The Painted Monasteries in Bucovina

The best experience from our working visit of ROMANIA.

The Painted Monasteries in Bucovina

No other place in the world than Bucovina in Northern Moldavia, where a group of Orthodox monasteries with their exterior mural paintings are to be seen. These Painted Monasteries are part of UNESCO's World Heritage for their rarity and beauty. Another group are the Wooden Churches of Maramures, unique examples that combine Gothic style with traditional timber construction.

These richly decorated houses of worship are "albums" of fresco art that have survived the elements since the 15th century. The Voronet Monastery Church in Bucovina, founded in 1488 by Stephen the Great, is widely known throughout Europe as "the Sistine Chapel of the East," because of its interior and exterior wall pa intings, which offer an abundance of blue-chromatic frescoes featuring a color that has come to be known as Voronet blue. The frescoes of this church and many other painted churches in the Bucovina region illustrate biblical scenes, prayers, episodes of sacred hymns and themes such as The Last Judgment and The Ladder of St. John, all variously featuring the colorful and detail-rich imagery of apostles, evangelists, philosophers, martyrs, angels and demons. Beside their vivid frescoes the painted monasteries are famous for the original way of depicting beliefs or events: Sucevita with its unique Ladder of Virtue; Humor, featuring the devil amusingly depicted as a woman, and Moldovita, where a monumental scene of the Siege of Constantinopole is displayed.

Easily accesible from the cities of Suceava or Campulung Moldovenesc the painted monasteries area is also known for its unspoiled villages, its dramatic scenery and for the nearby vineyards of Cotnari.

Romanian Orthodox Monasteries

In the 15th-18th centuries, monasteries in Wallachia and Moldavia were generally erected, financed and maintained by enlightened ruling princes, high dignitaries or high clergymen. Monasteries became the main promoters of art and culture, with learned scholars, schools, training centres, libraries, and printing facilities attached to them. Their development was also due to the valuable assets and vast estates, forests, vineyards, lakes etc. that they owned, which were donated by their princely founders, landowners or by wealthy believers.

Monasteries in Romania, especially in Moldavia and Wallachia, have been most cherished, and probably are the best preserved cultural sites in the country. One may justly wonder why.

A glimpse on monasticism, its roots and cultural connotations may, to a certain extent, provide answers to the question.

Another reason is of a historic nature. Romania was geographically placed at the crossroads between the Eastern and the Western worlds, a rich land encountered and coveted by three empires (Hapsburgs, Ottomans & Russians), and consequentely, ravaged by foreign invasions (mainly of the Turks), for centuries long. In the Middle Ages, Wallachia and Moldavia were under Ottoman suzerainity, meaning that their ruling princes were Romanian, elected by local boyars; the countries were free to deal with their internal affairs as they pleased, but they had to pay an annual tribute to the Ottoman Empire. Monasteries, of which many were fortified (during Stephen the Great's rule in Moldavia, or during Matei Basarab's rule in Wallachia), represented a subterfuge devised by the Romanian princes in order to delude the Ottomans' interdiction to built defence fortresses that could oppose resistance to them. The great number of monasteries and churches may be also related to the Romanians' constraint to hide themselves and their precious assets in safe and hardly accessible places (usually located near the Carpathians and the Subcarpathians) at times of war. The art and historic treasures kept in monasteries are living tokens of the Romanians' need to store and preserve their history and culture at difficult and uncertain times. Likewise, the Romanians' yearning to keep their identity through Christian faith, as a people confronted constantly with the "strings and arrows" of fate, their need for stability and security may account for the great number of churches and monasteries raised all over the country.

The fact that religious edifices in Romania are generally better administered and better equipped with brochures, postcards etc. than most other Romanian cultural attractions like museums, archaeological sites, monuments is yet another aspect to be considered.

But whatever the arguments related to the religious sites that actually make up the bulk of heritage tourism in Romania, the monasteries that one can see today, which fortunately have escaped the lapse of time and the evils of history, transcend their Orthodox significance, and give an accurate account of the Romanians' spiritual life, artistic wealth, and saga.

Voronet Convent, Romania

By the will of a Gracious God, through the prayers of Sf. Pious Daniil the Hermit and the zeal of the good and faithful Voievode (Prince) Stephen the Great, the Voronet Monastery was raised up, between the 26th of May and the 14th of September in the year 1488, with St. George the Martyr as its patron saint.

In 1547, under the supervision of the Metropolitan bishop Grigore Rosca (whose tomb can now be found here), the porch was added and all the exterior paintings were carried out. From the very beginning of its history, the monastery was blessed with montks of extremely high spiritual calibre, and in the time of St. Pious Daniil the Hermit it was a true example of Romanian hermitage. Monastic life at Voronet was interrupted in 1785 due to the annexation of Bucovina to the Hapsburg Empire, and it became a working monastery again only in 1991, with the arrival of a community of nuns. Under the abbacy of their Mother Superior Irina Pantescu, this new community strives to harmoniously combine a religious life of prayer and workship with housekeeping and farm work, running a painting workshop and provinding guided tours of the monastery for visitors.

The paintings in the porch represent the Christian Orthodox Calendar. Many of the icons here bear graffiti-names and scratches- the scars that remain after the 206 years of the monastery„s disuse. Above the entrance, in the narthex, lies a superb icon - "Dulcea Imbratisare" (the Sweet Embrace) and directly above it, an inscription in stone names the monastery„s founded and the date it was raised.

The tomb of St. Pious Daniil the Hermit, who became the first Abbot of Voronet monastery can also be found in the narthex, watched over by a burning flame.

The monastery's votive painting is found in the nave, were His Majesty Stephen the Great and the Holy along with Lady Maria-Voichita and Bogdan, his heir, are depicted in the act of giving, through the mediation of St. George the Martyr, the Monastery ot our Redeemer Jesus Crist, as a token of gratitude for divine aid given in the battle against the Turkish invaders.Gazing at this votive picture whilst listening to the ringing of the bells which were given to the monastery by its Voievode at the very beginning - bells which now, pulled by our young nuns, seem to call out the name of its founder: "Stefan-voda, Stefan-voda", back through the centuries, like an eternal requiem - we feel a close affinity to our forerunners, bound to them by invisible threads.

A piece of artistic value to be found within the church is the gilded iconostasis, fashioned from Yew-wood, its imperial doors being a true masterpiece of sculpture in wood. Also of a great value is the throne of the Metropolitan Bishop Grigore Rosca, We hope that the original throne, currently (1996) at Sucevita undergoing restoration, will soon be returned home to Voronet.. (The piece found in the church is a copy, in contrast with the other pieces, which are all original).

Voronet is considered by many to be the "Sistine Chapel of the East", due to the magnificient frescoes on the west wall, a representation of the "Last Judgement". In addition, "Voronet Blue" has been added to the lexicon of art alongside colours such as the "Titan Ted" of Rubens and "VeroneseGreen", by specialists who consider it unique. On this blue background can be found the "Tree of Jesse", or the genealogy of Redeemer Jesus Christ. Greco-latin philosophers are depiected in the borders to the left and right: Aristotle and Plato being amongst the better known philosophers that can be found there, and to the side on the apse the eye is drawn to a beautiful representation of St. Onufrie The Hermit.

On the left of the entrance door lies the haloed image of St. Pious Daniil the Hermit. The beautiful "Deisis" Icon rests above the door; it depicts Redeemer our Saviour Jesus Christ, the most Perfect Judge, keeping watch over all those who set food across the threshold of our Church, with the Mother of Our Lord and St. John the Baptist to His right and left, mediating on our behalf for mercy.

St. George the Martyr, the patron Saint of our monastery, can also be found painted on the buttress to the left, and on the first row of this series of paintings, the prayer "Acatist" of St. Nicholas (above the window) and, lower down the prayer "Acatist" opf St. John (Ioan) the New of Suceava.

The paintings in the nave and at the Holy Altar are blackened from the smoke of hundreds of years of burning candles, and are awaiting restoration. Tests have already been carried out by art specialists to determine their suitability for restoration, and it has been found that the original colours are well-preserved. This highly precise and costly task will be fouded with the also small donations from tourists and worshippers, both Romanian and from abroad, who love Voronet.

The Holy Voronet Monastery is an artistic expression of our true faith, and also shows the refinement of our people and their love of all beautiful things. It is our prahyer that as well as encouraging meditation, a visit to our all those who come here from all over the world.

"And behold, Stefan-voda, traveling from the Neamtul Citadel to Moldova, came upon Voronet, where a Hermit priest dwelt, by the name of Daniil. And Stefan voda, upon knocking at the door for the hermit to open it up unto him, heard the Hermit answer that Stefan-voda must wait out of the door, for he was at prayer. And after the hermit had finisted his prahyers, he called Stefan-voda into his cell, and Stefan-voda confessed unto him. And Stefan-voda asked the Hermit what he might do, so that he should no longer need do the battle with the Turks: should he give up his country to the Turks? And the Hermit answered that he should not give it up, for the battle was to be his, but that after he should be victorious, he should raise up a monastery in that place, in the name of St. George the Martyr as the Patron of its church".

Humor Monastery, Romania

Situated in a valley 50 km north of Gura Humorului, Humor church was built in 1530 by Petru Rares and his High Chancellor Teodor Bubuiog, on the site of a monastic complex built before 1415. The church, consecrated to the Assumption of the Virgin, is smaller than other churches of the painted monasteries and does not have any cupolas. Otherwise, it preserves the same traditional three-cusped plan proper to most other painted monasteries. The belfry with a belvedere was erected in 1641, under Vasile Lupu's rule.

The small church, with a wide open porch arched on three sides, has a vault which is similar to the one at Moldovita except that the one at Humor seems to be floating, a sample of Byzantine art highly appreciated by architect experts. The open porch is separated from the nave by three columns connected through broken arches which have crossed vaults. The windows frames are Gothic. The tombstone of Teodor Bubuiog is situated under his portrait and that of his wife’s.

Humor Monastery was among the first churches to be painted. Its frescoes are due to Toma of Suceava and were performed in 1535. If at Voronet blue is predominant, Humor is mainly painted in reddish brown (from oriental madder pigment), completed nevertheless by rich blues and greens. The Last Judgement, placed on the wall beneath the unusual open porch, is similar to the Voronet one, but, unfortunately, the Tree of Jesse has been effaced by erosion. Another famous exterior painting, Hymn to the Virgin, has been inspired by the poem written by Patriarch Serghei of Constantinople, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who is reputed to have saved the city during the attack of the Persians in 626. Persians have turned into Turks in an endeavour to update the Moldavians’ opposition to the Ottoman Empire. The Siege of Constantinople, displayed on a large surface, in a central position, also suggests Moldavians’ wish to defeat their enemies, the Turks. In the narthex, a mural painting displays Petru Rares and his family; the prince is also buried within the church together with his wife, Anastasia. The princely throne in the church bears Moldavia's coat of arms.

Humor Monastery held for many years the valuable 'Humor Evangelistry', a book dating back to 1473, painted by monk Nicodim and displaying a famous portrait of Stephen the Great. The monastery houses a valuable collection of icons dating back to the 16th century. The monastery, which is a nunnery, was suppressed in 1786, and re-established only in 1990. It underwent several restoration works, in 1868, 1888, 1960-1961, 1967-1970, and 1971-1972, when the paintings were washed.

Moldovita Convent, Romania

The first monastery erected on the site was the one built by Alexander the Kind-Hearted (1400-1432), between 1402 and 1410, but it collapsed at the beginning of the 16th century because of the very heavy rains and ground sliding; its ruins can still be seen today.

Moldovita Monastery that one can we see today dates back to 1532 and is due to ruling prince Petru Rares (1532-1546)*. It has, like Sucevita, the aspect of a fortress, with imposing towers and high, thick walls (6 m high, 1.2 m wide). According to the architectural tradition set by Stephen the Great, the church has a three-cusped plan, as well as an open porch. The masters who painted its interior and exterior walls have decorated them with scenes from 16th century Moldavian daily life. But the most interesting painting is the Siege of Constantinople on the south façade, relating to the Romanians' fights against foreign invasions, especially Turks. The painting combines scenes of the siege of Constantinople from 1453 with others referring to a previous such attempt made by the Persians, in 626. The frescoes are due to Toma of Suceava and were painted in 1537, when Petru Rares had not yet given up his fight against the Sultan.

Against an intense blue background, you can also see the Hymn to the Virgin composed by Metropolitan Sergius in thanksgiving for her intervention, while further along is a lovely Tree of Jesse, with dozens of figures entwined in a foliage. The Last Judgement is also present, and displays apocalyptic images of dignitaries being taken along by Satan to Hell.

Another valuable fresco is that of the Customs of Heaven, also present at Humor, Arbore and Voronet monasteries, which is inspired by folk legends. In the ‘customs’ of heaven, the souls are judged as soon as they have died and go over several barriers before they enter Paradise with the angels' help, after having paid their tribute to devil publicans. This is the origin of an old Romanian tradition of throwing coins into a dead person’s coffin or into the recently dug grave, or throwing coins into the rivers that are crossed over by a burial procession on their way to the graveyard. On the right side of the nave, there is a mural painting of Petru Rares and his family, presenting the monastery to Jesus.

Moldovita’s frescoes along with the ones at Voronet, have best preserved their colours which are astonishingly fresh and vivid. The two-storey “clisarnita” with a circular tower houses a rich museum with 17th and 18th century books, as well as other monastic treasures, including a silver-chased Evangelistry presented by Catherine the Great, empress of Russia. The latter piece has not only a highly artistic and religious value, but also an intrinsic one, as each and every page of this book was made from the skin of an unborn lamb, killed together with his mother.

All activities of this project, as well as all final products, was made with EU financial support.