saviour’s bosom….and the others have no knowledge of this mystery.

The theologian should run to kiss his feet, for a patriarch is smaller than an apostle. Yes, the world will be divided into those who are with the truth and those who are with the dogmas. Into the higher and the lower spirits.

Meeting St. John is crucial for me; the main reason I postponed and then gave up going to Swami Shivamurti was to meet the great apostle. If it had not been for St. John, if it had not been for the A.R.S.[4], I would now be among the yogis. And there I couldn’t use my charisms and continue my mission on this planet.

I have heard that in the first meeting the saint is more cold to those who come to him for the first time, because the abbess of the monastery is a guard put there by the Patriarchate to keep an eye on him. And only after he has tested you, only after he has chased you away once, only then will he tell you the messages that Heaven puts into his mouth. I’m a bit sleep-deprived from all this excitement. But I must rest to keep my mind clear.

17th May 1992

Some of these Christians are bastards. This morning I went to Liturgy with Theoctist. At one point one of our nuns started shouting that Theoctist was a Securitate guard and other true things. I had heard that they had the courage to stand up to the Patriarch, but I didn’t know they would do it today. The world started beating them. They kicked and punched our whole group. Brother Ionel had blood coming out of his nose. Then he hit the tray where they were collecting money for the church and all the coins jumped up. It was like something out of a film. Those who call themselves Christians persecute us fearlessly. I tried to protect Ionel from being beaten. As if by magic, they left me alone.

A policeman appeared, but I showed him my ID card from the Ministry of National Defence Polyclinic and he got a bit scared. He thought I was the son of a colonel. If I hadn’t had that badge, it could have been worse.

The rest of the group don’t want to come to Recea anymore, they’re going back to Bucharest. Only Cosmina and I went to the monastery. It’s worth the effort. […]

18th May 1992

The meeting with St. John took place. When we arrived in Recea, he was near the monastery gate. As soon as he saw us he said, ‘You are yogis, aren’t you? Get out of here, you wanderers! This is a monastery, no place for you. What are you doing in this holy place? Listen, boy and girl together in the monastery. Sinners, aren’t you ashamed? You’ve come together before… Steinerians, Theosophists…” he bombarded as he entered the chapel building.

I hadn’t expected such a cold reception. Yes, we are yogis, or rather we were. Cosmina was reading Rudolf Steiner. Father was doing the whole circus only through the eyes of the abbess, although she was nowhere to be seen.

We went into the church, thinking he wouldn’t let us out. A few moments later Father came in. He pointed at us and said to the people, “Look at them. You believe in reincarnation, don’t you?” “Yes, I do,” I said, convinced that I had to defend the truth. In front of the crowd, I got a little confused out of excitement.

“You believe I am John the Evangelist, don’t you?” “Yes,” I replied firmly. It seemed to me that there were tears in Cosmina’s eyes. Even she hadn’t expected such a warlike welcome. I, who was determined to take any rebuke, knowing that it was only for show, resisted heroically.

“Get out of the church, wanderers. This is the house of the Lord, and unless you stop wandering, you have no place in it”. I didn’t really expect them to throw us out of the church. But I knew that in both Christian and Eastern traditions, the teacher sometimes tests the disciple’s patience in the most unexpected ways, and I was not going to give in.

“You’re with the nuns from Vladimirești, aren’t you? With those little devils? Either give up all your nonsense or get out of here!”

It was time to leave. The saint gave no sign that he wanted to tell us anything. What a pity that he’s forced to play such an act just to fool the hierarchy… He thunders against Vladimirești, where he served for so long, where he worked so many miracles, and can’t wait to return there. Sister Veronica had already taken out the large chalice he used to use. The chalice is waiting for him, and at the right time the saint will return to Vladimirești. […]

19th May 1992

The people of Bucharest were waiting for our return. They were not surprised by our adventures. “You are strong, if he threw you out so brutally, it showed how much he valued you. But next time he will tell you everything.

We’re not even back yet and I can’t wait to go back to Recea. The saint is so impressive. He doesn’t look like what I knew from the icons, for the simple reason that in the icons he looks young. I will do my best to return to him. […]

22nd August 1992

 

Again in Recea. This time alone. Unfortunately, Father John was just as opposed to Vladimirești’s teachings. I don’t know what to think. When he first came to us, I thought he was acting. But now it was useless. Either he tried me a second time, or he’s not St John the Apostle, just Father John Iovan, and that’s it.

If he was the Holy Apostle, why didn’t he tell me about his spiritual plans? If he is just Father John, then everything about Vladimirești is a deception. I’ve also heard the idea that he himself has broken away from the nuns there and is still trying to draw attention to the danger of this outbreak.

How did he know that Cosmina and I were doing yoga? How did he know we were at Vladimirești? It’s unlikely he could have worked it out just by looking at us. I think Father John is a seer of the spirit, as they say, and if God has revealed to him that we are on the wrong path, he has done so for our return.

I had heard of Fathers who were seers of the spirit, but I didn’t expect the encounter to be so shocking. Yes, I think Father John rebuked us seriously, and not just in the eyes of the abbess. The whole story about the Abbess being a Securitate guard sounds to me like an outright lie.

Maybe Cosmina realised that Father wasn’t joking and didn’t say anything because she saw my fanaticism. More mature than I, she understood the situation. I’m sorry she didn’t try to open my eyes then. I think I would have ended it there and then, with all my ramblings.

I’m like a drifting ship. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m so tired of going from one wandering to another. I’m going to visit more monasteries in Moldavia. It is the spiritual centre of Romania. Maybe I’ll find out what it’s like there.

26 August 1992

[…]

I can’t get the second meeting with Father John out of my mind. I didn’t expect him to send me away again. In fact, he said that whenever I was ready to receive Christian teaching, he would be ready to confess me. I wonder where the truth lies. So far I’m drifting and no light has appeared. […]

7th September 1992

I arrived back in Recea. Father John welcomed me with love. He told me to prepare for tomorrow’s confession. I am looking forward to the moment when I will receive absolution for my sins. I know I am not worthy to receive communion, but that blessed moment will come. A clear line will be drawn in my life. I will have the strength to fight the passions that weigh me down, I will belong to Christ. […]

11th February 1993

The so-called nuns from the Vladimirești group came to our church. Father Dumitru stopped the service and invited them to say what they wanted to say. They shouted several times: “Teoctist – securist!” and the like, but they realised that people looked at them with pity and compassion and stopped. Father asked them to leave and they did. Oh, how time has passed! It seems like yesterday that I was part of the A.R.S., it seems like yesterday that I was with them in Alba-Iulia.

Now things seem completely different. The brutality with which they were beaten seems to me to be somewhat explainable. Those who beat them were people in trouble, in need, who had come to worship to taste a little of the peace of communion with God. And when they heard the cries that disturbed the service, they left the silence and drove them away like witches. In fact, the Vladimirești group is still a kind of witch group, even if they are more civilised. It was not for nothing that Father Ioan de la Recea used to say that they were devils.[5]

(Danion Vasile, The Conversion Diary. From the Goddess of Death to the Emperor of Life, Bunavestire Publishing House, Galati, 2002, pp. 57-59, 63, 66, 110)

[1] The author of the diary was at that time under the influence of Eastern heresies, including reincarnation. In the group in which Danion Vasile was active at that time, Father Ioan Iovan was perceived as the reincarnation of St. John the Apostle.

[2] The writings of Mother Veronica Gurău, namely “The Vedas of Mother Veronica”, “The Life of Mother Veronica” and “Conversations with Heaven and Myself”, were condemned by the Romanian Orthodox Church as books containing teachings contrary to the Orthodox faith (heretical), and later Mother Veronica herself repudiated them.

[3] This is one of the heresies that Mother Veronica also defended in the book “Conversations with Heaven and Myself”: “I had the great and unspeakable joy of being taken up to heaven, or to the seventh level, to which my two companions belonged: Philip and Seraphia. (…) I learnt on that occasion that there are a total of 9 Heavens (Layers), which are in fact, so to speak, 9 steps of holiness. Holiness itself begins from the 5th Heaven. From the Fifth to the Vth, that is, the Heavens from the I to the IVth inclusive, are those in which the souls of the earth dwell, each one distributed according to the merit and beauty of the garments which it has conquered through intense zeal and diligence, each one having a certain brightness which increases with the steps of the Heavens. As I have said, from the Fifth Heaven begin the heavens of those who have attained the stage of holiness, whose souls and garments radiate light. This brightness increases with the number of heavens until the white of the Vth, the IXth layer (called the Golden City), whose souls and garments shine like the sun”.

[4] The Association for Spiritual Rebirth (ARS), although it had legal personality in relation to the State, was a sect in relation to the Church. This sect was formed by a small group of former residents of the Vladimirești monastery, and the leader of the sect was none other than Gheorghe Vasâi, the ex-husband of Mother Veronica Gurău, the abbess of the Vladimirești monastery. The sect became known for its spectacular public outbursts, chanting slogans against Patriarch Theoctist and the hierarchs of the BOR during holy masses.

[5]Father Ioan Iovan strongly condemned the grave misconduct of these false nuns, who not infrequently used Father’s name and authority in their actions, for which Father suffered greatly. In a dialogue with Father Remus Onișor, Father Ioan tells that once “I went to Cernica to venerate the relics and I saw them in the car. When they saw me in the car, they ran after me. I just wanted to pray and go back. When I got back to the car they were there, I held out my hand in rejection and they said: “Give, Father, that you may sanctify us! That’s what they were. But you know what I did? So that people wouldn’t get the impression that I agreed with them and saw that I was rejecting them, I even scolded them in public”. (Words shared by Father Ioan and Mother Superior Cristina, Reîntregirea Publishing House, Alba-Iulia, 2007, p. 103)