Our Venerable Father Gelasius, Abbot of Râmeț in Transylvania
Life
Saint Gelasius of Râmeț was a fourteenth-century Transylvanian monastic remembered as the abbot of the monastery at Râmeț, in the mountains of present-day Romania. According to the synaxarion, he first lived as a solitary near Râmeț Creek before gathering a community around himself, and he became known as a strict ascetic and a worker of miracles.
His memory is tied closely to the Râmeț monastery and to the hermits who lived on the surrounding mountain, for whom he served as spiritual father. The Romanian Orthodox Church glorified him in 1992, and he is commemorated on June 30.
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Ascetic Life
The synaxarion describes Gelasius as keeping an austere monastic rule. He is said to have fasted on weekdays, taking food only on Saturdays and Sundays, and tradition relates that his sustenance was the Eucharist itself. He fulfilled the ordinary obediences of the monastery during the day and devoted his nights to vigil.
He is remembered as the spiritual father of the many hermits who lived on Râmeț Mountain, visiting them during Great Lent. Sources also relate that in his later years he served as a bishop, identified in some accounts as Archbishop of Transylvania around 1377, laboring on behalf of his flock before his repose.
Miracles and Traditional Accounts
By tradition Gelasius was granted the grace of working miracles: the accounts relate that he healed the sick and cast out demons from those who were possessed. A spring of water is said to have appeared through his prayers, remembered as the Spring of the Holy Gelasius, where the faithful still draw water seeking healing and blessing.
Tradition holds that he knew of his death beforehand by divine revelation, and that at his repose the bells of the monastery rang of their own accord.
Relics and Glorification
According to the accounts, the saint's head was discovered in the twentieth century and is venerated at the Râmeț monastery. The Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Saint Gelasius in 1992; the official decision was made on June 20 and the solemn glorification was celebrated at Râmeț Monastery on June 30, 1992.
