Location Placed among the beautifull hills of Bucovina, at 12 km West from the old residence of Steven the Great and the Bishops of Moldavia, the Dragomirna monastery stands tall defying time, inside the fortress walls. Built as to face the hights, in a search for light from among the forest, shadowed by a cortain of fir trees and majestically reflected by the lake nearby, this place of prayer, through its ancientness, through the originality of its style, through the its elegant and solid shape, through the picturesque awakens the admiration of each visitor, so that in its presence the pilgrim is as impressed as is the historian or the art critic. Besides the beauty of the landscape, the unusual location, what leaves an unforgettable impression is the peculiar elegancy of the monument, withholding geometrical rigors of great taste, an unique stature through its proportions and lengths, exceeding all of the other Moldavian medieval monuments. Probably this uniqueness of the monument attracted since early times the attention of experts, whom, depending on the period of time they lived in, spoke of its value, always giving special reason to it great originality.Nicolae Iorga praised Dragomirna’s matchless beauty, its greatness and the over all impression it leaves upon the watchers. The Architectural complex Dragomirna, built between the borders of two centuries, holds the two characteristics of the Moldavian architectural style. The Medieval Art Complex Dragomirna includes the small church, the big church, the defence walls surrounding the place, the old building of the ecumenics, the five towers, the cells of the monks and the beadle. Hermitage Church The Traditional date of Dragomirna’s founding is the year 1602, but it is assumed that the monachal life in these reagions goes back to older periods. Though it is certain that the beginnings of Dragomirna date from 1602 as it is mentioned on the inscription above the entrance of the small church, situated inside the monastery’s graveyard. From this inscription written in Slavonian we find out that in the year 1602 by the humble servants of the Holy Trinity, Chir Anastasie Crimcovici former Bishop of Rădăuţi and Pan Lupu Stroici, great “logofat” ( position on the hierarchic political,social and medieval scale in Romania) and his brother Pan Simion, great treasurer. The walls show its characteristics, some of the elements being used later in the building of the great church. Even from the construction of this church Crimca’s wish to build a new kind of church, out of the ordinary. The polygonal shape of the threshold, only once before being constructed this same way-at the church of the “logofăt” Tăutu in Bălineşti-1949, situated in the area and known to Crimca and his craftsmen. The open arches of the same building reminding of those in Muntenia, the system of the round dome inside the Aisle, other than the customary Moldavian one stand proof of the founder’s taste for new artistic elements and we may consider that he had closely watched the building of the church. The church, although small, having no Preaisle, only an Altar, Aisle and threshold is beautifully put into proportions. Its reduced dimensions led to the incertion of the iconostasis, which contains only the imperial doors and the door facing the West. It is surprising that, even if the sanctuary is small and humble, there are three founders and three titular saints: the Right Enoh, Saint John writer of the Gospel and Elijah. The celebration is not a usual one. Saint Elijah and Saint John the Teologist are, accordint to the Tradition fighting for the maintaing of purity and union of church, for the union of the people of Israel, as the Bible mentions about Prophet Elijah, the church had at first humble cells as to fit the monument. Later they were moved and the place became a cemetery. Big Church In a short period of time Anastasie Crimca succeeds into climbing the steps of the Orthodox priest hierarchy in Moldavia and while he was the Bishop of Roman(city in Moldavia) he begins the building of a large church and by the finish of its construction he was already great Bishop (Mitropolit) of Moldavia. In the year 1609 the big church of the Dragomirna monastery has already been built and blessed on the 1st of September with the “hram” (titular saint of a church) The Descending of the Holy Spirit. There is no “pisanie” (inscription on the walls of a church, caved or painted, containing the name of the founder and important dates) in the new church, considering maybe that the one in the old church is enough. Still, as the famous will, better said curse, Crimca left behind in 1610, states that the Bishop considers Stroici as the founder. The elements that the building bases itself upon are Traditional and respect the Moldavian style, also borrowing certain ascendancies from the countries nearby, although the style at Dragomirna bears it own specificity unseen before anywhere else. The architectural plan describes a large building, with no lateral apses, as many of the 16th century churches have, with a threshold, Preaisle, Aisle and an Altar, resembling the plan of Saint George’s church in Suceava. However, certain elements make Dragomirna church unique, having the polygonal apse towards the West, as has the church in Bălineşti. What is truly surprising in Dragomirna church is its unsusual size. The tendacy of introducing certain elevation into the architecture of the 16th century churches transforms Dragomirna into an unique structure, its hight being excessive into comparison with its breadth. The church measures 35 m endlong, 9.5 m in breadth and a hight of approximately 42 m. The great historian Nicolae Iorga in his work “The Romanian People in Bucovina” speaks about the beauty of Dragomirna: “Seing the church brings so much joy. It stands tall and blunt resembling a reliquary and is one of the most brilliant monuments of our old architecture and for Crimca it is a title of his eternal glory.”. While the churches built during Steven the Great’s reign are characterized by an outer decoration of the walls based of varying the bricks-simple or glazed, the whole building being enriched by colourful ceramic discs and are famous for their outer painting, the Dragomirna monastery opens a new road in architecture, mainly concentrated upon conditioning stone-used for elevating the sanctuary. At Dragomirna the outer walls are made of coarse stone, but the pillars that have a decorational purpose are made of grinded and conditioned stone. The walls on an elevated ground are devided into two and at crossed at the middle by a rope moulding, resembling a rope, a decoration which can be seen in many of the churches and its origin dates back from Georgia and Armenia, regions that shared their artistic influence in the 16th century in Ţara Românească for the well-known church founded by Neagoe Basarab-Curtea de Arges, but in the case of Dragomirna the legend says that the Bishop Crimca placed the element with a very specific reason: it represents a symbol of the three Christian virtues, faith, hope and love, symbol of the Holy Trinity and as an advice left for the future comers that to unite themselves in one single country (Romania used to be devided into three regions Moldavia, Ţara Românească and Transilvania) and remain united till the end of time. The pillars, realatively massive and wide, rhythmically distributed on the lateral façade and two of them placed on the axis of the church, streghtened at its base with an abutment and tied to each other under a cornice through two arches, from which one is bold and the other is richly ornamented with floral elements. The frames of the windows, as well as the threshold’s door contain some elements of Gothic inspiration. Thus the arches in the shape of an accolade, framed by squares, with certain elements at their edges remind us of the Gothic style characterstics in the former century, when the threshold’s windows, which were larger and had a Gothic arch became adopted by the Moldavian architectural style. However, if we consider the words of the great historiographer Nicolae Iorga, the undescribable beauty of Dragomirna consists of its steeple, the treasure which has been built using great artscraft and love. The stone roses are spread all over the steeple offering the impression of a flowery stake. The slightly exotic hint that can be seen in Dragomirna’s architecture is the one that would later be replied in every Moldavian church, the stone embroidery, also seen at the façade of the church The Three Hierarchs in Iaşi. The ornamented sculpture on the steeple is of great richness and mastery. We find a great variety of elements, geometrical and vegetal, stylistic rosaces, stars made out of two dimonds, squares or other shapes. The impression of embroidery is obtained through the technic used in sculpture of the steeple on one single plan, almost flat. This ornamentation is very special and separates the steeple from the rest of the assembly, enriching the whole monastery with an unique element, as an emblem. Inside the monastery The threshold is situated higher than the rest of the assembly, so that to enter the building one has to climb seven stairs, followed by other seven stairs that give the impression of an elevation, and offering certain delimitation between the parts of the church. The number seven is an important symbol in the Holy Scripture and refers to the seven days of Creation, the seven Mysteries of the Orthodox religion and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The element that catches the eye even from the entrance is the special “ribs network” that enrich the dome, inspired by the gothic style in the West, approved by the Bishop Anastasie Crimca.The windows are in Gothic style, the stone church tower has vegetable and geometric ornaments - amazing, exotic carving, embroidery. The Traditional polychromy is replaced by the magnificently carved stone.Initially, the ornamentations were colourful and golden as it can be observed in some places. Dragomirna does not own a chamber of tombs, but the threshold there are some burial stones, their sculpture is of great simplicity, opposed to the rich ornamentation on the dome. The first three stones have inscriptions in Slavonian, mostly unreadable, holding the dates 1673 and 1680. The oldest burial stone is a marbel ledger with a Greek inscription, dating back from the second, the first century B.C., in an unidentified town on the shores of Pontus Euxin, in the honour of an architect, Epicrates, the son of Nicovolus from Bizant. According to the Tradition, it is believed that under that stone is buried a certain Dima, considered to be the legendary builder of Dragomirna, although the story is not based on real facts, being merely a fantasy.The last burial stone, having on its upper part a representation of the two regions Moldavia and Ţara Româneasca, an emblem surrounded by bay laurel, symbols of the day and of the night, birds and flowers, covers the tomb of Maria Blaj, dead in 1770, the daughter of Constantin Mavrocordat, a former ruler of the two countries. From the threshold to the Preaisle area one has to pass a porch built in the Gothic style. The Preaisle impresses the viewer through the way it is built, forming a décor with eight broken arches. There is no part of the dome or arch that does not hold the pattern of a herringbone rope. The two domes, of different size, are built inseide a square, obtained through puttind the arches one upon the other, forming true stone embroidery. When they cross, they form rosettes with floral ornaments and shields. This whole decoration is perhaps the most sophisticated of the ones on the Moldavian domes. In the Preaisle, on the right side there can be seen a burial stone, higher than the rest of the floor, having no inscription.This stone covers the earthly remains of the Bishop founder of the church.On the left side of the Preaisle there is the canopy with the Holy relics of Saint Jacob the Persian. Well illuminated through two windows on each side, the second chamber of the church is separated from the naos by a wall with three ambulatories and two columns on the extreme part. Thus, between the Preaisle and the Aisle there has been created a space that enables the viewer to see the Altar and the ceremonies. The Aisle two stairs above the Preaisle and as an extend to it, having the same length is the largest of the church’s chambers. On the south and north sides open the usual lateral apses, a semicircular dent, having the same bulk as the wall, without being seen on the outside. The “pentocrator” steeple dominates the outer part, and, though delicate and slim, it resembles the top of a pyramid. The steeple is round on the inside and octagonal on the outside and holds its weight on four great arches, having the same characteristics of the herringbone rope, supported by huge bracket. Through the ingenious system of the arches, also used in the Preaisle,there is built a passway between the round perimeter of the steeple’s walls, which give certain elegancy and slimness to the steeple. The Altar, placed higher than the Aisle (Naos) closes the progressive elevation of the chambers. Of regular, semiround shape, covered by a dome, sphere-shaped, the chamber is illuminted by three big windows, widely opened onto the inside.The length of the Altar reduces gradually through three consecutive “rezalite” ( part of the wall that is higher that the rest so as to represent a certain structure of the building’s plan, a certain composition~German “risalit”) seen from outside as three telescopic arches. This whole architectural composition underlines the gradual narrowness of the Altar’s space, high-lighting its role as an essential element of the building. The Monastery Fresco Although well preserved, the painting was not intirely maintained. Even in the Aisle and the Altar where the paintings have been complete, whole scenes or only details have been erased because of the passing of time. This makes almost impossible to understand the meanings of the icons and the value of the style. Though the beautiful sculptures add incomparable value to this holy place, the founder decided to adorn the walls and the dome with fresco paintings so as to fulfill its work. According to Tradition there were paintings on the threshold and the Preaisle also. The painters of Dragomirna, whose names are written on the Altar walls, Popa Crăciun Mătieş, Popa Ignat and Gregorie had been trained, undoubtedly at the Moldavian Traditional painting school. As well as its architecture, the painting of the Dragomirna monastery brings new meaning to the Moldavian style, offering a different perspective to the iconographic art. The new painting technic does not completely liberate itself from the old style of painting. The whole iconographical assessment, based on two main composition, the first is the “pentocrator”(icon on the dome of the church representating Jesus Christ, with a kind look, slim figure and long beard) the second is the higher part of the apse in the altar, of great elegance, built in such a way, in both elevation and depth, thus creating an impression of movement. The red backround of the sky gives grandeur and a special brilliance. The furniture in the church is quite recent, dating from 1975. It is made out of oak by a family of masters, Croitoru and its ornaments resemble the ones on the steeple. Dating from recent period also, from 2003, the iconostasis is centered by the wonder-working icon of Virgin Mary. The exact date and name of the person to have offered this icon is unknown to us.The icon is made out of silver and the gentle, radiant face with the kind look of Jesus’ Mother seems to follow you in any part of the church. The wonder-working icon representing the Mother of Jesus from Dragomirna is known to help those who are ill and in case of drought it brings rain; still, many of the miracles made by this icon are not written in any place. The Fortress and the Abbey The dark and unstable first decades in the 17th century have led to the building of a surrounding stone wall around the monastery, one that cannot be seen at any other monastery in Romania. Thus, the monastery has gained the aspect of a fortress, due to the defensive walls built in 1627 the ruler Miron Barnovschi. This fact is known to us through the inscription with the sign of Moldavia on the wall of the belfry. The walls contain the belfry tower and four defensive towers placed on each of the four angles of the construction and are called: Barnovschi, Gheronchie, Silvestru and the Arhimandrit’s. Built from carved stone, the walls are impressive and have a hight ob about 11 m, strenghtened by powerful piers and on the upper part by ramparts. Toward the inside of the area, the walls have an ambulatory so as to permit a jackstay. The towers intensify the impression of grandeur and can be depicted through their size and hight.At the groud floor each tower has an entrance door, some having a stone frame and a vegetal element-oak tree leaves. The belfry tower has an artictic value, through its austere decorations. It is the most important element of th whole sanctuary and hold at the first floor a small beadle, a bells room, resembling a gazebo, with open doors on each side. At its lower part the tower contains a conduit with a Gothic arch and vegetal elements. The elements that enrich the bricks are ispired by flowers, very elegant, none identical to the other. Next to the tower, on the right side of the entrance is one of the most interesting chambers of the whole complex, the refectory, a large hall, with elegant domes supported by an octagonal pillar. Built according to the late Gothic style, of great purity, the domes are ribbed beginning from an octagonal pillar and form a stone fan. Following the same pattern the ribs are enriched with floral and carvings elements from place to place. The refectory is of great beauty and importance to the Dragomirna complex, alongside Crimca’s church. This example will later be replicated by the Moldavian style in the well-known Gothic chambers at the Three Saint Hierarchs and Cetăţuia churches. On the western and northern walls of the sanctuary there can be seen the monks’ cells, consisting of a ground floor and a first floor, changed by the Austrian rulers. On the northern side the cells end with a small beadle, built in 1976 for the church services during the winter period. Its titular feast is the Birth of Jesus’ Mother. The whole assembly: the small church, the big church, the fortrss and the abbey are truly outstanding through their style and architecture, obeying geometrical patterns, with tendencies in elevation, from which we can depict a great way of thinking, a brilliant mind and an iron will, all belonging to the founder and architect. Culture and Art Resembling other monasteries in our country, Dragomirna Monastery is a great source of culture. The founder Bishop himself and his apprentices have showed great effort into rewriting and improving the religious texts. The religious books donated by the Bishop to the monastery, beautifully decorated with hand made miniatures, some of which are the Bishop’s own work, give us a hint upon Crimca’s artistic qualities, also the founder of a miniature calligraphy school within the monastery. Anastasie Crimca has proved to be a talented and innovator book illustrator. Popescu Vâlcea spoke about the school from Dragomirna: “Nowhere on this Earth, besides at Dragomirna, have been rewritten and improved so many manuscripts. Nowhere did this artistic creation receive greater dedication, uniting workers, materials and all kinds of treasures. Nowhere have been used so many colours, so much silver and gold than at Dragomirna.” From all the manuscripts at Dragomirna remain to tis day only two. The museum holds: a psalm book 1616, a Gospel 1609, two mass books 1610 and 1617 and another Gospel dating from 1616. Two miniature manuscripts have been taken to Bucharest and another one manuscript“the Apostole” can be found at the Imperial Library in Wien. This last manuscript includes Crimca’s will or, as better known, Crimca’s curse, saying that the monastery is not to be under the command of the Holy Mountain in Greece or the Holy Land of Jerusalim. The icons within the miniatures of Anastasie Crimca do not usually maintain a strictly to the text approach. Illustrating certain moments within the prayer, the images are very interesting because they show the way the artist chose to express the religious significance through his drawing. The large domain of monumental painting, icons, manuscripts, elements from the folklore and the local legends bring fresh ideas, original signs, thus enriching the iconography. As well as in paintings, we encounter in the miniatures battle scenes and troubadours, crowds of people, landscapes or architectural elements on the background, among which one can notice Moldavian churches. Anastasie Crimca, through his creation shall remain for future generations and all of those that praise beauty, a great artistical personality. Source: manastireadragomirna.ro/index.php?page=prezentare
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 23:02:49 +0000
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