Petrache Lupu
Petrache Lupu | |
|---|---|
Lupu (left) in 1935 | |
| Born | Petrache Lupu October 12, 1907 Maglavit, Dolj |
| Died | December 14, 1994 (aged 87) Maglavit, Dolj |
| Other name | Petre Lupu |
| Occupation | shepherd |
| Known for | divine visions |
Petrache Lupu (born 12 October 1907, Maglavit, Dolj, Romania - died December 14, 1994, Maglavit, Dolj, Romania) was a shepherd from Maglavit commune, who claimed to have had divine visions. In 1935 a mass phenomenon began, with Maglavit becoming a Christian pilgrimage place for crowds of people. The Maglavit Monastery is built in the area.
Lupu stated that he saw God hovering above the earth, who urged him to tell others to repent, honour the Lord's Day, as well as fast on Wednesdays and Fridays.[1] Lupu erected a Christian cross where the apparition took place; it soon became a place of Christian pilgrimage, with the fountain water being said to be miraculous.[1]
As Lupu rose to fame, he also attracted the attention of some fascist and traditionalist intellectuals. For instance, the far-right writer and politician Nichifor Crainic referred to Lupu (alongside other figures and currents in mysticism) in his articles from the 1930s.[2] The fascist politician Alexandru Cuza and his National-Christian Defense League praised Lupu after the latter supposedly cured the "uncontrollable blinking" of a journalist associated with Cuza,[3] and Lupu was visited by the Iron Guard-affiliated bishop Vartolomeu Stănescu.[4] Mihai Vâlsan, a traditionalist and ex-student of Mircea Eliade, also visited Lupu, but believed him to be a fraud (which he reported to the French traditionalist René Guénon).[3] In the years after 1935, Lupu visited various eparchies and developed contacts with leading figures in Fascist Romania.[5]
During the socialist era, Lupu was imprisoned for a period of time.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Carciga, Dragoş. "Maglavit - miracol sau escrocherie?". Historia. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ Clark, Roland (January 2012). "Nationalism and orthodoxy: Nichifor Crainic and the political culture of the extreme right in 1930s Romania". Nationalities Papers. 40 (1): 114. doi:10.1080/00905992.2011.633076. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ^ a b Sedgwick, Mark (2009). Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 115 and 136. ISBN 9780195396010.
- ^ Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2014). "Approaching the Social History of Romanian Fascism. The Legionaries of Vâlcea County in the Interwar Period". Fascism. 3 (2): 130. doi:10.1163/22116257-00302005. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ^ a b Mureșan, Radu Petru (2019). "The Maglavit Phenomenon (1935). Echoes From the „Site of Miracles"" (PDF). Revista Teologică. 4: 123. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
External links
- Minune sau șarlatanie la Maglavit?, 28 October 2012, Adevărul - articol Historia Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine