The rest of the family joined Emil M. Cioran three years later when his father was appointed archpriest of the town. In his teens, Cioran read copiously during the day and wandered the lonely streets at night when suffering from bouts of insomnia, which could last up to several weeks.
As his feelings of despair and depression increased, Emile lost interest in his beloved violin and developed a morbid interest in religion. He delved into the writings of saints and Christian mystics and voiced his own religious doubts while debating religious questions with his father and other priests.
Cioran never specified the time or circumstances surrounding his personal loss of religious faith, but his fascination with such faith, especially its extreme forms, never waned and perhaps intensified only after he had lost faith himself.
