Grigore Pișculescu, the man who would become known under the literary name Gala Galaction, was born on April 16, 1879, in the village of Didești, Teleorman County. Coming from a family with Macedonian roots on his father’s side and inheriting from his mother, a priest’s daughter, a deep religious sensibility, the young Grigore discovered early a strong inclination toward the world of faith. 

Childhood, family roots and the first chemistries of faith

Ever since childhood, he had been fascinated by church life, and this attraction intensified over time, shaped especially by his mother’s influence. 

His education began at the primary school in his native village and continued at the prestigious “Sfântul Sava” High School in Bucharest. There, one of the most important encounters of his life took place: his friendship with the future great poet Tudor Arghezi, a colleague one year younger. 

Wanting to remain in the same class with him, Pișculescu even agreed to repeat one school year, binding a friendship that would last more than six decades.

The path toward literature and the discovery of the monastic ideal

During high school, both future writers shared their passion for literature. They debuted together in writing, in a literary environment influenced by significant names of the era, including Alexandru Macedonski. After graduating, Gala Galaction initially enrolled at the Faculty of Letters, intending to pursue an academic career. Yet, his life changed direction during a pilgrimage to the monasteries of Moldavia, which deeply impressed him and stirred in him the wish for monastic life.

He abandoned Letters and enrolled at the Faculty of Theology, dreaming of becoming a priest or even a monk. During this period, he chose the pseudonym “Galaction,” inspired by a name he had seen written on a wall at Neamț Monastery, where he intended to take monastic vows.

However, destiny led him elsewhere. During a visit to Agapia Monastery, where he accompanied his friend, the writer N.D. Cocea, he met Cocea’s cousin, Zoe Marcoci, a young woman eleven years his junior. Their intense correspondence soon became a profound love story, powerful enough to make Gala Galaction give up his plans for monasticism. In 1903, the two married, and their love remained steady and vibrant throughout their lives.

About those early years, Gala Galaction later wrote nostalgically, seeing his letters to Zoe as a form of literary heritage: “Oh, the dear letters, how I still dream of them gathered and bound in a volume… Letters to sister Zoe.”

A priest, professor and theological scholar dedicated to service

After completing his theological studies, Gala Galaction was ordained a priest at forty-three. Between 1922 and 1926, he worked as a missionary in the Archdiocese of Bucharest, and later, from 1926 to 1941, he was professor and then dean of the Faculty of Theology in Chișinău, at the Department of Introduction and Exegesis of the New Testament. After 1941, he returned to Bucharest, where he taught Old Testament Exegesis until 1947.

Following his retirement from university activity, he was elected vice-president of the Union of Writers of Romania and became a member of the Romanian Academy. Public recognition came quickly: in 1954, he became a member of the Diocesan Assembly of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, and in 1955, an honorary member of the Romanian Academy.

Politically, Gala Galaction served as a deputy in the Great National Assembly, firmly supporting the idea that politics should not interfere with church life.

The monumental translation of the Bible and a lifetime dedicated to culture

The most important theological achievement of his life was the translation of the Holy Scripture into Romanian, a monumental effort begun in 1928 and completed in 1934. He worked in collaboration with Father Vasile Radu, translating the New Testament, the deuterocanonical books and the Book of Job. This translation remains one of the most valuable contributions to Romanian spirituality, offering a text that is accessible, faithful and poetic.

At the same time, Gala Galaction carried out intense journalistic activity. Together with his lifelong friend Tudor Arghezi, he founded and led the magazines Cronica and Spicul during the First World War. As a writer, he was a keen observer of social and religious realities, publishing short stories, essays, novels and opinion articles.

One of his most impressive literary accomplishments is his Journal, published posthumously in three volumes and considered one of the most extensive memorialistic texts in Romanian literature. Between 1898 and 1955, he consistently recorded the defining events of his life, including details about his friendship with Arghezi.

A memorable page from the journal describes Arghezi’s ordination as deacon: “On this day, at the Metropolitan Cathedral, the deaconing of my beloved friend Iosif was performed by the great priest himself. Before the sacrosanct person, draped in many symbolic folds, Iosif knelt, dressed in black, stern-faced and with a rebellious lock of hair. 

The ceremony would have had a beautiful spiritual tone if there had not been so many people and if my friend had known beforehand the entire sequence of ritual movements. On his long-haired head, the most holy person opened a book with silver clasps and from it poured upon him a sacramental phrase…”

The description continues with the same sensitivity and depth that marked all of Gala Galaction’s writings.

The last years, the legacy and the enduring memory of an exceptional life

Before his death, he entrusted his manuscripts to his four daughters, asking them to publish his journal posthumously. The first edition appeared in 1973, during the communist period, but in censored form. Only in 1997 did the public finally have access to the complete version.

The story of Gala Galaction’s life is unique through its complexity and depth. He was a devoted theologian, a prolific writer, an exceptional translator and a man deeply shaped by the times he lived in. He chose not to retreat into the silence of a monastery, but to remain among people, accompanied by the love of a woman and the unbreakable friendship of Arghezi.

He wrote about people, God, love and time, with a warm voice and a profoundly humanist spirit. His translation of the Bible, his monumental journal and the memory of a life lived with dignity and passion remain lasting testimonies of a man who knew how to unite heaven and earth through the written word. 

In Gala Galaction, the tenderness of the Christian, the lucidity of the professor and the inner fire of the writer come together. He was a man who chose to live beautifully, even when this meant giving up monasticism for love, without ever renouncing his faith.

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