Source: ASCOR CLUJ
CLICK HERE or on the image below to view the video (Romanian with English subtitles)
Saint Arsenie of Prislop, the Confessor, was born in 1910, bearing the name Zian-Vălean Boca. He studied Theology in Sibiu and Fine Arts in Bucharest. A refined intellect, he showed from an early age a deep inclination toward the monastic life. He became a monk of strict ascetic discipline, a spiritual father loved and respected by many, and a unique iconographer, remarkable for his ability to give visible form to the Divine Mysteries.
In Transylvania, through his spiritual guidance and deeply lived ministry, he inspired a genuine movement of renewal of the faith. Endowed with many spiritual gifts, he worked numerous miracles even during his lifetime, for the calling entrusted to him by God was an exceptional one.
Father Dumitru Stăniloae described him in these words: “His word springs from the rock-like steadfastness of one who neither bargains nor wavers like a reed shaken by the wind, but remains whole, just as his speech is: pure, opposed to every passion and to every thought of pride.”
Under the communist regime, he was regarded with hostility by the totalitarian and repressive system. He was cast into prisons, yet the prayers of Saint Arsenie moved even the guards to tears and opened the locked doors sealed by the tormentors. For this reason, he was eventually released, though granted only a severely restricted freedom. He was slandered, humiliated, and kept under constant surveillance. Moreover, he was forbidden to serve again as both monk and priest.
Even so, countless faithful continued to seek him out, asking for spiritual guidance and help. He fell asleep in the Lord in 1989 and was buried at Prislop Monastery. He is commemorated on November 28, and to this day he is sought by believers—through pilgrimages to Sâmbăta, Prislop, and Drăgănescu, through prayers of the heart, and through the reading of his spiritual writings.
This documentary, produced by the Association of Orthodox Christian Students of Romania (ASCOR) and published on the association’s official channel, seeks to bring to the public’s attention the life, work, and witness of this great saint of the Romanian people. The material is based exclusively on interviews conducted between 2013 and 2015, as well as in 2025.