"He Spoke with God": Elder Petroniu of Prodromos
“Seek Jesus! He is hidden in His commandments. Love God and your neighbor! If you want to be sanctified, remember Jesus! Speak less with people and more with God. The mind thinks about what it loves.”
Elder Petroniu Tănase (d. Feb 22, 2011)
“Elder Petroniu was a great man. He was strict with himself and others. He was ascetic. He was quiet. He had the prayer. I would speak about spiritual things with him. He was a man who loved God. Of course, God loved him as well. Later, he came to the Holy Mountain. I had come earlier. I came in 1977, while he came in 1978.
He held the reins, he held the rule, so that there would be peace, so that there would be punctuality. The monk should be like a soldier, like a military man always ready for battle. That is how he was and how he also taught us. And this is very good. Very good! Now, towards the end, he no longer could. Yes, it’s good that God kept him alive for ninety-five, ninety-six years.
He definitely had the prayer. He was very quiet. He didn’t really speak. Only if someone asked him. Even then he wasn’t very willing. He spoke with God. That is how he was. He would say this: ‘Seek Jesus! He is hidden in His commandments. Love God and your neighbor! If you want to be sanctified, remember Jesus! Speak less with people and more with God. The mind thinks about what it loves.’” (Fr. Iulian of Prodromos)
Asked about Father Petroniu Tănase, Father Adrian of Antim said: “Avva Petroniu of Prodromos? The most humble! The most humble! The most humble!” He also told us that in 1937, when Antim Monastery’s brotherhood was at its largest—numbering 38 monks—the most humble and the only one who did not justify himself was Father Petroniu Tănase.
Father Ioanichie from the Simonos Petras Monastery on Athos said: “Father Petroniu of Prodromos perfectly combined love with asceticism, and struggle with gentleness. Until a few years ago, Father Petroniu would pray during vigils standing all night, from evening to morning. When he kneeled it was a true blessing.”
(Părintele Petroniu de la Prodromu, ediție îngrijită de Preot Constantin Coman și Costion Nicolescu, Editura Bizantină)