It is impossible to walk through Bucharest’s historic center without stopping to admire the small Stavropoleos Church. A “true jewel,” adorned with garlands and lace-like stone carvings, with floral motifs decorating the façade, windows, and portico—something unusual in the ornamentation of places of worship. “The delicate work” (as historian Constantin Giurescu called it) is considered one of the most precious achievements of the Brâncovenesc art style in Romania.
It was founded in 1724, during the reign of Nicolae Mavrocordat, by the Greek archimandrite Ioanichie, who had arrived from the Gura Monastery in Epirus. In 1722, he purchased from the noblewoman Despa the land on which he would build the inn and the church. In medieval times, many inns were built around churches and monasteries in order to provide financial support for these places of worship.
Of the original structure, only the church has survived. The church porch still preserves its original frescoes, remarkably well preserved. The entrance features a carved stone portal. Above it stands the original bilingual inscription, in Greek and Romanian. The iconostasis, with the Royal Doors and the two carved wooden side iconostases, has also been well preserved. The icons are original and painted on a gold background.
The church is part of a monastic complex that includes a courtyard surrounded by monastery buildings, the result of an extensive restoration project begun in 1904 by the architect Ion Mincu. The restoration of the paintings was entrusted to the priest-painter V. Damiano. Stavropoleos Monastery also houses a library, a refectory, and a collection of ecclesiastical antiques.
The library contains numerous volumes forming a remarkable collection of patristic, biblical, dogmatic, liturgical, historical, pastoral, and catechetical works, as well as dictionaries and manuals of classical languages. It also includes studies on Byzantine art, Orthodox iconography, eighteenth-century Romanian history and civilization, and medieval culture. The art collection contains icons, religious objects, works of art, and fragments of decorative frescoes recovered from churches demolished during the communist regime.
The Stavropoleos complex is also of great importance for Byzantine music. Its nearly two hundred books and manuscripts constitute the largest collection of their kind in Romania. Only traditional sacred music of Byzantine influence is performed in the church. The traveler, weary from the journey and burdened by thoughts, may retreat into this small paradise, descended from other worlds and other times into the midst of urban chaos. Here, one may feel divine silence enveloping them in its blessing, while a well-deserved peace settles over both mind and body.
Info: www.crestinortodox.ro
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