Saint Archimandrite Hilarion
of Cernica.

Father Ilarion Argatu was born on August 2, 1913, in Valea Glodului, Suceava County, into a large family, receiving at baptism the name Ioan. His father, Alexandru, was mayor of Valea Glodului for sixteen years. The family had a deep Orthodox heritage; after his father became a widower and established his children, he withdrew to Neamț Monastery, where he was tonsured a monk and was eventually buried there.

Young Ioan attended primary school in Valea Glodului, then, encouraged by his uncle Father Epiphanius Crăciun, abbot of Cocos Monastery in Dobrogea, he enrolled in the Theological Seminary of Dorohoi, and after completing it was admitted to the Theological Faculty of Cernăuți; simultaneously, he attended courses at the Military School of Bacău, achieving the rank of second lieutenant.

After graduation, Ioan Argatu enrolled in the military, being sent as an officer to the border unit at Careii Mari on the Hungarian frontier; in 1940 he married Georgeta, daughter of Priest Sebastian Mihăilescu, with whom he had five children—three sons who became priests and two daughters—and that same year he renounced military service and was ordained a priest at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași, where he served for six years. In 1946, Metropolitan Irenaeus Mihălcescu transferred Priest Ioan Argatu to Boroaia parish to complete the church construction that had been stalled for twenty-two years.

In 1972, his wife departed to eternal life, after which in 1973 he entered monasticism at Antim Monastery in Bucharest, receiving the name Hilarion; he spent several years at Căldărușani Monastery before retiring for the last nineteen years of his life to Cernica Monastery. At Cernica (1979–1999), he served as the father confessor of the entire monastic community. An incomparable man of prayer, Father had the great gift of thaumaturgy and exorcism; gentle and of immense patience, he listened to everyone's problems, the prescribed medicine always being fasting and prayer, accompanied by an obligatory change and healing of each person's life through participation in the Holy Mysteries of the Church and a gradual awareness of the evil that hides in the mystery of the soul.

He was the most powerful exorcist in the Orthodox Church; hundreds of unfortunates possessed by the devil found peace with his help, and thousands of sick people with incurable diseases of the body or with lost minds regained their health. His exorcism services for the expulsion of demons began with the Akathist to the Lord Jesus Christ, continuing with the Divine Liturgy, the blessing of water, and the Mystery of Holy Unction; finally, he read the Moliftae (prayers of loosing) of Saint Basil the Great, and when necessary, also served the Moliftae of Saint John Chrysostom. In his austere cell at Cernica, Father performed countless miracles, delivered those possessed by the devil in an unprecedented manner, and brought many back to the faith; no one left his house without help, support, and hope.

Of all the gifts he received, he kept nothing for himself; he helped poor, remote monasteries, built churches, including the one in Boroaia. The great Romanian priest, clairvoyant and exorcist Father Ilarion Argatu had the last wish to build an Orthodox monastery in Jericho where all Romanian nuns in Israel would gather; it is said that since his youth Father Argatu had dreamed of the Virgin Mary, who gave him the order to build a church on that site, and Father, who soon became known for the special grace God had given him to help people from all over the country seeking healing of body and soul, never forgot his dream.

Father Ilarion passed to eternal life on May 11, 1999, at age eighty-six, and was buried in Boroaia, as he had requested through his will. Seven years after his death, in May 2006, his body was disinterred according to custom and was discovered to be almost entirely incorrupt, and shortly thereafter, tens of priests arrived at the Church in Boroaia, led by Archbishop Paisius of Suceava and Rădăuți.

He died with a last testamentary word on his lips: "Pray to the Mother of God"; he fell asleep peacefully, surrounded by the faithful, while in the morning of that day he was saying: "With God's grace, I will go tonight". Seven years after his repose, in May 2006, his body was exhumed and found to be almost intact. He was a renowned spiritual father and exorcist who lived at Cernica Monastery near Bucharest; his relics are in the Church of Boroaia.

Like Father Ilie Cleopa, the other great Romanian confessor at the end of the twentieth century, Father Argatu transformed his chapel over the years into a true place of pilgrimage through the miracles he performed with the grace of the Holy Spirit. His feast day on April 28 commemorates his repose and his passage into the communion of saints, and he continues to be widely venerated in Romania as a powerful intercessor and healer.

Archimandrite Hilarion of Cernica was one of the most revered spiritual fathers of modern Romania, known throughout the Orthodox world for his exceptional gifts of exorcism, spiritual discernment, and pastoral care. Born August 2, 1913, in Valea Glodului, Suceava, he was christened Ioan Argatu. His father, Alexandru, served as mayor of Valea Glodului for sixteen years, and after becoming a widower and raising his children, he withdrew to Neamț Monastery, where he was tonsured as a monk.

Ioan attended primary school in his native village, then, encouraged by his uncle Father Epiphanius Crăciun, the abbot of Cocos Monastery, he enrolled in the Theological Seminary of Dorohoi and later completed the Theological Faculty of Cernăuți, which he pursued simultaneously with military school in Bacău, achieving the rank of second lieutenant. After graduation, he enrolled in the military and was sent as an officer to the border unit at Careii Mari, on the Hungarian border.

In 1940, he married Georgeta, daughter of the priest Sebastian Mihăilescu from Oniceni, Suceava, with whom he had three sons who became priests and two daughters, and that same year he renounced military service and was ordained priest at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași, where he served for six years. In 1946, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Moldavia Irenaeus Mihălcescu transferred priest Ioan Argatu from Oniceni to Boroaia parish to build the church there, whose construction had stalled for twenty-two years.

However, the communist regime soon sought to silence his ministry. On July 18, 1948, learning he was wanted for arrest while visiting a sick elderly woman to give her communion, he managed to flee and hide. Father Ilarion related in his writings how he fled Boroaia to his native Valea Glodului, where he survived hidden in a dilapidated shed behind a false wooden wall for three years; for four more years he hid in a hay shed, then beneath the floorboards of his house in Boroaia, unknown to anyone; in total, he spent approximately sixteen years hiding in sheds, barns, attics, and cellars; during this time, a reward of 300,000 lei was placed on his head and a fabricated second file was opened against him with a sentence of life imprisonment for "conspiracy against the state". Only in 1964, with the pardon of political prisoners, was Father Ioan absolved of the two false charges and able to return to Boroaia to resume the construction of the church, which he completed in 1970.

In 1972, his wife departed to eternal life, which led him in 1973 to enter monasticism at Antim Monastery in Bucharest with the name Hilarion; he spent several years at Căldărușani Monastery before withdrawing for the last nineteen years of his life to Cernica Monastery, where he remained until his repose. During his years at Cernica, innumerable pilgrims came to his door seeking spiritual healing.