Paula, at Receiving Light, shared a long excerpt by Nicu Steinhardt that made my day and reminded me of Steinhardt's amazing faith. For those unfamiliar with Steinhardt, I've posted the best online bio I've found, written by Claudia Miclaus:
The celebrated Romanian writer, hermit and confession father bearing
the name of Nicolae Steinhardt was born near Bucharest, in Pantelimon.
He was of Jewish descent, born of Romanian mother and a Jewish father.
He was a great admirer of the Romanian culture and spirituality, his
conversion to Orthodoxy being in perfect harmony with his tremendous
love for all things Romanian.
He graduated from the Law and Literature School of the University
of Bucharest in 1934. Later on, in 1936, he started his PhD in
Constitutional Law. Consequently, between 1937 and 1938, he traveled to
England, Austria, France and Switzerland.
The communist persecutions started in 1948, when non-communist
intellectuals were declared "enemies of the people". Yet his real
troubles began in 1959, when he refused to testify against his friend
and former school colleague Constantin Noica during a court trial.
Because of his refusal, he was found guilty of "crimes against social
order", together with the "batch of mystical-Iron Guardist
intellectuals".
He was also charged with the penalty of 13 years’ forced labor in
several communist prisons such as Jilava, Gherla, Aiud, and others.
While being in prison, he discovered the joy of pure and true faith and
decided to convert himself to the Orthodox Christianity. Therefore, he
was baptized there, in jail. Although performed by an Orthodox hermit,
his baptism was witnessed by people of different denominations-2
Roman-Catholic priests, two Greek-Catholic priests and a Protestant
pastor, which gave an "ecumenical character" to this special, crucial
event of his life.
His most famous writing is "The Happiness Diary", based on the
memories of the years spent in the communist prisons. Unfortunately,
the so-called "Securitate" confiscated the very 1st edition of this
book, in 1972, and returned it to its author three years later, after
censuring it. Since he had written another version of the same book,
the Securitate also confiscated it from him in 1984. Steinhardt ended
by having several variants of this writing.
"The Happiness Diary" is now included among the best writings of
the Romanian literature. It has as a motto a Bible quotation: "I do
believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark, 9:24). Steinhardt
explains that these simple, honest words stand for the most perfect
definition of Christianity.
In 1980, sixteen years after his being released from prison,
Nicolae Steinhardt got into the Rohia Monastery, working there as a
librarian and writer also. Since he was an excellent counselor and
father-confessor, many weekly visitors came to Rohia, to look for
spiritual guidance from the brilliant "Father Nicolae". Many people
still go there nowadays, to visit his famous library and enjoy the
peace and serenity governing that beautiful place.
He spent the last days of his life in Baia Mare, at the city
hospital. Many of his admirers and friends came to his funeral, though
it was strictly supervised by the communist Securitate.
Pope John the 2nd made the following assertion regarding the
personality of Nicolae Steinhardt: "Out of the numerous witnesses of
Christ that bloomed in the fields of Romania, I would like to mention
the hermit of Rohia, Nicolae Steinhardt, an exceptional believer and
also a highly-cultivated man, who perceived in a very special way the
enormous treasures common to the Christian churches."
Indeed, Steinhardt’s life has been a genuine example of pure faith
and commitment to the Christian principles. While answering to the
question "what do I owe Christ?", Steinhardt refers to the feeling of
general peace, wrapping around his heart. Peace with God, peace with
other people, with the whole world, with evil-intended people, with
those who did him wrong, with those to whom he did wrong and, above
all, peace with himself. "To be good is to be in harmony with one’s
self", Oscar Wilde once said.
Steinhardt also repeatedly expressed the idea of an unbelievably
generous God, full of grace and mercy, the God of Christianity. One of
his favorite quotes seemed to be the one belonging to the celebrated
Russian writer F.M. Dostoevsky: "if anyone ever proved to me, beyond
any doubt, while I am on my dying bed, that Christ is not the truth,
that the real truth is another one, if the arguments provided to me
were impossible to contradict, I wouldn’t give it another thought: I
would choose Christ over truth."
And so he did.
- You can find the story of Nicu's life in his own words (granted, they are Romanian words) here.
- The wikipedia on Nicolae Steinhardt.
- "Giving You Shall Receive" by Nicu Steinhardt.
- "365 uncomfortable questions", an interview with Steinhardt (Romanian). Not all the questions and answers are posted, but what can be read is truly fascinating.
- "Communism: The Refined Laboratory of Terrorism, Nicolae Steinhardt, The Diary of Happiness", a very informative paper in pdf
- Nicu's mention in The Steinhardt Family Book
- An interview with Virgil Ciomos, who talks about Parintele Steinhardt to Radio Romania International
- Excerpt from The Happiness Diary, 1935
- Excerpt from The Happiness Diary, 7 March 1960
- A fistful of links from a neat little blog dedicated entirely to Steinhardt,
