Guides to Holiness: Spiritual Motherhood in Today’s World – A Conversation with Mother Doroteea Ș.
A continuation of the discussion begun at the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Symposium on spiritual motherhood, in the context of the canonization of sixteen holy women by the Romanian Patriarchate.
“Spiritual motherhood is a bringing forth of the human person,” says Stavrophore Doroteea Ștefanache, abbess of the “Protection of the Mother of God” Monastery in Godoncourt, France. It is a calling that takes the Mother of God as its model and is fulfilled through guidance, gentleness, love, and care for the inner growth of another person.
Spiritual motherhood, however, is not a calling reserved solely for monastic life. Mother Doroteea speaks about the vocation of women to become “mothers of souls” and about caring for the spiritual lives of children in a world increasingly focused on education, activities, and achievement.
The conversation then takes us to Văratec Monastery and to the nuns who shaped Mother Doroteea’s spiritual formation. Through personal memories of Mother Cleopatra Drăgănescu and Mother Siluana Vlad, we discover two different forms of spiritual guidance, as well as lessons in refraining from judgment, simplicity, and steadfastness.
What does it mean to be a spiritual mother in today’s world, and what can we learn from women who became true guides for the souls around them?
We invite you to discover the full conversation with Mother Doroteea Ștefanache.
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