“What impressed me most about him was his lack of interest in acquiring and keeping material possessions and his evangelical simplicity”
Born into a family of 12 children in the Buzăului area, Father Dometie grew up in the atmosphere of faith and piety of our villages of yesteryear, where people lived their lives according to the tradition of the Church, through massive participation in Liturgy on Sundays and holidays, baptisms, weddings and funerals, as well as respect for local traditions. Today we know better than in the past that the family and social environment of our childhood years, in which our character is formed, is a determining factor for the rest of our lives.
Father Dometie was a man of integrity and simplicity. Around his holiness one felt the warmth of a heart that embraced the whole person and all of creation. What impressed me most about him was his his lack of interest in acquiring and keeping material possessions and evangelical simplicity in word, deed and dress. Father did not keep anything for himself. Everything he received he gave away. He even gave away his cloak. He also gave what he did not have, taking what little the monastery had in its infancy. With him the saying of the people came true: “A good man takes with one hand and gives with two”. What a noble and necessary thing to do in our world, which seeks only profit and the accumulation of material goods, forgetting the poor! And so it was that death found him without a shirt or burial clothes. I am thinking of Saint Calinic of Cernica, the most beloved Romanian saint, who wrote in his testament: “I did not collect gold and silver, I did not want clothes…, nor anything else. Neither for burial nor for remembrance do I leave anything, to show that I believe in God, that it will be more acceptable to God if not a penny is left after my death, than if the greatest amount of money were divided after me”.
Among many other gifts, God gave Father Dometie a brilliant mind. He was always a prize-winner at school and later, at the insistence of his monk friend Antonie, later Metropolitan of Ardeal (1982-2005), he agreed to enrol for a doctorate in theology in Bucharest, which he completed a year before his death. However, he was not conceited about his knowledge, but rather humbled by it, because he knew very well that everything is a gift from God and that those who receive much must give much for the edification of others. Father’s humility was evident in everything: in the way he spoke, in the way he dressed, in the way he served, in the way he approached people. I have never known a more popular monk than Father Dometie. He was always among the people, listening to their concerns, helping them with what he had, comforting them, teaching them, and working with them to build the first buildings of the monastery. That is why he was so loved. Death overtook him in the prime of his life, during the floods of the summer of 1975, as he struggled against the raging waves. The pain of saying goodbye to Father Dometie was great and is still felt in the hearts of those who knew him after 40 years. Father has gone to be with the Lord, but his sacrifice has borne fruit and will continue to do so until the end of time.
Father Dometie was loved by people who had the same spirit as him, namely Father Varsanufie and Father Filotei, who served with him at the Holy Altar. Father Varsanufie, who had been a hermit for many years before coming to Râmeț, also died early, only 6 years after the death of Father Dometie, at the age of 72. Always in fragile health and hidden in his inner life, Father Varsanufie left behind the face of a humble, silent and obedient monk. I have always compared him to Father Paisie from Sihăstria.
After completing his theological studies in Sibiu (1973), Father Filotei was appointed priest for the mountain villages near the monastery where Father Dometie had served before, but he always lived and served in the monastery during the week, helping Father Dometie and then Father Ioachim, who was transferred to Râmeț after Father Dometie’s death. In his generosity to the faithful of these villages and to those who still come to the monastery today, Father Filotei followed Father Dometie to the letter. Always carrying a sack on his shoulders (like St. Seraphim of Sarov in some icons, whom he also resembles in appearance), full of gifts for the elderly and children he meets, Father Filotei has been climbing the hills of Râmeț for decades, serving, confessing, baptising and burying. He has never complained about the burden of the roads that have bent him over time, nor has anyone heard him grumble or judge, because he has done and does everything with the greatest love. Father Filotei is an example for priests and monks.
Father Ioachim, a local man, born in the village of Pleașa, in a family of 12 children, served in Râmeț for more than 30 years, after Father Dometie’s passing into eternity. A monk of Frăsinei, educated in the spirit of St. Calinic and of the great Fathers of the monastery, Father Ioachim was brought to obedience as confessor of the monastery at the call of the presbyter Emilian of Alba Iulia (+1997). There could not have been a better choice to embody and continue the spirit of Fr Dometie. Joachim resembles Fr. Dometie even in his stature and mobility, in his poetic words and in his spirit of sacrifice. That is why, from the beginning, he enjoyed the love and obedience of the congregation and of countless faithful, who appreciated his gentleness and patience, virtues inherited from his family, but cultivated with much prayer and spiritual toil. Always at the service of the Congregation and the faithful, with prayer, word and confession, Father Joachim strengthened the Congregation in many moments of trial and guided countless faithful on the path of God, who became his spiritual sons. He was at the side of Mother Prioress Ierusalima and the Congregation with advice, but also with admonition when necessary, so that the monastery of Râmeț continued to grow, both spiritually and economically, becoming a true Lavra-Queen for all of Transylvania.
After the return of Fr. Joachim to the monastery of origin (2006), His Eminence Andrei appointed Fr. Antonie as confessor of Râmeț, who had been a novice there since 1999, along with Frs. Joachim and Filotei, after his conversion to monasticism in the monastery of Afteia. Dynamic and with a doctorate in theology, Father Antony has fully embraced the spirit of Father Dometie. Rarely have I seen such harmony between priests serving at the same altar as here in Râmeț. This is because they all follow the spirit of sacrifice, humility and non-aggression of Father Dometie. These fundamental virtues, which should adorn the soul of every monk and every Christian, are not easy to acquire, especially if one is not helped by the environment in which one lives. And yet Râmeț is protected by the spirit of Father Dometie. I am sure that Father Dometie only allows servants like him into his monastery.
One such servant is Father Ioanichie, who came to Râmeț in 1977. Since then, Father Ioanichie has carried the burden of the household with amazing dedication. A monk of the monastery of Afteia, Father Ioanichie was ordained a priest in the monastery of Râmeț in 2008 to help Father Antonie at the Holy Altar, which was always besieged by crowds of faithful.
I must also say a word of testimony about the nuns of the convent of Râmeț, led until 2014 by Mother Superior Ierusalima and now by Mother Apolinaria. All that has been built in Râmeț, spiritually and materially, through the restoration and improvement of the church of the century. The building next to it has been transformed into a museum, the new church harmoniously combines architectural elements from the three Romanian provinces, and the other new buildings were built with the sacrifice of the community. The Oblates of Râmeț inherited the dynamism of Father Dometie, who was present everywhere. The disciples of Father Dometie are also everywhere: in the church, in the kitchen for the food of the community, but also for the pilgrims who are fed daily with the community, in the embroidery and painting workshops, in the fields… In Râmeț I met nuns who were truly holy in their humility and simplicity of life, in their obedience and love of prayer. I will never forget the beaming faces of the nuns: Lavrentia (who read the whole Psalter every day), Ioanichia, Eudoxia (who founded and established the monastery museum), Antima, Paraschiva, Vichentia, Teodora, Amfilohia, Mihaela, etc.
After the fall of the communist dictatorship, several monasteries were founded in Transylvania by nuns who left Râmeț, taking with them the experience of spiritual life gained here and the spirit of Father Dometie. I will mention only the most famous ones: “Monastery of the Holy Cross (Mother Mina) and Monastery of the Annunciation (Mother Pavelida) in Oradea, Monastery of the Holy Apostles (Mother Filoteia) in Bârsana – Maramureș, Monastery of the Holy Cross (Mother Varvara) in Cășiel – Dej, Monastery of the Transfiguration (Mother Rafaela) in Botiza, the convent of “Cuvioasa Paraschiva” De sub Piatră – Sălciua – Câmpeni and the hermitage of “Acoperământul Maicii Domnului” (Mother Semfora) in Băița – Hunedoara, the convent “Sfântul Apostol Andrei” (Mother Eufrasia) in Belința – Maramureș, the hermitage Călene – Cugir (Alba), the hermitage “Sfântul Spiridon” (Mother Teofana) in Ponor – Alba. Other nuns were sent abroad: Evghenia as abbess of the Romanian settlement in Jericho, Maria in the convent of Malvialle (France) and Mariami in Namur (Belgium). In addition to the monastery of Râmeț, and from the spirit of Father Dometie, Fathers Serafim (monastery of Cășiel) and Arsenie (cathedral of Nuremberg – Germany) were formed, teachers, until the fall of the communism, in the school near the monastery and in Pleșa – Râmeț, respectively.
I am glad that Mother Abbess Apolinaria continues the worthy work that Mother Ierusalima has been doing in Râmeț for 50 years. Here is what Mother Apolinaria wrote to me recently: “With the help of the Good Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Gelasius, the patron of our monastery, we intend to continue and preserve the tradition and the order of the Holy Fathers left by Fr. Dometie in our monastery… Let us maintain the spirit of prayer, humility, charity, obedience and love for God and our fellow men, always keeping in our hearts and minds the desire to respect with great fidelity the promises made at our monastic tonsure…”.
I too, along with the Convent of the Monastery and the thousands of faithful who knew Father Dometie, pray that his name will appear in our calendar as soon as possible. But until then, we call on him for help: “Venerable Father Dometie, pray to God for us”.
(Archbishop Serafim Joantă – Father Dometie Manolache – a shining face of virtues and devotion, Cartea Românească Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2015)