John the New of Muscel

Venerable John the New of Muscel (Argeș) is one of the best known hermits who struggled in the Valley of Cells (Valea Chiliilor) in the first decades of the seventeenth century. He lived first in the nearby Negru Vodă Skete, then longed for the hermit life and, burning with love for Christ, shut himself voluntarily in a cave dug into the mountain wall.

There he struggled for more than thirty years, unknown to people except for a disciple who brought him water and bread from time to time. The abbot of the skete came to give him communion. Feeling that his end was near, he dug his own grave in front of the cave, lay down in it and gave his soul into the Lord's hands.

In the twentieth century his bones were found whole and fragrant. They rest today at Negru Vodă Monastery in Muscel. The Romanian Orthodox Church commemorates him on 26 July (new style).