Humorului Monastery in Moldova is a member of UNESCO site heritage since 2004 and it's very interesting.
We usually offer information about the amazing Danube Delta, but let me tell you more about this amazing monastery, which was internationally acclaimed for almost 10 centuries.
Introduction about Humorului Monastery in Moldova
Located in the picturesque village of Humor, on the banks of the Humor River and surrounded by trees and meadows on the crest of a hill, lies one of the most significant attractions in Bucovina, just 5 kilometers away from the city of Gura Humorului. This legendary land of overwhelming beauty is home to the Humor Monastery, founded by the logothete Teodor Bubuiog on the advice of Voivode Petru Rareş.
What sets this monastery apart?
The exterior painting of the monastery is remarkable, with its dominant "Humor red" color and the famous depiction of the siege of Constantinople. It is one of the most important medieval Moldavian foundations, included in UNESCO's world heritage for its cultural and spiritual value. The monastic ensemble comprises the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St. George - built in 1530, the ruins of the monastic houses dating back to the 16th-18th centuries, the Tower of Vasile Lupu - built in 1641, and the Bell Tower - from the 19th century.
Little bit of History of the Humorului Monastery in Moldova
According to ancient traditions, in the early 15th century, during the reign of Alexandru cel Bun (1400-1432), the nobleman Ivan Vornicul erected a stone church on the bank of a stream near its confluence with the Humor River, where there was previously a wooden church for the monks who lived there.
In the years that followed, a monastic settlement developed around the new church, and further on, a larger community known today as the village of Humor Monastery.
On April 13, 1415, the ruler Alexandru cel Bun (1400-1432) donated to the monastery the land of Pârteșteni, which included Solonețul (the current village of Pârteștii de Sus), a village at the source of Solonț where Tatomir and Pârtea were located, and Pârteștii de Jos, the settlement of Dioniș. The donation was made through a uric.
Improving the adorns that Humorului Monastery in Moldova offers
In the following years, the rulers endowed the monastery with precious objects and manuscripts, some of which are still part of the monastery's heritage today - but presented at the Putna Monastery Museum. Among these treasures is the Humor Tetraevangelion, an object of inestimable value, donated to the Humor Monastery in 1473 by Ștefan cel Mare. It is interesting to note that the manuscript contains a rare and beautiful miniature depicting the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, with the image of Ștefan cel Mare kneeling at the bottom, offering the Tetraevangelion to the Virgin Mary. This is one of the first secular portraits in the history of Moldova and the only authentic portrait of the great ruler, according to researchers.
Humorului Monastery in Moldova collapses!
At the beginning of the 16th century, at a date that could not be established with certainty, most likely in 1527, the church of the vornic Ivan collapsed, but its ruins still exist, approximately 500 meters southwest of the current church.
During the reign of Petru Rareș (1527-1538 and 1541-1546), in 1528, the royal treasurer Toader Bubuiog decided to build a new stone church on this site. Information about the monastery's founder was provided by Petru Rareș himself in a document from that year: "... Our faithful boier Toader served faithfully to the late father of my reign, Stephen Voivode, and the brothers of our reign, Bogdan Voivode, and the grandson of our reign, Stephen Voivode, and now serves us with justice and faith." This is, let us admit, an extremely generous characterization from a voivode that is fully justified, given the great services that Toader provided to the country during no fewer than four successive reigns: Stephen the Great (1457-1504), Bogdan III (1504-1517), Ștefăniță Vodă (1517-1527), and Petru Rareș in his first reign (1527-1538).
The church was consecrated on August 15, 1930, on the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, according to the inscription next to the entrance, on the exterior wall of the church: "... with the will and help of the gracious lord Petru Voievod, son of the old Stephen Voievod, this dedication was begun and made ... with the expense and effort of the servant of God Jupan Teodor, the great treasurer, and his wife Anastasia in the year 7038 (1530) on August 15th."
According to the custom of those times, along with the church, cells for monks and surrounding walls were built, necessary for defense in case of attack.
In 1535, the church of the Humor Ensemble was painted by Toma from Suceava, Humorul, with an exterior painting that has been preserved in very good condition to this day, being alongside the churches from Voroneț and Moldovița, witnesses of the unusual decorative process that appeared during the reign of Petru Rareș.
Toma from Suceava created one of the most impressive decorative ensembles of the era.
Thus, according to the stylistic analysis of the painting, the team consisted of four painters, each with a formed artistic personality, and one of them, Toma from Suceava, called himself a painter of churches and a courtier of His Majesty Petru, the voivode of Moldavia, led the team that created one of the most impressive decorative ensembles of the era.
In 1539, the royal treasurer Toader, also known later in history as Bubuiog or Boboiog, son-in-law of the famous treasurer Tăutul and a member of the country's divan, passed away. He was buried at his foundation in Humor, in the same tomb room where he had buried his wife nine years earlier.
In those years, as in most Romanian monasteries, Humor Monastery also had, in addition to the usual monastic life, an important cultural and artistic activity. Here, valuable manuscripts adorned with miniatures and embroidery were created, but the life of the establishment was often disrupted and even interrupted.
In 1641, the ruler Vasile Lupu (1634-1653) decided to strengthen the monastery complex with surrounding walls and a defensive tower. The following inscription was embedded on the tower building: "This tower was built and decorated by the pious and Christ-loving Lord Io Vasile Voievod, by the mercy of God, ruler and lord of the entire country in the year 7149 (1641)."
The tower of the Humorului Monastery in Moldova
The tower is located northeast of the church building and was originally part of the monastery's enclosure wall, of which only a few ruins can now be seen. The tower has a square plan with a side of 8 meters, a ground floor, and three floors, with a wooden balcony on strong beams supported by wooden brackets on the top floor. The tower had a defensive role, and the defenders of the complex could take refuge in the rooms on the upper floors, together with the monastery's valuable belongings. The staircase leading to the upper floors could be destroyed to prevent invaders from entering those rooms.
Humorului Monastery in Moldova during the world wars
In 1774, Bukovina was occupied by the Austrians, and almost all the monasteries in this part of the country were abolished within a few years, causing significant difficulties for Humor Monastery. The town of Monastery Humor was then part of the Duchy of Bukovina, governed by the Austrians and part of the Gura Humorului district (in German, Gurahumora).
On June 19, 1783, Emperor Joseph II (1780-1790) issued an Imperial Ordinance that abolished Humor Monastery and placed its lands and assets, previously managed by the Bishopric of Radauti, under the "guidance of imperial and royal authority." In 1774, Bukovina was occupied by the Austrians, and within a few years, almost all the monasteries in this part of the country were abolished, causing significant difficulties for Humor Monastery. At that time, the village of Humor Monastery was part of the Duchy of Bukovina, governed by the Austrians and belonging to the district of Gura Humorului (known in German as Gurahumora).
In 1785, the church at Humor became the parish church of the village. In the following years, the cells were almost completely ruined, and the remaining buildings of the former monastic complex were used as a school for local children. From 1850, they were used as a storage facility for the materials of the Austrian authorities.
In the 19th century, the bell tower was built on the east side of the complex. It is made of wood and has one floor. The entrance to the monastery complex is located on the ground floor, while the bell chamber is located on the upper floor.
In 1868 and 1888, Humor Monastery underwent extensive renovation work. In the 1960s and 1970s, further modernization and consolidation work was carried out, and from 1971 to 1972, the painting in the narthex and nave was completely restored with the financial and technical support of UNESCO.
Humorului Monastery in Moldova and UNESCO
In July 1991, the status of a parish church was changed, and a community of nuns was established here by the decision of Archbishop Pimen Zainea of Suceava and Radauti.
The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Humor is built in a triconch plan with lateral apses, but without domes, in the Moldavian style crystallized in the last decade of the reign of Stephen the Great (1457-1504). However, the church has a number of distinctive features that set it apart from the churches founded by Stephen, such as the absence of a dome above the naos, as well as the presence for the first time in Moldavian architecture of an open porch, instead of the usual closed porch, and of the "tainiță", a new room superimposed on the room of the tombs.
Inside the church there are five rooms: the open porch, the narthex, the tomb room (burial chamber), the naos, and the altar.
The open porch has four large arches ending in a broken arch, which rise to below the series of small windows. The arches are separated by square pillars, as thick as the wall of the church. The interior space of the porch is divided into two by a double median arch. From the porch, one enters the narthex through a portal with a Gothic-style molded frame, which ends in a broken arch. At the top of the narthex is a dome supported by arches, while between the narthex and the tomb room, as well as between the tomb room and the naos, there is a wall pierced by an opening framed by crossed molding.
The tomb room has a semicylindrical vault, and the naos has a spherical dome supported by a system of arches in the Moldavian style. In the north-west wall of the tomb room there is a door leading to a secret room, called the "tainiță", where the church treasure was hidden in case of danger, and between the naos and the altar there is an old wooden iconostasis.
The Humor Monastery Church, like the Voronet, Moldovita, Arbore, and Sucevita churches, was adorned with frescoes both inside and out. What sets the Humor painting apart is the unity of chromatic tone due to the predominance of various shades of red, a color specific to this church. Unfortunately, the exterior painting has been partially damaged due to weather conditions. The northern wall is the most affected, with only fragments of the Hymn to St. Martyr George, Arbore's Tree, two columns of philosophers, and the image of the abbot Paisie distinguishable from the entire iconographic ensemble.
The Last Judgment is depicted on the western wall of the Humorului Monastery in Moldova
The frescoes on the south facade and apses are better preserved, featuring scenes such as the 24 scenes of the Hymn to the Annunciation, the Assembly of the Virgin, the Siege of Constantinople by the Persians in 625 (in the three Persian scenes, they are replaced by Turks), the Burning Bush, the Life of St. Nicholas (in 15 scenes), and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. One of the scenes in the Siege of Constantinople shows a rider throwing a lance at one of the leaders of the Ottoman army, with the painter Toma from Suceava lending his face to that rider.
In addition to the graves of the founders, several dignitaries of medieval Moldavia were buried in the Humor Monastery Church, including the graves of the great logothete Toader Bubuiog and his wife Anastasia. In the nave, the tomb of Bishop Eftimie of Radauti (1558-1561), who died in 1561, can be found, while the tomb of logothete Solomon is located in the left part of the nave.
Artistic value on the Humorului Monastery in Moldova
The Humor Monastery also has several objects of documentary and artistic value, including an artistically carved and gilded iconostasis, a wooden princely throne dating back to the 16th century, a 1545 analogion, a wooden cross dated 1623, and large-sized icons painted in the 15th and 16th centuries.
In 1993, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the Humor Monastery Church, along with six other churches in northern Moldavia (Arbore, Patrauti, Moldovita, Probota, St. John the New in Suceava, and Voronet), on the list of World Cultural Heritage sites in the Painted Churches of Northern Moldavia group.
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600 years celebration
On Saturday, August 15, 2015, marking 600 years since the laying of the foundation stone at the Humor Monastery in Suceava, the Holy Liturgy dedicated to the feast day was officiated by His Eminence Father Pimen, Archbishop of Suceava and Radauti, with a numerous assembly of priests and deacons. The Holy Liturgy gathered faithful from the commune's villages as well as other localities. At the end of the hierarchical service, His Eminence Father Pimen gave a sermon about the Mother of God and read the prayer of absolution.
Presently, the Humor Monastery is home to around 20 nuns who divide their time between community duties and workshops where they paint or sew priestly vestments.
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