The idea of pilgrimage has always detached itself from cheap and hurried tourism. You cannot be human without seeking—with your means and methods—the ways by which you approach the divine and meet the living God. Some do it by running away from God. It is the overthrow of pilgrimage, but not infrequently it is precisely the flight that draws you closer to Him, turns you as if in a loop of mercy towards Him.

Ensemble of the Fortified Reformed Church in Cricău »


The Earth, long before it was crossed by modern ways of communication, was crossed by the roads of search. Sometimes materials. But how much culture did they give birth to — the Silk Road seems to me today more like an academy of culture and history, more than just a historical artifact. Once upon a time, the roads of a security, even military, and when I say this, I think of the metal scales from the Micia floor that covered thousands of years ago the Sarmatian soldiers and their statuary horses from the limes of Mures to the Danube, or maybe even further. But the roads that were made led to shrines and places of pilgrimage with spiritual measure.

Florești Monastery »

I admit that recent years have taken me on the paths of search of this kind and that the emotion from the paths of Sarmisegetuza in the Orăştie Mountains to the glade with sanctuaries has shone in my soul as in the moments of searching for Capernaum in a sunset, or the cities of Laodicea or Pergamum on afternoons thirsty for coolness. 

What you receive through Attractive Romania, which brings together three cultural and religious axes (Orthodox-Catholic-Evangelical, respectively Romanian-Hungarian-German), is a meeting point. Nothing is more noteworthy among the values proposed by the project than this sign of brotherhood. This is not about ecumenism, but about the real coexistence of travelers on the path to heaven. You will cross mountain peaks and valleys lit by blooms of a common space: Romania. As it was drawn by wooden churches, sanctuaries of worship, or fortress-basilicas of a Transylvania that refuses to kill its inter-cultural identity.

Biertan rural site »

The proposed roads, you will see, will bring to light places of strong characters, people or communities that have restored the cultural format of the area and brought heaven closer to earth. The project urges you to get out of the urbanization of consciousness and discover your neighbor, without losing important details or lines of historical configuration. You won't leaf through pages of information. You will go through horizons of the Holy Spirit, and this will call you to meditation and... to pilgrimage.

I know how this incredible effort came about. From the desire to share with people the true extent of seeking God through the effort of pilgrimage. I didn't think that far either, how did the "ants" who climbed the plane of lucidity of their stories and images manage. Of course it could have been more. Do it. And it sure could have been better. Do it. Place yourself in fair competition with these knights-pilgrims who have taken you with them on a wonderful journey. Learning the Christian history of the Country.

I often find how parents make amazing efforts to carry their children far. Zanzibar or Madagascar have more resonance in the box of our children's souls than, for example, the wooden church in Goiesti, or the church in the Ladislau route in Daia, or the fortress of Aiud or the Three Holy Hierarchs Church in Iasi. The entire project expresses the existence of a unique, Christian Romania, authenticated through the knowledge projects proposed by the authors.

No road is made without a purpose. Walks, even innocent ones, carry with them invigoration or recovery, seeking tranquility or finding the rhythm of thought. Pilgrimages are not mere walks. But they bear the effigy of silence. Of the discovery. Of the joy of common fellowship and of the beauty that unites us.

The wooden church of the "Dormition of Mother of God" »

Years ago, I was in Tismana, when a bus seemed to have taken the wrong route. A large group of Asian tourists climbs the slope to the fortress of Tismana. The agitation of the nuns moved me. They also felt that meeting people from another cultural and faith horizon was an event. The quietest was Mother Evlogia, the guide mother at that time. I watched her gracefully review the history of Tismana, telling them and giving extra information about the history of the place. It smelled of spring and the generosity of the nuns did not let up. Jam and cold water from the spring that ennobles the courtyard of the Monastery brought an even bigger smile on the faces of the tourists, who left impressed. I assure you that they did not affect the faith of the nuns or unbalance the beauty of that evening's service. What struck us the next morning was that on a piece of paper we found clumsily written: Thank you. And the signature in the national language of a tourist. We may never see each other again. Or even if we see each other, we may not recognize each other. But we recognized God in their image and they in ours. I wonder if it is little in the world of conscience changes and caricatures. 

Allow me to ask you to rejoice. Lines of spiritual strength still pervade the physical and spiritual geography of the country. Take and read, enjoy and find out. Brotherhood compels us to live together. Let's do it by enjoying each other. Rejoicing God!