Arsenie. An Amazing Afterlife

Arsenie Boca’s face is everywhere in Romania - his icons on office desks, in taxis and shops. As if the late monk, deceased just a few weeks prior to Ceaușescu’s downfall, could compensate for the disappointment generated by 30+ years of corrupted democracy and ruthless capitalism. His myth resembles so many others’ - saviours incarnating the return to the irrational, claimed by ultraconservatives worldwide. What does this cult say about our society and how does the world look like, when we see it reflected in this icon?