Biography
Antonina of Tismana
About Antonina of Tismana
Antonina of Tismana was a Romanian nun. Born Ilinca on March 7, 1923, in Runcu, Vâlcea, she entered Tismana on June 10, 1950, after her mother’s death. Her father had opposed her vocation. She cared for the monastery’s pigs and lived outside its walls. The church’s account recalls her praying in the woods when locked gates prevented her attending night services. Others underestimated her religious life.
The canonization document tells of her feeding a raven and meeting a bear with cubs without being harmed. It also attributes foreknowledge to her. These episodes belong to the church’s devotional remembrance. She died on December 23, 2011, and was buried in the monastery cemetery.
Following her canonization in 2025, her remains were exhumed at Tismana in April 2026 and placed in a reliquary. Metropolitan Irineu presented her care for the monastery’s humblest tasks as an expression of obedience and prayer.
The local proclamation took place on October 4, 2026. At that service, Metropolitan Irineu emphasized her affection for animals and the natural world, as well as the quietness of her spiritual life. The ceremony publicly honored a nun who had spent much of her life away from attention.
A report of parish teaching in Târgu Jiu identifies her as a protector of Gorj County and especially of Tismana Monastery. Her akathist also invokes her as a protector of nuns.
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