Christ Is Calling You: A Course in Catacomb Pastorship

by George Calciu

"The time has come, young man, for you to hear a voice which has been calling you..." With these words, Fr. George Calciu began a series of seven weekly homilies to the youth of communist Romania in 1978. Hundreds of young people risked their lives to hear him, climbing over the walls when the authorities tried to keep them away. Fr. George knew this would mean his imprisonment and probable death, but he was prepared. Already he had endured sixteen years in the anti-human communist prison system. He was a survivor of the scientific experiment of the most diabolical system of torture ever devised, which attempted to methodically dismantle the human personality. Having had the very foundation of his soul defiled, Fr. George found the inward strength to turn to Christ, from Whom he received not only restoration and healing, but even the superhuman power to love and forgive his torturers. On his release from prison, he gave his homilies out of his desire to! lay down his life for Christ and for young people lost in materialism. Purified in a crucible of suffering, his fiery soul cried out to them, awakening them to the purpose of existence and changing their lives forever. He was again incarcerated in 1979, and after his release in 1984 he was exiled to America. When he returned to Romania in 1989, ten thousand young people came to pray with him, despite concerted efforts by the authorities to stop this event. Fr. Calciu's sermons and a recent interview are presented here, offering a glimpse into the heart and soul of a genuine pastor and a living confessor of Christ. His sermons render an urgency and set the tone for contemporary Christian pastors under impossible conditions, when no human logic can prevail, but only direct dependence on God.

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 1997

Reviews

[Aiden Kringen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story and an amazing man. I am grateful we have the chance to learn from him and hear his life story.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I think that in our present age of technological enslavement we are faced with a new kind of persecution, I do not believe that the American government would be opposed to oppression through a prison system similar to that of Pitesti, as described by Fr. George in this book. The immense amount of strength and courage displayed by Fr. George and the other Orthodox Christian prisoners with him in this book is unbelievable. I hope that we as modern Orthodox Christians can have that same courage when our Faith is tested, and resist the evils of our age no matter the cost.