Sighișoara, Romania, November 19, 2020
Photo: msnews.ro
On Tuesday, November 17, the revered Romanian elder Archimandrite Ghelasie (Țepeș) was laid to rest at the Monastery of the Great Martyr Demetrios in Sighișoara, which he himself founded.
His funeral service was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj and His Eminence Archbishop Irineu of Alba Iulia, surrounded by a small circle of priests and deacons, in the presence of the monastic brotherhood and a number of Elder Ghelasie’s disciples and spiritual children, reports Radio Renasterea.
Elder Ghelasie, a spiritual child of the great Elder Arsenie (Boca), reposed in the Lord on Sunday, November 15, at the age of 58, reports evz.ro.
Photo: radiorenasterea.ro
In his homily, Met. Andrei highlighted three reasons why they had gathered at the monastery that day: to pray for the repose of Fr. Ghelasie’s soul; to offer condolences and consolation—“And if our consolation is weak, the consolation that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ is strong,” he preached; and to meditate upon the great mission entrusted to the departed elder.
And referring to St. Peter’s exhortation to elders in the fifth chapter of his first epistle, Met. Andrei enumerated at least four virtues that Fr. Ghelasie possessed: that he received all—whether young or old, cultured or simple, good or bad, rich or poor; having received them, he loved them; and he prayed for all; and lastly, he bore the burdens of all.
A eulogy was also offered by Abp. Irineu, after which the funeral procession carried Fr. Ghelasie’s body to his final resting place in the designated place in the monastery courtyard.
Watch a video from his funeral:
Watch and listen to some wonderful chanting from Elder Ghelasie and his monastic brotherhood:
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Photo: radiorenasterea.ro Archimandrite Ghelasie was born on May 27, 1962, in Măgheruș, in the Nadeș commune in Mureș County to a religious family. His mother eventually became a nun with the blessing of Fr. Arsenie (Boca), and himself manifesting an authentic monastic vocation, Ghelasie entered the Brâncoveanu Monastery in Sâmbăta de Sus, where he himself met Fr. Arsenie, and in 1989, he was tonsured as a monk.
After graduating from the Faculty of Theology in Sibiu, he was abbot of Lupşa Monastery in Alba.
In 1998, together with a small number of disciples, he settled in the vicinity of Sighișoara, where he founded the Monastery of the Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher with the blessing and urging of Met. Andrei, then the Archbishop of Alba Iulia. He was elevated to the rank of archimandrite in 2005 and received the Patriarchal Cross, the highest distinction awarded in the Romanian Patriarchate. He served as abbot of the monastery for 22 years, until he departed to the Lord on November 15, 2020.
