Putna, Suceava County, Romania, February 18, 2025
Photo: Putna Monastery (YouTube)
Whenever the thoughts come rushing in, we must resort to prayer, lest we lose ourselves, the abbot of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s famous Putna Monastery preached on Sunday, reflecting on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Abbot Archimandrite Melchisedec (Velnic) referred to the verse Blessed shall he be who shall seize and dash thine infants against the rock (Ps. 136:9), which the Holy Fathers interpret as referring to sinful thoughts and movements of the heart that must be destroyed at first appearance.
These “infants” must be broken upon the rock of Christ, “and these sinful thoughts must be removed through the Jesus Prayer and through all means of Divine grace,” Fr. Melchisedec taught, reports the Basilica News Agency.
Referring further to Psalm 136, By the Rivers of Babylon, which was sung for the first time this year at Matins for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, Abbot Melchisedec noted that “It’s a special song of the Psalmist David, which reminds us of the Jewish people who, distant from God, remember the time when they were close to Him. They ask themselves how they will continue to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land.”
The abbot explained that a Christian’s journey is like living in a paradisiacal garden—those who choose to remain there develop, through virtuous living, an expansive heart that becomes a wellspring of love and goodness. However, he warned that leaving this garden leads to exile in a foreign land. Like the Prodigal Son who wandered far from home, those who stray find their souls marked by unnatural laws—the inevitable result of pursuing sin.
“Being in a foreign land, how can you sing the Lord’s song? You can’t, because all these things confine you, even crush you spiritually,” Fr. Melchisedec warned.
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Putna Monastery. Photo: putna.ro
Archimandrite Melchisedec was born in 1961 in Ceplenița commune, Iași County, receiving the Baptismal name Mihai.
He attended the Theological Seminary at Neamț Monastery from 1979-1984, and the University-level Theological Institute in Bucharest between 1985-1989.
After completing his studies, he embraced the monastic life, going through various stages of ascetic struggles.
He was received at Putna Monastery as a novice on July 1, 1989, and was tonsured a monk on September 7 of that year. Three days later, he was ordained a hierodeacon.
On August 15, 1990, he was ordained a hieromonk.
On December 7, 1992, he was elected abbot of Putna Monastery.
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