Mănăstirea Secu. Buletin istoric şi cultural, I, Galaţi, 2025, pp. 143-152
DIN CORESPONDENŢA STAREŢULUI PAISIE VELICICOVSCHI. PATRU SCRISORI PUBLICATE DE UCENICUL SĂU, GRIGORIE DASCĂLUL (1817)
AUTOR: Aurel-Florin ŢUSCANU
Cuvinte Cheie: Stareţul Paisie Velicicovschi, Mănăstiri - Dragomirna, Neamţ, Secu, Mitropolit Grigorie Dascălu, scrisori pastorale, corespondenţă
Keywords: : Abbot Paisie Velicicovschi, Monasteries - Dragomirna, Neamţ, Secu, Metropolitan Grigorie Dascălu, pastoral letters, correspondence
FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE OF ABBOT PAISIE VELICICOVSCHI. FOUR LETTERS PUBLISHED BY HIS DISCIPLE GRIGORIE DASCĂLUL (1817)
(Abstract)
In his correspondence with his disciples, the great Abbot Paisie offered them spiritual counsel and encouragement, and at times even correction and admonition. To some, he also responded to various questions concerning monastic life. Through these letters, we can equally gain valuable insight into the life and spiritual labours of Abbot Paisie such as the circumstances surrounding the transfer of his monastic brotherhood from Dragomirna to Secu (in 1775), and later from Secu to Neamţ Monastery (in 1779), his forward-looking vision regarding the translation and dissemination of the writings of the Holy Fathers, as well as aspects of the communal monastic life he established in the three Moldavian monasteries over which he presided.
The spiritual counsels of Abbot Paisie, as preserved in his epistles, reveal the depth and complexity of his spiritual labor, his moral and spiritual virtues, his constant state of watchfulness, unceasing prayer, and his ongoing struggle against the passions. These dimensions of his inner life are illustrated in the four „epistles” printed in the year 1817 by Grigorie Dascălul: To Dimitrie, the priest from Poltava; To the disciples at the Necşani metochion during the harvest (sent from the Holy Monastery of Dragomirna); To Fathers and brethren remaining at Dragomirna after the relocation to Secu Monastery; To Fathers Dorotei and Gherontie, his disciples, who were in Bucharest, having been sent by His Reverence to school for the study of Greek language and literature.