The acclaimed Romanian movie Beyond the Hills, which opened in New York this past weekend, is based on two “nonfiction novels” by Romanian writer Tatiana Niculescu Bran. The books offer a window onto a real-life tragedy that took place in a Romanian Orthodox monastery near the Moldovan border, eight years ago.
A 23-year-old novitiate nun began hearing voices, which she believed were the Devil talking to her. After efforts to solve her problem failed, her fellow believers bound her to a cross, gagged her with a towel and left her for three days without food in a damp and chilly room at the monastery, where she died of suffocation and dehydration.
The BBC reported at the time that the young woman, Maricica Irina Cornici, suffered from schizophrenia,
and the symptoms of her condition caused the priest at the convent and other nuns to believe she was possessed by the devil. “They all said she was possessed and they were trying to cast out the evil spirits,” police spokeswoman Michaela Straub said.
Father Daniel [Corogeanu, in photo], who is accused of orchestrating the crime, is said to be unrepentant. “God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is delivered from evil,” AFP quoted the priest as saying.
He was subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison.
[image via radiolasi]
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