In this rare audio recording, Father Justin Pârvu recounts his 16 years of imprisonment under the Communist Regime in Romania. He shares moving memories of celebrating Pascha (Easter) at 400 meters underground in the Baia Sprie lead mine, and recalls how Father Gheorghe Calciu managed to serve the Divine Liturgy in a cell under the watchful eyes of the guards. This is a deeply personal testimony of Orthodox Christian endurance, unwavering faith, and the true meaning of “holy suffering” alongside the Romanian martyrs.
Father Justin fell asleep in the Lord on June 16, 2013.
Audio source: [2007-2008] O Chilie Athonită: Bucurii din Sfântul Munte https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U0t8nUbaSY
Transcript:
Father Justin: The entire Divine Liturgy was celebrated right there, upon the body of a sick man who, after receiving Holy Communion, lived for another six hours and then reposed in the Lord. All other religions cannot explain the great phenomenon of the Resurrection of Christ the Savior.
Interviewer: Out of your 88 years of life, you spent 16 in prison.
Father Justin: Well, those were the most beautiful years. If it hadn’t been for those years, I wouldn’t be who I am today. You must understand that a man in freedom does not know how to truly fulfill his life. Man is very insecure and easily influenced by all the agents around him. But when he is forced to form his character, to hold a firm stance and follow a strict line of conduct, then comes this “holy suffering.”
Orthodox Christianity would not be Orthodox Christianity had it not passed through those first 200 years of persecution, had it not passed through the entire Middle Ages right up to our present days. For Christianity has always had to bleed from one place to another, and even now, Christianity bleeds, carrying its existence from one generation to the next. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians. The life I lived during those years was perhaps the most fertile and beautiful, because we passed from death to life and from life to death throughout all those 16 years. And in this lay the entire spiritual evolution, which is uniquely beneficial to the man being formed for life.
Interviewer: And you experienced the most beautiful Pascha [Easter]… in the Baia Sprie mine.
Father Justin: The most beautiful Pascha! We celebrated Divine Liturgies there… and perhaps I do not serve them as profoundly now. Maybe that is why God has chastised me today, allowing me to fall bedridden and twist my kneecap… who knows what I have done. But those Liturgies were beautiful. Serving a Liturgy there, right under the eyes of the guard at the door, was not easy. If they caught you praying like that, it was playing with fire.
Father Gheorghe Calciu used to tell the story of how he celebrated a Divine Liturgy in his cell. He had no bread, only a little wine, and the guard on duty in the block was the most horrible of them all; you couldn’t even speak to him. On feast days, they would specifically force these men—the imprisoned clerics and Christians—to do penal drills. Well, Father Calciu knocked on the door, and the guard came and opened it.
“What do you want, bandit?” the guard asked.
“I don’t have a piece of bread, sir…” Father Calciu replied.
“Bread? What? Is it time for bread?” The guard slammed the door and left.
But not even ten minutes passed, and the guard returned with a piece of bread. “Take some bread, you. But watch out, don’t let me catch you telling anyone!” he said. Father Calciu answered, “How could I say anything, sir? You are now a contributor and present in our Divine Liturgy here. How could I say a word?”
And so, he concluded a Holy Liturgy right there, a spiritual experience unlike any other, alongside the entire assembly of priests. That entire Liturgy was celebrated upon the body of a sick man who, after receiving Holy Communion, lived for another six hours and then reposed in the Lord. Behold, it was a living Liturgy upon the bodies of martyrs. As you well know, during the consecration of the Holy Altar, the relics of martyrs are placed within it.
Interviewer: And at Baia Sprie?
Father Justin: I won’t even mention Baia Sprie—how incredibly beautiful it was, that melodic chiming of bells made by striking the different lengths of mining rods in the mine shaft, when some two hundred and fifty men gathered there to sing “Christ is Risen!” As we were all coming out of there singing these paschal hymns, the guards outside were alerted that the prisoners were holding a church service in the mine. About five unarmed guards came in—as usual, they didn’t go among the prisoners with weapons.
Waiting for us outside, my dears, were battalions of militia and Securitate. As we emerged from the mine at a depth of 400 meters, shouting and singing these hymns, our voices echoed across the entire expanse of Baia Sprie and Baia Mare. We each entered the penal colony, into the barracks where we were housed. They didn’t even let us wash; we went straight into the dormitories. We stayed there like that for two days.
After two days, they gathered us in the middle of the courtyard. The guard yelled: “You bandits, do you know why we kept you like this? Because those stupid ideas haven’t left your heads. Now go wash yourselves, eat your meal, and get back into the mine.”
On Holy and Great Friday, they had given us an incredibly good cabbage soup, salty and sour, and we went down into the mine with only 100 grams of bread. We did hard labor for 24 hours on just that food. And on that very day of Holy Friday, they offered us the largest, richest meal, with plenty of meat. But they were left there with their food, while we, in fasting and prayer, did our duty and fulfilled our required quota of mining lead and galena.
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