The Apostle Andrew first brought the Gospel to Scythia Minor, a Roman province, which is known today as Dobruja in Romania. There he converted pagans to Christianity, who later became the first Slavic martyrs.
Paul wrote of the Scythians, referring to them as believers:
“Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (Colossians 3:11) These were members of the early apostolic church.
Many Christian artifacts and remains from early churches dating from 300 AD to 400 AD have been located in Romania.
During the early 300s AD, the believers of Scythia Minor underwent horrific persecution at the direction of Roman Emperor Diocletian. (Georgi Atanasov, Pontica, 2023. Muzeul de Istorie Națională și Arheologie Constanța)
Monasticism rose up from the early Romanian church. Living lives of humbleness devoted to God and being always in prayer, these men became leaders in church doctrine. (Emanuel GAFIŢA, “Scythian Monks and their contribution to the clarification of the fourth century theology,” Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania, 2020.)
Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, established the usage of numbering the years in remembrance of Jesus—Anno Domini—The Year of the Lord, thus replacing the pagan method of counting the years of Emperor Diocletian, the murderer he hoped to forget.
The monks have continued the ancient ways of prayer, as initiated by Jesus and taught by the apostles for 2000 years.
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’” (Matthew 6:9-13)
Each day the monks pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.” Known as the Jesus prayer, it keeps the speaker humble and the Lord in full control.
The Romanian monks have kept the forefathers commands to be always in prayer.
Paul wrote: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Prayer is important to God. It is a gift from Him to His people, that they might speak and be heard and then receive His Word in response.
Since the time of the Apostolic Fathers and the early church, the monks have kept specific times, ways and words of prayer.
Jesus went alone to the wilderness to overcome the devil with Scripture. He also went up mountaintops to pray, especially at night.
The Romanian monks have a tradition of hermitage following in the footsteps of Christ, even today. These men seek to live in God’s presence continually. They seek purity and unification with God. Keeping oneself from sin and being in unity with God through prayer is a lifestyle of servant leadership, as demonstrated by Christ.
In Romania, the Valley of the Cells has international recognition; it is a mountain where men come to become “hesychasts,” or hidden monks (hermitage), living individually within caves. An archaeological monument, the monastery there has existed since 1215 AD.
The monks of Romania live alone, centering themselves and their hearts on God alone, withdrawing from distractions. (100 years old monk’s life advice, TRINITAS TV, 2009. Elders.org) In this way, they may always pray.
When one is praying, he is always thinking about the Lord, who Himself prays for His church, always interceding. “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” (Romans 8:34)
The monks are valuable intercessors.
Communism came to Romania in 1959. Monasteries were closed. Monks were sent out to work instead of to pray. Some leadership fled to the forests to live alone and continue to pray.
Communism was a spiritual attack against the Romanian Orthodox Church, its unification and power of prayer.
The adversary also sought to destroy Jesus at the cross, but was defeated. This act of God gave birth to the church and made it powerful—full of the Holy Spirit.
“However, instead of weakening the monks, the years of communist persecution only made them stronger. Hidden in the light of God, these hesychast monks protected the country with their prayer.” (Cristian Curte, “The Last Great Romanian Spiritual Father on Mount Athos: On Elder Iulian of Prodromou Skete,” Translation by Jesse Dominick, Orthodox Christianity, 2023)
Nothing can stop prayer.
Thus, the Romanian monks have endured persecution both in the past and in modern days. Overcoming spiritual attacks is a type of preparation that builds spiritual hierarchy.
Other ancient preparations by Romanian monks include fasting and perpetual prayer. The Lord fasted 40 days in the wilderness. Romanian monks fast and encourage their church to fast at specific times.
They recall the words of the Lord when describing how to cast out a deaf and dumb spirit: “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:21)
(Patriarchate of Romania, Patriarch of Romania: Humble prayer and fasting fill man with God’s sanctifying love, Orthodox Times, 2025.)
Romanian Orthodox monks’ prayers can break curses and cast out demons, even the hardest types to remove.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Romanian Orthodox Church leadership, took action. Each day church bells would be rung at noon and specific prayers were to be made in unison by both the clergy and laity of the Church. “‘Priests in parishes and monasteries will also read special prayers for the end of the pandemic,’ the office of the Holy Synod said at the end of the statement.” (Romanian faithful to jointly pray from their homes daily at noon, Orthodox Times, 2020.)
The church in every nation must ring their bells and unite in prayer at specific times for specific purposes.
The Romanian Orthodox Church stands united, as a Christian nation.
The Romanian monks are the example of Christian leadership to the church today. They live lives devoted to Christ; they have been tested by government change, persecution and plague. In addition, they are spiritually prepared to battle in prayer and direct their church in how, when and what to pray.
The Romanian language is Latin (an early church language) at its core, the only tongue within the Eastern Orthodox Church to have a Romance language. Before the Great Schism of 1054 AD, the Romanian Orthodox Church was aligned with Constantinople. Its liturgical language was Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament. In 1568, its Divine Liturgy began in the Romanian language.
Today, the Romanian Orthodox Church retains 386 monasteries, with 2,886 monks and 5,225 nuns. (World Council of Churches) Approximately 19 million people worldwide belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church. During the coronavirus, many of these faithful prayed for its end. To this, the church worldwide owes them thanks, specifically to their leadership and monasteries who initiated the prayers and promoted them. The prayer lives of the Romanian monks are an inspiration to all the church.
To honor the Lord and the witness of the Romanian Orthodox Church for Jesus and keeping the ways of the early church for 2,000 years, I have embroidered in Romanian “Eu sînt” meaning “I AM” from John 18:5 into this artwork titled “I AM.”
Listen to the Lord’s prayer in Romanian: