Voroneț Monastery

The age of the monastic site is not known. A legend tells us that Stephen the Great, in a moment of crisis during a war against the Ottoman Turks, came to Daniel the Hermit at his skete in Voroneț and asked for advice. Daniel told him not to surrender the fight. Then, after victory, he must build a monastery dedicated to Saint George.{{cite book |last=Neculce |first=Ion |title=Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei |chapter=O sama de cuvinte |trans-title=Chronicle of Moldavia |url=https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Letopise%C8%9Bul_%C8%9A%C4%83rii_Moldovei/O_sam%C4%83_de_cuvinte |language=ro |access-date=3 December 2013 }} The original entrance above the Church of Saint George, now in the exonarthex, bears the inscription:{{cite book|last=Simionovici|first=Elena|title=The sacred monastery of Voronet|year=2001|publisher=Thausib|location=Sibiu|isbn=973-97726-7-6|translator=Ligia Doina Constantinescu}}

{{Blockquote|I, Voivode Stephen, by the Grace of God Ruler of Moldavia, son of Bogdan, have started to have the monastery of Voroneț built to the glory of the holy and well-known St George, the great and victorious martyr, in 6996 in May on 26, on one day of Monday, after the Pentecost and I had it finished the same year, in September, 1488.}}

The church was built on a triconch plan (with three apses), with a chancel, a naos with its tower, and a pronaos.

In 1547, the Metropolitan Bishop of Moldavia Grigorie Roșca added the exonarthex to the west end of the church and had the exterior walls painted. His contribution is recorded on the left of the entrance door:

{{Blockquote|By the Will of the Father and the Help of the Son and the accomplishment of the Holy Spirit and by the great pains taken by the faithful Kir Grigorie, Metropolitan of the whole Moldavian Country, there was added this title porch and the exterior of the whole church was painted, for the sake of his soul, in 7055 (1547).}}

The monastery contains tombstones commemorating Saint Daniel the Hermit, Grigorie Roșca, and other patrons of the church and noblemen.

Voroneţ was known for its school of calligraphy, where priests, monks and friars learned to read, write and translate religious texts. The school produced two notable copies of Romanian translations of the Bible: The Codex of Voroneț, discovered in 1871, and The Psalter of Voroneț, found in 1882. These books are now held at the Romanian Academy.

The monastery was deserted soon after 1775, when the Habsburg monarchy annexed the northern part of Moldavia. The monastic community returned to Voroneț in 1991. Since their return, those living in the monastery have constructed housing for the resident nuns, a chapel, fountains, stables, barns, and a house for pilgrims.

The katholikon (main church) of Saint George at Voroneț Monastery is possibly the most famous church in Romania. It is known throughout the world for its exterior frescoes of bright and intense colours, and for the hundreds of well-preserved figures placed against the renowned azurite background. The small windows, their rectangular frames of crossed rods and the receding pointed or shouldered arches of the interior doorframes are Gothic. The south and north doors of the exonarthex of 1547 have rectangular frames, which indicate a transition period from Gothic to Renaissance. But, above them, on each wall is a tall window with a flamboyant Gothic arch. The whole west façade is without any openings, which indicates that the intention of the Metropolitan Roșca was from the beginning to reserve it for frescoes.

On the north façade is still visible the original decoration of the church, the rows of ceramic enamelled discs in yellow, brown and green, decorated in relief. These include heraldic motifs, such as the rampant lion and the aurochs' head of the Moldavian coat of arms, and creatures inspired by Western European mediaeval literature, such as two-tailed mermaids. The tower is decorated with sixteen tall niches, in four of which are windows. A row of small niches encircles the tower above them. The fragmented roof probably follows the shape of the original roof, which doubtless was made with shingles.

File:Mănăstirea Voroneț - Vedere de sus.jpg|The Church of Saint George within Voroneț Monastery

File:Voronet Intrare.JPG|The Church of Saint George

File:Biserica Voronet.JPG|The Church of Saint George

File:Ihopulele EOS 30D0173 Voronet.jpg|Exterior picture of the southern walls of the church

File:Moldaukloster Voroneţ Friedhof.jpg|Interior court of the complex

File:Voronet 2013-detaliu-a.jpg|Exterior picture of the altar

File:Voronet 2013-detaliu-c.jpg|Exterior picture of the western walls

File:Voronet 2013-detaliu-d.jpg|Exterior picture — detail

File:Voronet Monastery - Romania.jpg|The Last Judgment, painted on the exterior of the Church of St. George

Image:Voronet2 secureroot.jpg|Cain and Abel, (bottom) lives of saints

File:KlosterVoronetInnen1.JPG|

File:KlosterVoronetInnen2.JPG|

Voronet Monastery - Romania - 02.jpg

File:KlosterVoronet2.JPG|

Image:Voronet3 secureroot.jpg|

Image:Voronet1 secureroot.jpg|

File:Woman of Woronenz - Clarke Edward Daniel - 1810.jpg|Woman from Voroneț by Clarke Edward Daniel

• List of Romanian Orthodox monasteries
• Churches of Moldavia
• Tourism in Romania
• Seven Wonders of Romania
• Byzantium after Byzantium

{{reflist}}

• Kocój E., Świątynie, postacie, ikony. Malowane cerkwie i monastyry Bukowiny Południowej w wyobrażeniach rumuńskich, Kraków 2006, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, ss. 444, 120 pf, https://www.academia.edu/24331662/%C5%9Awi%C4%85tynie_postacie_ikony._Malowane_cerkwie_i_monastyry_Bukowiny_Po%C5%82udniowej_w_wyobra%C5%BCeniach_rumu%C5%84skich_Temples_persons_icons._Painted_churches_and_monasteries_of_South_Bukovina_in_Romanian_imagology_Wydawnictwo_Uniwersytetu_Jagiello%C5%84skiego_Krak%C3%B3w_2006_s._440

{{Commons category|Voroneț monastery}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071202195504/http://www.csvd.ro/panoblog/360-romania/monasteries-of-moldavia/sixtine-chapel-of-the-east-voronet-monastery/ 360° panoramic images from Voroneț Monastery]
• Romania's Painted Churches [http://www.users.cloud9.net/~romania/Churches/voronet.htm]
• [http://www.romaniaphotos.ro/2010/01/voronet-monastery.html Photos from Romania : Monastery Voroneț]
• [http://photos.mavericksonlineden.com/thumbnails.php?album=130 Photos of Mănăstirea Voroneț]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070207054108/http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/images/voronet/voronet.html Voroneț]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051015124332/http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/turism/m_voronet.html The Holy Monastery of Voroneț] Romania's National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050910014113/http://www.enzia.com/Pages/Sv2.html Bucovina - Treasures and Tranquillity ]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010305222524/http://www.agrotour.ro/manastirea_voronet.htm The Voroneț Monastery] Rural Tourism in Romania
• [http://romania-travelguide.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=49 Voroneț Monastery]

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Category:Churches of Moldavia

Category:Churches established by Stephen the Great

Category:Eastern Orthodox pilgrimage sites

Category:1488 establishments in Europe

Category:15th century Romanian Orthodox monasteries