Biography
Philothea of Pasărea
About Philothea of Pasărea
Philothea of Pasărea was the mother of Calinic of Cernica and later became a nun herself. Before entering monastic life she was known as Floarea Antonescu, wife of Antonie. Niculae Șerbănescu’s study identifies the family as belonging to the boyar class and records four children, including Calinic and his elder brother, who eventually became the monk Acachie.
Born in Bucharest, Floarea raised her family there before entering Pasărea after her husband’s death. Calinic advised the move. In the monastery she learned its discipline among experienced nuns and received the great schema, a form of Orthodox monastic profession, taking the name Philothea.
An August 1828 letter provides a more specific trace of her life. Răzvan Mihai Clipici identifies her among the nuns who signed a request confirming Eupraxia’s election as abbess. He interprets her participation as evidence that she held a respected place in the community’s leadership. The document does not make Philothea the abbess.
She died at Pasărea on November 8, 1833. Șerbănescu cites a note by Calinic recording his mother’s death on that day, an unusually personal witness within the surviving account of her life. Her memory remained at Pasărea. Clipici reported in 2023 that her remains had traditionally been placed in the monastery’s ossuary but could no longer be located. A cenotaph in the cemetery honors her; it should not be described as an identified relic shrine.
The Romanian Orthodox Church approved her canonization in 2025. The general proclamation followed in February 2026, and the local proclamation took place at Pasărea on June 5 with that of Elisabeta, a nun of a much later generation. Philothea’s annual feast is April 12.
The archdiocese explicitly describes Philothea and Elisabeta as protectors of Pasărea’s monastic community.
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