Nicodemus Mandita

Nicodim Măndiță, born Nicolae in 1889 (by some sources 1886) in a village of Argeș, was a protosyncellus, confessor at the nuns' monasteries of Agapia and Văratec, writer of books of spiritual teaching and tireless missionary. He died on 6 July 1975 at Agapia Monastery. He is venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.

He was the son of the peasants Ioniță and Filofteia Măndiță and finished only five primary grades. Between 1911 and 1918 he was in the army and took part in the 1913 campaign in Bulgaria and the First World War. In 1920 he became a monk at Măgura Skete in Bacău, with the name Nicodim, and the same summer was ordained hieromonk. He was missionary priest at Frumoasa-⁠Bacău (1921-1923), confessor at the nuns' monastery of Giurgeni (1923-1925) and missionary priest in the villages of Transylvania, Pâclișa, Hășmașul Ciceului and Leurda (1925-1935). Then for forty years he was confessor at nuns' monasteries: at Agapia (1935-1945), at Văratec (1945-1962) and again at Agapia (1962-1975).

Under the communist regime he wrote books of spiritual teaching, with anti-⁠communist content, copied by collaborators and spread through a network of colporteurs. Accused of distributing forbidden publications, he was sentenced by the Bucharest Military Tribunal, on 22 January 1965, to eight years of correctional prison; because of his age and illness, the court went to Târgu Neamț. He was held at Aiud, and the 500,000 confiscated books were sent for pulping. After a year and a half the rest of the sentence was annulled and he returned to Agapia.

His books, published mostly after 1990, treat the Jesus Prayer, confession, the life of the Mother of God, the toll-⁠houses of the air, the sin of cursing and theft, the Christian vigil and many other subjects. He is buried in the cemetery of Agapia Monastery.