Story from the “Hell’s mouth” about Father Confessor Nicolae Postolache

…I was haunted by a thought and an urge that haunted me for a long time, until one day I took the road to Panciu. From there I took the path down to the Brazilor valley. Autumn had rusted Ciair and the surrounding hills. The convent of Brazi glistened in the sun. The small church, the chapels and the apartments built in recent years on the ruins of the old convent are the fruit of the work of hardworking and loving nuns. Here, in a clean and well-kept room, I found the priest Nicolae Postolache, former parish priest of the parish of Sârbi.

At 88, the priest is full of life and perfectly lucid. Only his legs no longer listen to him. On his desk are a few books, including one on philosophy, and a photograph on the floor, tainted by time. In the middle of the crowd, a tall man in a hat, in the background a pretty house with an inscription on the front: ‘Drought Relief Committee’.

This is where the memories begin. After completing his studies, Father was assigned to the parish of Doaga-Răchitosu-Ciușlea. Enterprising and industrious, he built a church and a school in the village during the difficult post-war years. During the famine, with Swedish and Bulgarian help, he opened a canteen where all the villagers ate from 1947 to 1949. This did not go down well with the communist authorities, who did not like the fact that the villagers loved the priest. It cost him. One day, when the secret police came to arrest him, the people locked him up. The operation failed, but was successfully repeated at night. He was taken to Midia and imprisoned for 5 years without trial. He was kept in solitary confinement most of the time and his food consisted of a slice of bread and a cup of water a day. Prayer and faith in God kept him alive.

After his release, he was sent to Blânzi-Corod, then to Păunești and Sârbi, closer to his home village of Oleșești.

He remembers that as a child he saw the two small churches: the one on the hill was small, with a very beautiful painting; and the one on the shore had a wooden girdle woven in three with great skill, with a door made of solid wood from a tree trunk, about a metre thick, “made by Serbs who were great woodworkers”. When he was a schoolboy and then a student, together with 120-130 colleagues from all over the commune, they organised, under the aegis of the “Association of Măgura Odobești”, theatrical performances, evening parties, singing, ploughing and football matches during the holidays. The proceeds were used to buy books for a communal library. In the years 1928-1930, few communes could boast such a large number of young people attending school.

Among other things, the priest confirmed that the former slaves from the village estates were lined up in Stirist’s lane and that some of them later settled in the village.

He inherited nothing from his parents, he did not accumulate wealth throughout his life, convinced that a priest could live without wealth. This explains why, towards the end of his life, he joined those who were working for the rebirth of the Brazi monastery. In connection with his pastoral work in our village, among other beautiful memories, he also kept a story with a bitter aftertaste. The fence of the church was built by the presbyter Postolache (his wife) from her savings. Afterwards, at the end of a service, a villager reproached him for not accounting to the parishioners for the expenses he had incurred. The priest sent him to talk to the “priestess”.

He was delighted to hear that I had titled this chapter: “Tales from the Hell’s mouth”, because the expression belongs to him and he often used it when scolding the villagers who, instead of coming to church, sat in the refectory.

I said goodbye to the priest who blessed us for our efforts, he led me with his gaze from the monastery porch and I left, relieved of the oppressive thought, his words following me: “Lord, how long will you keep me?

Buzău – October 1998

(Petrică Popescu, Valentin Cojocaru – Memories from the Serbian Hill. Monographic notes on the village of Sârbi in com. Țifești, jud. Vrancea, 2001; chapter Stories in “Gura Iadului”)