Cleopa Ilie (lay name: Constantin) was born in Suliţa, Botoşani to a family of peasants. He was the fifth of ten children born to Alexandru Ilie. He attended the primary school in his village. Afterwards he was an apprentice for three years to the monk Paisie Olaru, who lived in seclusion at the Cozancea hermitage.
Together with his elder brother, Vasile, Ilie joined the community at Sihastria herm...itage in December 1929. In 1935, he joined the army in the town of Botoşani, but returned a year later to the hermitage, where he was anointed a monk on 2 August 1937, taking the name "Cleopa" (i.e. "guide") at his baptism. In June 1942, he was appointed to hegumen deputy because of abbot Ioanichie Moroi's poor health.
On 27 December 1944, he was ordained a hierodeacon (deacon-monk) and on 23 January 1945 a hieromonk (priest-monk) by the archbishop Galaction Cordun, abbot of the Neamţ Monastery at the time. Afterwards he was officially appointed hegumen of the Sihastria Hermitage.
In 1947, the hermitage became a monastery and vice-archimandrite Cleopa Ilie became archimandrite on approval of Patriarch Nicodim. Because the Communist secret service was looking for him in 1948, he disappeared into the woods surrounding the monastery, staying there for six months. On 30 August 1949, he was appointed abbot of the Slatina Monastery in Suceava county, where he joined 30 other monks from the Sihastria Monastery community as a result of Patriarch Justinian’s decision.
There he founded a community of monks with over 80 people. Between 1952 and 1954 he was being chased again by the Securitate and, together with hieromonk Arsenie Papacioc, escaped to the Stanisoara Mountains. He was brought back to the monastery after two years upon Patriarch Justinian’s order.
In 1956 he returned to Sihastria monastery, where he had been anointed, and in the spring of 1959 he retired for the third time to the Neamţ Mountains, spending the next five years there. He returned to Sihastria in the fall of 1964, as confessor for the entire community and continued to give spiritual advice to both monks and lay people for the next 34 years. He died on 2 December 1998 at Sihăstria Monastery.
Father Cleopa Continues to Make Miracles Even After His Death
04-14-2004. The tomb of Father Ilie Cleopa, who rests at the Sihăstria Monastery, has become a pilgrimage site. Those who met Father Cleopa during the 64 years he spent only at Sihăstria come and worship at his resting place and say that they feel the blessing and the help of the holy man in achieving their wishes, just as when he was alive.Very many ill people have been miraculously cured after having taken earth or flowers from Father Cleopa’s tomb (which they carefully preserved at home) or even oil from the icon lamp at his tomb cross, which they applied on the suffering parts of their body. The miracle of the healings has spread out fast throughout the country and the monks at Sihăstria have to permanently add a layer of earth on the tomb, to replace the amount that is taken for healing.
„Several buses of pilgrims stop over at Father Cleopa’s tomb and ask for permission to take a handful of earth. Some sprinkle it in their gardens, others keep it as a sample of the Elder’s grace, to be protected from all evil, while others add just a little bit in their food”, a monk told us, adding that several times so far he has had to carry two or three wheelbarrows of earth to to Fr. Cleopa’s grave, to fill in the hollows left by the faithful. A young woman from Cluj, who knew Father Cleopa while he was alive (he had been her spiritual Father), was suffering from a terrible heart disease. She couldn’t manage to get to Sihăstria until after the Elder’s repose. She went to the cemetery and prayed near his grave; when she left, she took a little bit of earth and swallowed it, being certain that the Father’s grace will work upon her. The young woman healed and the news about the miracle spread throughout the villages around Cluj, the monk added. The Father’s cell has been turned into a museum ever since and has been visited by thousands of pilgrims from inside and outside Romania.
***
Părintele Cleopa (pe numele de mirean, Constantin) s-a născut într-o familie de ţărani, fiind al cincilea copil din cei zece ai familiei Alexandru Ilie. Urmează cursurile şcolii primare din satul natal, făcând apoi trei ani de ucenicie duhovnicească la schimonahul Paisie Olaru, pustnic în Schitul Cozancea.
În decembrie 1929 se alătură obştii schitului Sihăstria, alături de fratele mai mare, Vasile. Pe 12 decembrie 1932, de ziua Sfântului Ierarh Spiridon, sunt primiţi în obştea schitului. În 1935 este luat în armată, în oraşul Botoşani. În 1936 se reîntoarce la schit şi este tuns în monahism pe 2 august 1937, primind numele "Cleopa". În iunie 1942 este numit locţiitor de egumen, datorită stării de sănătate a stareţului Ioanichie Moroi.
Pe 27 decembrie 1944 este hirotonit ierodiacon, iar pe 23 ianuarie 1945 este hirotonit ieromonah de către Episcopul Galaction Cordun, pe atunci stareţ al Mănăstirii Neamţ. Ulterior este numit oficial egumen al Schitului Sihăstria.
În 1947, Schitul Sihăstria este ridicat la rang de mânăstire, iar Proto-singhelul Cleopa Ilie este făcut arhimandrit, cu aprobarea patriarhului Nicodim Munteanu. În 1948, urmărit de Siguranţă, se retrage pentru şase luni în pădurile din jurul Mânăstirii Sihăstria, iar pe 30 august 1949, Arhimandritul Cleopa Ilie este numit stareţ al Mânăstirii Slatina Suceava unde se transferă alături de 30 de călugari din obştea Mânăstirii Sihăstria, ca urmare a deciziei patriarhului Justinian Marina.
Întemeiază la Mânăstirea Slatina o obşte care numără peste 80 de persoane. Între 1952-1954, este urmărit de Securitate şi se retrage în Munţii Stănişoara, împreună cu ieromonahul Arsenie Papacioc. După 2 ani este readus în manastire, din ordinul Patriarhului Justinian.
În 1956, revine la metanie, iar în primavara anului 1959, se retrage pentru a treia oară în Munţii Neamţ, unde îşi petrece următorii 5 ani. Revine la Mânăstirea Sihăstria în toamna anului 1964, ca duhovnic al întregii obşti, şi povăţuieşte fără întrerupere atât calugări, cât şi mireni, timp de 34 de ani.
Încetează din viaţă pe 2 decembrie 1998.
[Elder Paisius (Olaru) with Elder Cleopa (Ilie) on right]
Γεννήθηκε το 1912 στη Σουλίτσα του νομού Μποντοσάνι από τους ευσεβείς χωρικούς Αλέξανδρο και Άννα, το ένατο από τα δέκα παιδιά τους. Πέντε από αυτά τα παιδιά και ύστερα η μητέρα, όταν γέρασε, εισήλθαν στον Μοναχισμό. Πρώτος του πνευματικός ήταν π. Παΐσιος Ολάρου από τη σκήτη Κοζάντσεα - Μποντοσάνι.
Το 1929 ο κατά κόσμον Κωνσταντίνος, μαζί με δύο από τ' αδέλφια του, αναχώρησαν από την πατρική τους εστία, επιζητώντας τη μοναχική άσκηση στο μοναστήρι Συχαστρία. Μετά από επταετή δοκιμασία (1939) ο δόκιμος Κωνσταντίνος εκάρη Μοναχός, λαμβάνοντας το όνομα Κλεόπας. Διακόνημά του η βοσκή των προβάτων, υποτακτικός ενός θεοπρεπούς Μοναχού του π. Γαλακτίωνος Ίλιε, ασκούμενος έτσι στην υπακοή, την ταπεινοφροσύνη, την προσευχή, την ησυχία, τη σιωπή μέσα στο φυσικό περιβάλλον της διακονίας του, εμβαθύνοντας ταυτόχρονα στα ιερά λειτουργικά βιβλία, αλλά και στους βίους των Αγίων και στα ασκητικά έργα των Πατέρων. Έτσι λαξεύτηκε πνευματικά η αυτοδίδακτη και αγνή προσωπικότητά του, ενώ αγαπήθηκε πολύ από τους συμμοναστές του, οι οποίοι σε κάθε ευκαιρία επιζητούσαν τον λόγο και τη συμβουλή του, που εμβαπτίζονταν πάντοτε στην αγιογραφική και αγιοπατερική εμπειρία. Σημειωτέον, ότι υπήρξε γλυκύτατος και πειστικότατος στις ομιλίες του, αναπαύοντας έτσι ψυχοπνευματικά τους ακροατές του.
Το 1942 ο π. Κλεόπας, αν και ήταν ακόμη Μοναχός, ανέλαβε προσωρινά την ηγουμενεία της Συχαστρίας, επειδή ο Ηγούμενος π. Ιωαννίκιος Μορόι, ασθενούσε, ενώ το 1945 εξελέγη Ηγούμενος, αφού χειροτονήθηκε Διάκονος και Πρεσβύτερος. Κατά την ηγουμενεία του αναμόρφωσε το κτιριακό συγκρότημα της Μονής, επαναφέροντάς την μάλιστα στο κοινοβιακό σύστημα.
Το 1949 ο π. Κλεόπας μετοίκησε στο μοναστήρι Σλάτινα, προκειμένου να τονώσει την πνευματικότητα και της περιοχής εκείνης. Όπως ήταν αναμενόμενο, όλα πήγαν κατ' ευχήν και ο Γέροντας απέκτησε φήμη αγίου και ελεήμονος Πνευματικού στην ευρύτερη περιφέρεια της βόρειας Μολδαβίας, ενώ άνθρωποι όλων των τάξεων και των ηλικιών προσέτρεχαν στο πετραχήλι του, ώστε ν' απιθώσουν τα καρδιακά τους βάρη, λαμβάνοντας αναψυχή και παραμυθία. Το 1953 παραιτήθηκε από Ηγούμενος. Τρία χρόνια αργότερα (το 1956) επέστρεψε στη Μονή της μετανοίας του, τη Συχαστρία, όπου αφοσιώθηκε στη μελέτη των Γραφών και των Πατερικών Κειμένων, σε συνδυασμό με την πνευματική υποστήριξη όσων είχαν ανάγκη και προσέφευγαν στην αγάπη του.
Από το 1965 άρχισε να καταγράφει τις σκέψεις, τις νουθεσίες, τις εμπειρίες του. Έτσι προέκυψαν διάφορα έργα του, από τα οποία αναφέρουμε τα σπουδαιότερα: "Διάλογος περί οραμάτων και ονείρων", "Αιρεσιολογία" ή "Περί της Ορθοδόξου Πίστεως", "Τα κηρύγματα των εορτών", "Κηρύγματα για μοναχούς", "Κηρύγματα για όλες τις Κυριακές και εορτές του χρόνου" και "Κηρύγματα για λαϊκούς" κ.ά.
Το 1974 ο π. Κλεόπας πραγματοποίησε προσκύνημα στους Αγίους Τόπους, στη Μονή Σινά και στον Άθω, το δε 1977 ξανά στο Άγιον Όρος (όπου θα επιθυμούσε να είχε μονάσει, όπως έλεγε), στη Θεσσαλονίκη, Αθήνα, Κόρινθο, Πελοπόννησο, Κέρκυρα, Ιταλία και Γιουγκοσλαβία, αναψύχοντας -όπου διάβηκε- ψυχές κατατρεγμένες.
Grave at Sihăstria Monastery
Μετά από μια μακρά ζωή ογδόντα έξι συναπτών χρόνων επί των επάλξεων του πνευματικού αγώνα για την καταξίωση του λαού ως πολιτών τ' Ουρανού στο "αρχαίον κάλλος", κοιμήθηκε οσιακά στις 2 Δεκεμβρίου 1998, αφήνοντας στους μεταγενέστερους μνήμη οσίου και αγιασμένου Γέροντα, για τον οποίον σεμνύνεται η Ρουμανική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία και καυχιέται ο Παράδεισος!!! Είναι, άλλωστε, αξιομνημόνευτο, ότι η συνηθέστερη ευχή του π. Κλεόπα ήταν: "Ο Παράδεισος να σάς φάει" !!!
http://o-nekros.blogspot.ca/2011/07/elder-cleopa-ilie.html
