Living words

Father Arsenie Boca (1910-1989) was a great monastic and charismatic orthodox personality of Romania. After he graduated the "Avram Iancu" High School in Brad (Hunedoara), he attended the Academy of Theology in Sibiu and the Belle Arte Institute in Bucharest. At the same time, he attended medical courses at the University of Medicine in Bucharest. After four months spent in Mount Athos in Greece, he entered the monastic life at Brancoveanu Monastery in Sambata de Sus (Brasov), where he served as a priest and abbot until November 1948. Finally he was transferred by Metropolitan of Transylvania, Nicolae Balan, to Prislop Monastery in the Country of Hateg (Hunedoara). In May 1959, he was expelled from the monastery by the communist regime. Although regulations were strict, Justinian, the Patriarch of Romania, gave him the blessing to work in the Studio of the Romanian Patriarchate in Bucharest. Following his retirement in 1967, he painted for fifteen years the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Draganescu (Giurgiu).

Due to his Christian faith, he was permanently put under surveillance, being imprisoned by the communist regime. Endowed by God with exceptional spiritual gifts, he had a high influence amid the Romanian nation. His spirits is still present today, enjoying a genuine veneration. He died in Sinaia on November 28, 1989, and was buried at Prislop Monastery. His tomb became one of the most well-known places of pilgrimage in Romania.