Fr. Iov Volănescu (en)

Fr. Iov Volănescu, the Saint under the communist persecution

Fr. Ion Volănescu was a native of Cândeștii Buzăului, born in 1903 into a simple family. The young Ion Volănescu was educated in the field of economics, without any connection with his ecclesiastical training. He was caught up in the nationalist political currents of the inter-war period, but after the failure of the Legionary government he realised that the true path to follow was that of prayer. In 1944, after serving his sentence, he entered the monastery of Ciolanu under the name of Iov, but because of his political past he was constantly under surveillance by the communist political police, […]

“Thank you, Lord, that I have suffered a little for You!”

To tell you about the tortures of Aiud, we have to start with the isolation. Sleeping on cement in winter, can you imagine that?! In 1957, I was in a cell with a priest, Father Iov, from Arad County, and an accountant from Vrancea. The guards caught us praying. They reported us and we were punished with 10 days in solitary confinement. And what happened there? On the eve of the holidays, they put you in solitary confinement. The most rebellious ones. I remember that there were about 60 of us in solitary confinement. And two prosecutors came to visit […]