Saint Cleopas of Sihăstria (born Constantin Ilie, 10 April 1912 – 2 December 1998) was a Romanian abbot, preacher, and spiritual father, widely regarded as one of the most influential elders of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the twentieth century. He spent nearly his entire monastic life in connection with the Sihăstria Monastery in the Neamț region, where his preaching and confessional guidance drew large numbers of pilgrims. He was glorified as a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Church, with his feast kept on December 2, the day of his repose.
Born the fifth of ten children in a peasant family at Sulița, in Botoșani County, he entered the Sihăstria Hermitage in December 1929 together with his brother Vasile, and was tonsured a monk on 2 August 1937 with the name Cleopa. Several of his siblings also embraced the monastic life. He was ordained hierodeacon in December 1944 and hieromonk in January 1945, and when the hermitage was raised to the rank of monastery in 1947 he was made archimandrite.
Cleopas lived through the period of communist persecution of the Church in Romania, during which he spent extended periods hidden in the mountains and forests around the monastery. He served for a time as abbot of Slatina Monastery before returning to Sihăstria, where from 1964 he acted as confessor and spiritual father to the community and to the many faithful who sought him out. He became known for his vivid, accessible preaching and his deep familiarity with the writings of the Church Fathers.
