Reportage to the Holy City of the New Jerusalem from Glodeni , Pucioasa

C.T. - Welcome back! We are now at Pucioasa, a place where, I say, we have all the
reasons to be. Why? Because there is a settlement behind me, known by a lot of people as The
Monastery of The New Jerusalem.
In fact, if you look carefully, you will see a superbly carved gate behind me, which
represents an exquisite artistic fact. There are some people near the gate, people with some
appearances, lets say, not very common for what we know about the appearance of man in
modern Romania.
Almost no one crosses beyond that gate. Even the ones from the The New Jerusalem
congregation do enter there only after a certain period of time, in certain conditions. But, in
fact, what is happening here?
If you remember well, in the nineties, this place was submitted to different disputes:
either by some theologians of the Church, by some journalists, by some people who didnt
understand much from what is happening here, who didnt know too much, either. I admit that
I dont know much, either. But we are about to find out, together, if what these people say (the
fact that The Word of God is heard here) is true, and if so, what is The Word of God and if
The Word of God is here, what is the significance of this place? And if these people wear
these clothes which remind us of our ancestors, whats the role of Romania in The Word of
God? And if The Word of God is heard here, how does this word of God relate to what we
know about The Word of God as being The Holy Bible?
If these people say that they are orthodox christians, then what we should learn from
them about this matter, and why do some people question their attribute? But who are they for
real? What is true and what is not true about the various things that were told about the
settlement from Pucioasa I mean, about the The New Jerusalem congregation and The
Monastery of The New Jerusalem, where, I strongly believe, things are happening, things that
deserve at least to be listened by us, and then, everyone will understand and appreciate this
matter relying to ones personal judgement.
I will not be able to cross over these gates, but I hope we will be able to go inside the
congregation, a little bit further. But for nowherelets go as far as we can.
Talking about The New Jerusalem congregation is delicate and intricate as well-delicate
because the old disputes might appear, and intricate, because what the congregation members
claim is hard to accept. Therefore, in order not to be suspected of any hidden thought, we let
the followers of the congregation to introduce themselves.
The first word goes to Marian Zidaru, a graduate of Beaux Arts Academy, a former
university professor, a worldwide - known artist and painter, a noteworthy member of the New
Jerusalem movement and that is why, very disputed.
M.Z: - The Word of God has been heard on these lands since 1955. At the beginning, God
has passed His Word to a maiden, Virginia, who lived in the village of Maluri, here, near
Pucioasa, and this lasted until 1980. When she passed away, The Word of God has continued
and has never stopped. There was a period of a few years break and afterwards, The Word of
God was resumed through her sister, Mother Leica. That lasted until 1990. In 1990, God
requested a church to be built in the yard of Bunea Ilie from here, from Glodeni, and also to

be finished the house which was being built at the time and to arrange a space for 14 souls to
live in.
Rep.: - This message was gathered in an extensive work which, at its turn, helped to the
establishment of a small community of believers. They consider themselves as members of the
Orthodox Church, they respect the orthodox tradition, and a part of them lives after monastic
rules. Many years some people believed and supported the idea that a strange and mixed
monastery would function at Pucioasa..
Rep.: - I ask you as I have asked other brothers or sisters from this settlement and you
answer me with serenity and conviction and without any restraint, using phrases such as God
said , God spoke to us , This was The Word of God. Looking from the outside, a lot of
people might say Well, there is something wrong with these people. How could they possibly
say that God is speaking to them? and I will ask you too : How is God speaking to you or
where does this silence come from, this strong belief that this is the way things are?
B: - Yes, I really can tell you that the moment you listen to The Word of God, God
certifies himself, identifies himself like any man who has an ID, and he identifies himself
through the words I am God, I am The Son of Father Savaot and I have the clouds as ascent
and descent and I come to my people on earth. A man could never bring such an argument.
Rep.: - It has been said for many years that your settlement and this community would
be a mixed community or a mixed monastery. Seeing that the sisters are here now Im asking
you: Does this mixed living exist or the two communities are separated, the community of the
sisters lives elsewhere, yours lives here and you meet at feasts or in different moments to
celebrate?
B: There is no mixed monastery. We have said for many times that there is no mixed
monastery at the New Jerusalem. The community of men is here and the community of women,
of sisters, is at Targoviste, so there is no mixed monastery. The sisters are here to help for the
big celebrations and each of them lives their life in the christian way and with a christian
conscience.
S: - I want to tell you what I felt from the people I met and from this divine descent: a
celestial power arose and emanated from them, making you to love the fast and the prayer, this
power arose from them, which made you to love too, also to be capable to, to see that it is
possible.
R: - What does your life consists of, in this community?
S: - There are the same rules as in the monastery, prayer, fast The Seven Praises, The
Holy Mass, The Avowal, The Confession, a frequent eucharist, which made us attach more to
the work of our inner being of the new man, a thing that you can rarely see, to work in detail to
the inner being, to the rising of man to God, because, in fact, that is the orthodoxys purpose.
This divine descent which is heard above the monastery, where those who live there
are, they hear It, and as you said about us, that we, through faith. it was easy for us to
believe that it is there where It is heard and we are also transmited this Holy Teaching
Rep.: - If someone comes and tells you: This is exaltation, this is more like the problem
of a psychiatrist, this is not a real, authentic experience, what will you tell him?
S: - This is what I want to say, that there is nothing fanatic, there is no exaltation in
everything we are doing - why? - because this ascent, this path is also a hard one. It is a
paradox. You cannot achieve what you want to be beautiful only with great difficulty, that is
why, many of those who come and join us cannot stay for a long time if they do not really want
to, and they do not burden with this load hard to bear.

Rep.: - On the other hand, here you are, you set up your community around the
revelations that a simple woman had, a woman catalogued as insane by many people, watched
by The Security in the comunist period, threatened, mocked at we are talking about
Virginia, the one you call Saint Virginia, and the one who is seen by some as you see her, and
by some like many other experiencers, unique, more like something hard to accept than easy
to accept.
So Im asking where do you have the belief that what Virginia or Saint Virginia had
heard, and what you have further is indeed The Word of God ?
S.: - The people, the testimonies of the ones who knew her along the time, for 50 years,
and the ones who stood by her, testified this and you cannot ignore the testimonies of the ones
who had seen and had lived near this being
S.: - And besides so many written testimonies, when she was disinterred after 7 years, her
body was found relics.
F.: - There was a lot of struggle against this place of the monastery, and there, in The
Word of God it was written that Saint Virginia is the head stone of The New Jerusalem, and
based on this one, the priests and the people who were against this place believed that we came
during the night and stole her and she is not here any more even all the people from the
village and the priest, (not this one, another one before him) know that seven years after her
funeral, when we came here and we moved away the stone, Saint Virginia came to her sister (in
spirit) and said: You are allowed only to watch but not to touch but owing to the situation
(the Security) we descended into the grave and there was fragrance and she was relics and
we touched her face and clothes.
Rep.: - Mister Nicolae, tell me please, how long have you been part of the community
from The New Jerusalem?
N.: - Since the 60s
R.: - Since the 60s?!
N. : - Yes
R.: - That means that you knew Saint Virginia
N.: - Yes, yes
R.: - What can you tell me about her, what kind of person was she?
N. : - She was a human with a lot of peace and humility, one could tell that God was in
her, one could tell try as you might, you could never exceed with your mind something
one could tell by her face that Gods Spirit was in her, because where God is, the man has a
different appearance from the rest of the world, from the normal people, he is a gentle nature,
humble.
R.: - There is no doubt that the things that are told here are disturbing and raise too many
questions for many people, but for the ones who seek tangible evidence of Gods Kingdom, the
photo Im holding in my hand could be one of this evidence. It has an extremely complicated
story and extremely disturbing because in this photo, if I understood well and I was told
correctly, one can see two planes, this world and Gods Kingdom, Saint Virginia, the bearer of
the Word, respectively, no one else than Jesus Christ. I dont know if I understood correctly,
and I would like an explanation of this photo. Who took it, when did he take it? I see that it is
written here The summer of 1964. What is exactly, in it?
V.Z.: - At the time, (1964), Saint Virginia was very ill, she had a helplessness state and a
great sorrow. She was alone in her room, just with a christian woman, who was looking after
her. She was notified during her sleep that in the morning she would find something, a sign

from God. In the morning, when she woke up, she found this photo on the table. What does it
represent? It is Saint Virginias room, you can see the sewing machine here, a concrete, real
object that was in her room but on which the figure of Gods thorn crown lies. After that, as
if the wall had been broken, this arch in which Saint Virginia lies into a coffin, and God is in
front of her. One can catch sight of the three crosses in the back, far away
R.: - The crosses on the Golgota
V.Z.: - On the Golgota, yes.
M.Z: - And the stones on the road are the Golgotas stones.
V.Z: - It is sure that this photo aroused a lot of curiosity even back then
Rep.: - And probably, enough controversy, as it is hard to accept it, especially because
you dont know who took this photo
M. Z.: - The controversy consists of the fact that they did not understand how this photo
was taken
Rep.: - That is the problem
M.Z.: - and as many people ask are there camera in heaven?
V.Z.: - and then God explained Saint Virginia that in that night, Saint Apostle Luke came
and took this photo helped by a concrete and material camera from Pucioasa city. He passed,
obviously, through the wall, through the door, in a photo lab from the city, he took the camera,
he took the picture, he went back, he developed it, and he came back with two photos - he left
one on the table and he took one, as Saint Virginia was told, into Heaven as testimony, in order
that then, at the Judgement, when they will testify about everything that happened on earth, the
testimony to be in Heaven. We have kept this photo since then, since 1964.
Rep.: - Do you realize how this sound to the ears of a man submitted to doubts and who
does not
M.Z.: - We are fully aware of the fact that this thing can arouse even roars of laughter,
meaning God deals with pictures now, or things like that? - but it was a little sign that Saint
Virginia needed at the time and a sign that we were going to need in time.
Rep.: - Now, willy-nilly, I am forced to connect two things between them. I was
wondering at one moment, voicing the people who are watching us, are you people sane or
not? Now Im asking you something else: is there the risk, if everything you tell is true, is there
the risk that the others might suspect you of pride, for instance? That you are the chosen ones
to
M.Z: - Pride is a devil which lies in wait for everyone. When a man cannot be defeated
through sins, the devil tracks him down through pride. We do not deny the fact that we are
hunted by this temptation and that we are, up to a point, proud. I confess that I am proud, I am
proud to be a romanian, I am proud that I have learned this Gods word, I am proud to be an
orthodox christian, s.a.
Rep.: - The assurance, the belief that you have are amazing and probably, a part of the
people who are watching you right now will ask themselves: What is happening with these
people? Where does this assurance come from, where does their power come from, are theyand I am going to be brutal in my expression because I am convinced that some people will
think exactly as I am going to tell you now - are these people sane or not?
M.Z.: - I confess that I am not in my sober senses, I am not in those senses which spoil
the man. I am in one sense: in Gods sense!
Rep.: Most of the members of the community The New Jerusalem live and work in the
settlement, but a number of 14 were chosen to live into the monastery and to hear directly The

Word of God. The rest of the community is not allowed to enter the monastery and doesnt
know what is inside it, as it is Holy ground, and the strangers know even less. Are you among
those who live here, into the monastery, or up into the community?
Int. : - Yes, I am here, even though I was with the boys into the community.
Rep.: - That means that in a way, you were fit for the requirements of purity to say so
- to live into the monastery, and it means that you are among the ones who hear The Word of
God - how should I say - first and foremost?
Int.: - Yes.
Rep.: - Could you explain to me how does it happen?
Int.: - I dont know how to tell you, I dont know if this is a thing that can be explained.
This is not a mystery to tempt
The Word: I am above the garden of My Word with great heavenly glory. I am with
Father. I am entering through the gates into the garden. Amen.
I have come, my guardian sons, come out in front of me. I give you a little wreath made
of My Glory as you were path for me to come and to glorify myself with The Glory of My
Word. Behold, Father is speaking to you.
Rep.: - A great deal of the activities from The New Jerusalem is connected to the
orthodox art and consider the traditional romanian element. The members clothes remind of
the ancient ones, the agriculture is a traditional one (ecological) and everything that is genuine
romanian is especially valued. In Gods plan, announced at The New Jerusalem, Romania has a
defining role.
M.Z. : - God has chosen Romania. This was his option, because, as God says, Romania
was the first land which came out of the waters at the creation of the world, it was the first land
which came out of the waters after the Flood and I go back with 7500 years ago and I say that
it was from this soil that God created Adam. As The Word of God testifies, even the clod from
which Adam was created, was taken from this place where the monastery was built.
And the relationship between us, the relation with the earth is made in the same way. We
plough our land with the horse - driven plough, we are working in the field manually, and
when we need a contact with the modern society, we call on computers, on everything that
means media, because the task that God gave us was to integrate ourselves into the
contemporary social space.
Rep.: - Such learnings led to contradictions between The Romanian Orthodox Church
and the community from the New Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the ones from Pucioasa declare
themselves orthodoxes, serve in the orthodox rite but in the old style, they go to the churches in
the parish and support their building, bury themselves in the parish graveyards after the
orthodox ritual and they respect all the ancient ones. But still, what are the problems then?
M.Z. : - We have a special consideration for everything that means Holy Place, for
everything that means monastery, for everything that means orthodoxy. We have a special
consideration for the hierarchs who run the church, because they have their purpose and as
much as we could, without breaking Gods command, we obeyed the local hierarchs, even the
Patriarch Teoctist.
Rep. : - What is the relation between the two tomes we have on the table, between the
Holy Bible as It is known by many of the christians, respectively this book entitled The Word
of God; what are they one for the other, are they complementary, are they equally true,
regarding to what God says here and what He had said there, what is the relation?

M.Z. : - In these over 2000 pages of the Word that God lowered during over 50 years, so
it is the word heard in these years, in these 2000 pages it doesnt contradict The Holy Bible, it
doesnt add even a page, but, simply, in these 2000 pages, God fulfills The Holy Bible,
unravels It. He explained us word for word how to understand each sentence, how to choose
beween two variants suggested by The Holy Bible, to choose the best one. There is a better
and there is an even better. This book of 2000 pages is the shortest Path to the Kingdom of
Heaven.
Rep. - What if someone came and said you are outside the church, what would you say,
are you.
N. : - We are not
Rep. : - ...are you an orthodox?
N. : - ...orthodox. We are not outside the church, its just that our way of living doesnt fit
theirs any more, and they cannot bear this.
Rep. : Many will remain untold and hazy about the community The New Jerusalem from
Pucioasa, but we have tried to offer you only a few elements for a better understanding of the
phenomenon which is self-framed into the orthodoxy and which reminds, up to a point, of
The Army of God from Ardeal (Transilvania).
Well, here ends the story of this christian community from Pucioasa, called The New
Jerusalem. The people are working around, everyone probably minds his own business,
everyone will have his own opinion, his own judgement about what he saw here. I have
nothing to tell you because I dont think I am capable of making any judgement, and I do not
wish to make one. So you have seen, you have watched, you have heard, you have understod,
you havent understood, I do not know. I believe that everyone must seek into himself, must
make a prayer and think at what he had seen and then, of course, the options are individual.
Good bye.
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