“I am convinced that Father is in the Kingdom of God”
Raluca Tănăseanu: How did you meet Fr. Sofian?
Florin Botezan (Mihai Viteazul Memorial Church, Alba-Iulia): When I was a student in Bucharest, I heard about Father Sofian, that he was one of the confessors at Antim Monastery, and that’s how I came to confess during my student years. The first thing that captivated you about Father was his face, a face of gentleness, and his way of being; he had a lot of love and a lot of humility. That’s what really impressed you when you met Father. I heard that someone even converted to Orthodoxy just by looking at Father Sofian’s face.
It wasn’t just the words, it was the very presence of Father – like the apophthegm in the Paterikon, where it says of a brother that he only had to go and see St. Anthony the Great, he didn’t have to ask him any questions. That’s pretty much how Father Sofian was.
R.T.: How was he as a confessor?
F.B.: He had a lot of patience, a lot of love, a lot of respect for you. I was a young student and he treated you with a lot of respect – he honoured you, that is; every person was the image of God for him and he bent over them with a lot of love and a lot of patience. We always waited a long time to go to confession because there were so many people, and because Father spent so much time with everyone, he never rushed anyone. Although it was hard to wait, we always knew that when it was our turn, he would have the same patience and understanding towards us.
As far as spiritual direction was concerned, Fr. Sofian was very balanced and with a lot of straight talk, he kept you from exaggerating. Especially at the beginning, when I was a student, I had all kinds of indiscriminate desires – and Father spoke in a very balanced way. He didn’t scold you when you fell down, but he would get angry, and that was much harder to bear than being scolded with words.
R.T.: What did Father Sofian’s teaching focus on most?
F.B.: As a confessor, in confession he insisted on prayer, on insisting on a pure life, on trying to base one’s life on God’s commandments, on keeping away from the opportunities for sin – in general, on being very careful in life and being aware of God’s presence, of the fact that you are before God every moment.
R.T.: Could you tell us about an experience you had with Father Sofian, an experience that marked you?
F.B.: There were special moments, but not necessarily spectacular ones, in the spiritual relationship I had with Father Sofian. I was marked by the whole relationship with him, not by one particular event… When he served, Father was totally transfigured, penetrated. He was as present as possible in the Holy Mass, in the Liturgy, you could see that he was totally there, in prayer, in what he was doing. Without being ostentatious, in a choir of priests you would notice him by the depth with which he participated in the Holy Liturgy, by the depth with which he served.
R.T.: I have heard from other spiritual sons that they prayed to him like a Saint. Does Your Holiness pray to Father Sofian?
F.B.: I remember Father Sofian in my prayers and I am convinced that Father Sofian is in the Kingdom of God
(Raluca Tănăseanu, “Archimandrite Sofian of Antim Monastery” in Orthodox Family no. 9 (92), September 2016, pp. 13-14)