†) St. Cuv. Ioannichie the New from Muscel; St. Holy Mc. Ermolae; St. Cuv. Mc. Paraschevi of Rome (Multiplication of Loaves)translated

Orthodox calendar, July 26 St. Cuv. Ioannichie the New from Muscel This pious person, pleasing to God, was born of pious parents, living in the land of Muscel. From a young age, listening to Christ's call, he separated himself from all the pleasures and temptations of the vain world and retired to the Cetătuia Negru-Voda Monastery, on the Dâmboviţa valley, where he became a monk and learned, from improved parents, the order of the monastic life.

He met many of the hermits who lived at that time near the monastery, thanks to whom the Muscele area was called the Chiliilor Valley. The wonderful Ioanichie, after learning the way of life of skilled monks, taking a blessing, retired to one of the caves of Mount Negru-Vodă, where, after receiving the great monastic order, he spent more than 30 years.

His toils, privations, his inner work, the incessant prayer and the search for divine grace that the Pious One experienced, were hidden from people, since the cave in which he retired was in a place difficult to reach, and the hermit did not seek the glory of the world, but walked on the path of humility, which is the foundation of spiritual growth. Once a week an apprentice…