Father Sofian, the icon maker of our souls

When, as a student, I entered the premises of Antim Monastery for the first time in the spring of 1994, I was full of anticipation for the long-awaited meeting with Father Archimandrite Sofian Boghiu. I attended the Holy Mass and from afar, from the pronaos where I was sitting, I silently admired Father Abbot who was leading the Liturgy in a majestic and gentle way.

I read that he had suffered hard years in the Communist prisons, that he had adorned his life with the beauties of Christian faith and wisdom, that he in turn had adorned the souls of many with these beauties, and that he had adorned many churches with icons and frescoes. But these few words could not but arouse my desire to meet him, to know him personally, to ask for his blessing and his advice. So with these things in mind, I approached the monastery of Antim and Father Sofian.

With my heart pounding, I waited with other ascetics for Father Sofian’s blessing after the Holy Mass. The sight of his bright and serene face, which was getting closer and closer, made me happy and gradually enveloped me in the mystery of a Tabor discovery. For a few seconds I had the conviction of a providential encounter with a man who had seen God in the light and was filled with His light… I then experienced this conviction in the confessional chair and in other moments of counseling when, receiving forgiveness and the word of help, I felt that through Father Sofian’s eyes God himself was looking at me with forgiveness and love. Will I be grateful enough for these blessings I have received?

Then, in March 1997, when I joined the monastic community of Antim Monastery with four other brothers, I had many opportunities to see and know Father Sofian more closely. I saw him serving at the altar, I listened to him preaching at the pulpit or singing in the pew, I met him at Confession, I accompanied him on walks in the garden, I saw him painting at the easel, I felt him praying in the cell, I saw him helping the needy… For five and a half years, day after day, I met him with the same light, sobriety, firmness and inner joy.

 

The first thing you noticed in Father Sofian’s presence was “the peace of God which overcomes every mind” (Philippians 4:7). Peace is the sign of the presence of Christ in man. The restlessness you felt in the old abbot’s face was a testimony to the quietness of the Holy Spirit in his person. And the understanding he shared with you when he served or spoke filled you with the joy of seeing Christ. Every encounter with Father Sofian led to the discovery of Christ in you. It was as if His icon was being restored in you under the brush of Father’s prayer and words. The purification to which the skilful icon of souls called you bore fruit in your heart: penance, prayer, mercy…

 

Father Sofian was a gentle and humble man, obedient and patient, a man who loved and helped those in need. That is why he always urged us to desire humility and love most of all. “Let us try to acquire these,” he would say, “because they are the fundamental and specific characteristics of Orthodoxy”. But he was also rigorous and firm in affirming Orthodox doctrine and in fighting heretical lies in his sermons and catecheses. I often had the feeling that through Father Sofian’s words, Father Stăniloae was speaking to us, another great living man of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who was also a prisoner because of his participation in the meetings of the Burning Bush. Even her smile was the same, calm and tender.

 

But I think that the dominant condition and characteristic of Father Sofian was prayer. The silence, gentleness and light that radiated around him were a testimony to his incessant prayer. Having learned from Fr. Ivan Kulighin, whom he loved dearly, “the work of Jesus’ prayer was, as Fr. Sofian himself said, the spiritual experience in which he was always a beginner”. But he always taught others to pray unceasingly, and taught many monastic and lay disciples how to engage in this interior work which the Holy Fathers called the ploughing of the soul. Fr Sofian also left us his longing for prayer and his own prayer for us. We believe that Fr Sofian is still praying for this monastic community and for all the lay faithful for whom he was their confessor. It should also be remembered that many hierarchs were spiritual sons of Father Sofian.

 

Father Sofian’s advice was also authoritative and gentle. His spoken word, like the psalmody, like the painted icon, had great power. The simple, unpretentious language, the intonation and the mastery of artistic expression reached heights of great spiritual power, profound wisdom and high sensitivity. He was a skilful speaker, a skilful icon-painter and a good shepherd, like the founder and patron of the monastery, St. Antim Ivirean, whom he loved and followed in his devotion.

 

With my humble confession, I come to give thanks and gratitude to Father Sofian for all the joys and favors I have received from God through His Holiness, for all the advice and encouragement with which I have overcome the trials of life, and always remembering him in my heart, I ask him, together with the Fathers and Brothers of our Oblates, to forgive us for our disobedience and mistakes and to continue to guide us on the path of salvation. May God grant him eternal rest with the saints in His Kingdom.

 

(Archimandrite Mihail Stanciu, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Antim – An Icon of Souls. Testimonies about Father Sofian Boghiu, Basilica Publishing House, Bucharest, 2009, pp. 33-35)