Talk:Arsenie Boca

Paintings

What people testified about Boca could be truths, false memories, or outright lies. But his paintings are real and there is no denial that these are painted in a Blavatskyan Theosophic or Anthroposophic style. So, yeah, what people told about his allegiance to that spiritual movement could be stories, but his art says it is a hard fact. I mean painting an Eastern Orthodox church like that is heresy. If the Romanian Orthodox Church declares that he is a saint, that means that the Church has legitimized Anthroposophic paintings as theologically orthodox. In this respect, the Church leadership is now in a position of "damned if I do, damned if I don't". He already is a saint of the people (folk saint), but his sanctification by the Church isn't a foregone conclusion. Tgeorgescu (talk) 01:27, 25 July 2020 (UTC)

Tatiana Niculescu could be wrong about many things about Boca, however the inference about his paintings is straightforward and undeniable. Only a madman would deny that these are painted in a Blavatskyan Theosophic or Anthroposophic style. The testimony of people or of the Securitate files could be unreliable, but this time his paintings can testify against him. tgeorgescu (talk) 23:04, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

Others blame him for painting among the saints Francis of Assisi (who was Catholic) and Ulfilas (who was Arian). This is especially contentious since he painted this way Eastern Orthodox churches, if it just were his hobby outside of the Church, nobody would have cared about that. tgeorgescu (talk) 06:41, 26 August 2022 (UTC)

POV tag

Hi, AntiDionysius. Boca was a monk, then got defrocked, was lightly punished by the Communist regime, played as of he is a dissident, indulged in Anthroposophy, exercised his talents in mentalism, and still managed to get declared posthumously as a saint of the Orthodox Church. These are all true, there is no contradiction. tgeorgescu (talk) 21:49, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

My addition of the POV tag was based not on any disputes over the facts of this guy's life but concerns about the language used in places in the article.

He was persecuted by the Romanian Communist Party

Recognising his artistic talent,

As abbot he embellished and renovated the buildings of the monastery, while also enriching its spiritual and cultural life

Once the Romanian People's Republic was installed in Romania, Boca was persecuted by the authorities and the regime's secret police, the Securitate. He was arrested and imprisoned several times for allegedly helping the Romanian anti-communist resistance movement (fascists).

Boca was banned from monasticism and Church activities and was constantly under the surveillance and harassment of the Securitate.

Father Arsenie has not yet been canonized as a saint. Nonetheless, pilgrims from all over Romania flock to pray at his grave,

And so on. AntiDionysius (talk) 21:54, 27 July 2024 (UTC)