Callinicus Caravan of Lainici

Calinic Caravan, born in 1906 at Vladimir, in Gorj, was a protosyncellus, confessor and for many years abbot of Lainici Monastery, between 1952 and 1974. He fell asleep in 1991, at eighty-⁠five. He is named in the Romanian Paterikon and venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization; the sources available to us give no day of repose.

He entered monastic life at Frăsinei Monastery, in 1925, where he received tonsure. In 1930 he was sent to Lainici, in 1935 he was ordained priest and there served day and night, guiding monks and lay people on the path of repentance and humility. He was a silent, gentle and humble father, who in youth had acquired the prayer of the heart and practised it unceasingly, urging his disciples also to learn it. After the death of Abbot Visarion Toia, in 1952, he was named abbot and guided the community twenty-⁠two years, until 1974, raising many spiritual sons and renewing the monastery spiritually.

The Paterikon keeps the counsel he gave his disciples: to keep silent always, to pray much, not to gather wealth, to love the church and people and to keep the mind on God. For monks, the foundation of salvation is obedience, for the laity almsgiving and bearing children, but to obedience must be added unceasing prayer and humility. Monks can help the laity most through prayer, spiritual counsel, almsgiving and a pure life, for it is useless to counsel with the tongue if we scandalize by our deeds. Of himself he said he was not content, because he had spent his life more as he wished than as he had promised, and that from now on he wanted only to live with God in his heart until he gave up his soul. He said that Martha's care should be left to the younger ones, while he wanted to follow Christ as Mary.

Asked about spiritual joys, he told that, when he was abbot, the monastery's cares left him little time for prayer, so he once withdrew into a cell at the dependency and fasted much, slept little and prayed with effort and prostrations, saying Lord Jesus. After two days he still did not feel the sweetness of prayer, but on the third day he received a great heavenly joy, with ceaseless tears and a holy peace. He said that since then he never gave up the prayer, through which he gained patience, gentleness and peace of soul. At eighty-⁠five he blessed his disciples and passed to the rest of Christ.