Nicolae Steinhardt, a truthful defender of Christianity

Nicolae Steinhardt, a truthful defender of Christianity
On of the greatest men persecuted for his Christian faith, Nicolae Steinhardt wrote in his book "The Happiness Diary": "I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!" We have indeed precious life lessons to learn from this man!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."
By Claudia Miclaus