Sergiu Grossu (14 November 1920 in Cubolta – 25 July 2009 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n writer and theologian.

Biography

Sergiu Grossu was born to Ion and Maria Grossu on 14 November 1920 in Cubolta. In 1927, his family moved to Bălţi, where he was a classmate of Eugen Coşeriu. He published in Viaţa Basarabiei. He graduated from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

with degrees in theology, philosophy and modern philology. Following the

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina The Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina took place from June 28 to July 3, 1940, as a result of an ultimatum by the Soviet Union to Romania on June 26, 1940, that threatened the use of force. Bessarabia had been part of the Kin ...

, he became a refugee in Bucharest. In the wake of the

Soviet occupation of Romania The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania. The fate of the territories held by Romania after 1918 that were incorporated int ...

, he joined '' Oastea Domnului'' (the ''Lord's Army''), a spiritual renewal movement of lay volunteers as well as clerics, associated with the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

. The organization was outlawed during the communist rule; his pseudonym was Simion Cubolta. In April 1957, he married Nicoleta Valeria Bruteanu (1919–96), a graduate of Bucharest Conservatory, relative of

Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was an Austro-Hungarian-born lawyer and Romanian politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the U ...

and former political detainee. The Romanian movie ''Binecuvântată fii, închisoare'' (''Bless you, prison'') and the book ''Prisoner Rejoice'' recount the story of Nicoleta Valeria Bruteanu's grueling years of detention by the Romanian Communist Regime. On 7 March 1959 Grossu was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison for his activity in ''Oastea Domnului''. He was pardoned in 1962. The communist dictatorship then denied him all but manual employment. Sergiu Grossu and his wife migrated to France in 1969. There they founded the "Catacombes" publishing house, the association "La Chaine" and served as editors of the monthly magazine '' Catacombes'' (1971–92). He hosted the radio show "Lumea creştină" on

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

, and lectured in Paris, Bordeaux, Versailles, Besançon, Dieppe, Tours, Blois, Poitiers, Nantes, Brest, Toulouse, Lyon &c. On 18 January 1996, after 27 years in exile, Sergiu Grossu returned for good to Bucharest, bringing with him the mortal remains of his wife. In Bucharest, he founded Fundaţia Foştilor Deţinuţi Politici "Nicoleta Valeria Grossu", the publishing house "Duh şi Adevăr", and the association "Centrul de cultură creştină Nicoleta Valeria Grossu." In Chişinău Sergiu Grossu founded Centrul internaţional de cultură pentru copii şi tineret "Sergiu Grossu" and sponsored the creation of the Muzeul Memoriei Neamului, led by his former classmate Vadim Pirogan..

Honours

* Premiul concursului de creaţie literar-creştin "Sergiu Grossu" * Centrul internaţional de cultură pentru copii şi tineret "Sergiu Grossu"

Works

* . * ''Lanțul'', poems, 1971 * ''O rază de soare'', poems, 1971 * ''Pietre de aducere aminte'', poems, 1971 * La Chaine – 1971 Paris * Un rayon de soleil – 1971 Paris * ziarul "Catacombes"- 1971, editat timp de 20 de ani * ''Catacombes 1973'' (Almanach de l'Église de Silence), 1973, Éditions Catacombes * ''Câmpurile de muncă în URSS'', 1975 * ''Derrière le rideau de bambou'' (de Mao Tsé-toung à Fidel Castro), 1975, Éditions Catacombes, Paris * ''La Technique du regard'' în ''Promesses'' - ''Revue de réflexions bibliques'', N°15, Jul–Sep 1975 * ''The Church in today's catacombs'', Arlington House, USA, 1976 * . * ''Infernul chinez'', 1976 * ''Au fond de l'abîme'' (''Le règne de la haine''), 1976, Éditions Apostolat des Éditions, Paris * ''Les Enfants du Goulag'' (Chronique de l'enfance opprimé en URSS), 1979, France-Empire, Paris. * * . * . * Inscripţii pe un vas de lut – 1994, ed. Roza vвnturilor * In şfichiul ironiei – 1996, ed. Hrisova, Bucuresti * In aşteptarea unui pămвnt nou – 1998, ed. Duh şi Adevăr * ''Îmi bate inima la Bug'', ed. Museum, Chișinău, 2000 * Apocalipsiada * . * ''Plaidoyer pour L'Église du Silence'', Ed. Resiac, 2003 * ''Calendarul persecuției religioase în țările comuniste'', 2003

References

Bibliography

* Sergiu Grossu, ''Calvarul României creștine'', " Convorbiri Literare" - ABC DAVA, 1992.

External links

* Sergiu Grosu
La Technique du regard
* Sergiu Grosu

Sergiu Grossu

* Literatura şi Arta
Un apostol al Neamului Romвnesc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossu, Sergiu 1920 births 2009 deaths People from Briceni District Eastern Orthodox Christians from Romania Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people University of Bucharest alumni Romanian theologians Romanian journalists Romanian writers Moldovan writers Moldovan male writers Romanian essayists Romanian textbook writers Romanian dissidents Romanian emigrants to France 20th-century essayists 20th-century journalists