Manastirea Chiajna - Virtual Tour

360 Virtual Tour

Manastirea Chiajna (Chiajna Monastery - Bucharest, Romania)

Aproape ca uitasem de Manastirea Chiajna si de soarta ei trista. Azi insa mi-am amintit de ctitoria lui Mavrogheni citind un articol in Romania Libera, editia online, articol pe care il preiau partial. Ironia face ca in acelasi ziar am citit articolul Politicienii miluiesc Biserica pentru succesul în alegeri. Oare cand ne vom milui si de Manastirea Chiajna?

La prima vedere, România nu e prea bogată în monumente istorice, dar ar putea fi, dacă ar avea guvernanţi demni de măreţia trecutului.

Mânăstirea Chiajna, monument istoric şi de artă de la sfârşitul veacului al XVIII-lea, deşi ruinată, impresionează şi astăzi prin mărime, ca şi prin ceea ce a mai rămas din frumuseţea ei de altădată. Monumentul a fost înconjurat de nenumărate legende.

Ctitorul acestei măreţe mânăstiri a fost Nicolae Mavrogheni, iubitor de artă şi de fast, care a domnit între anii 1786 şi 1790. Biserica a fost construită în stil neoclasic, cu un plan arhitectural deosebit de interesant şi frumos. Au lucrat la ea aceiaşi meşteri care au ridicat şi conacul Văcă­reştilor, din apropierea Târgo­viştei, azi şi el ruinat. Se pare că, deşi a fost terminată, nu a fost târnosită, întrucât ctitorul ei, bănuit de trădare, a fost mazilit şi ucis de turci, sosiţi la Bucureşti în vederea războiului cu austriecii şi cu ruşii, la care era nevoită să ia parte şi oastea Ţării Româ­neşti. A rămas legenda că în această biserică nu s-ar fi slujit niciodată, fiind bombardată de turci chiar înainte de târnosire, sub pretextul că impunătoarea mânăstire ar fi mai degrabă o cetate. După alte surse, sfântul lăcaş ar fi fost părăsit în vremea ciumei de pe timpul unui Ipsilanti. Alte izvoare spun că mânăstirea ar fi funcţionat la 1792, dar ar fi fost părăsită în vremea ciumei de pe timpul domnitorului Mihai Suţu. Printre legendele care înconjoară Mânăstirea Chiajna se află şi una care spune că însuşi mitropolitul Ţării Româneşti, Cozma, ar fi murit de ciumă chiar în această biserică. Apoi, clopotul ei cel mare ar fi fost aruncat în apele revărsate ale Dâmboviţei şi, după spusele localnicilor, se aude bătând în nopţile cu Lună Plină. Numele mânăstirii a fost pus în legătură cu celebra doamnă Chiajna, deşi nu are nici o legătură cu apriga eroină, doar că se află pe o fostă moşie a acesteia.

Adrian Bucurescu, RL 

Cititi articolul aici.

Cuvîntul-clopot

Schitul Prodromu

† Cel ce face din Evanghelia scrisa o Evanghelie traita l-a aflat pe Hristos.

† Mintea ceea ce iubeste la aceea se gandeste, de iubesti pe Dumnezeu, la el te gandesti mereu.

† De vrei mintea s-o sfintesti,

Pe Hristos sa-l pomenesti,

Cu cat mai mult te vei sili,

Prezenta Lui o vei simti.

† Traiesc ca-n vis, traiesc ca-n noapte, de nimic nu-s sigur ca de moarte.

† Scump e timpul ce-l traim, el spune sa ne silim.

† Timpul sta in mana ta, sa faci din el ce vei vrea.

† Acum e timpul sa te silesti, talantul sa-l inmultesti.

† La moarte te vei gandi, timpul scump tie-ti va fi
Nu-l vei pierde asa usor, nici gandind, nici vorbitor.

† De vrei sa razi cand vei muri, trebuie sa plangi cand vei trai,
Iar viata ta asa sa-ti fie, sa astepti moartea cu bucurie.

† Cel mai fericit om esti, Cand cu Dumnezeu vorbesti.

† Fapta buna ce o faci, cu smerenie s-ombraci,
Ca Dumnezeu mult iubeste, pe omul ce se smereste.

† Azi toata lumea se sileste,
Sa traiasca-nparateste,
Dar de suflet nu grijeste.

† Sfarsitul cum te-a aflat, asa vei fi judecat.

† Sileste-te, fii treaz mereu, sa-L ai viu pe Dumnezeu.

† Cel ce va face si va invata, acela mare om se va chema.

Cugetarile athonite au fost rostite de parintele Iulian de la schitul romanesc Prodromu si notate de Mihai Scemtovici.

Schitul Prodromu de la Sfîntul Munte

Forme vechi si noi in spatiul monahal athonit

Foto: Iulian Capsali

Un pelerin la Sfântul Munte

Anul trecut in decembrie prietenul Iulian Capsali a fost in pelerinaj la Muntele Athos, mai precis la Manastirea Vatopedou si la Schitul Sf. Ipatie. Ii multumesc pentru ca mi-a ingaduit sa public aceste frumoase fotografii. (Foto: Alistair Ian Blyth)

Romanian Orthodox Monasteries (Manastiri din Romania)

Santorini (Σαντορίνη) and Meteora (Μετέωρα)

Yannis Larios Photography

Santorini
Meteora

Meteora, Greece

St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery, Arizona

St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery is a monastic community for men in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. It is located in Florence, Arizona, and the spiritual father of the monastery is Elder Ephraim. The community was founded in 1995 by six Athonite monks along with Elder Ephraim, former abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos, with the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco (of blessed memory). In time it has grown to approximately 42 monks, and is continuing to grow, providing the training grounds for the monks of other Greek Orthodox monasteries in America that are under the elder's spiritual guidance. The community consists of men living the monastic tradition of a Christ-centered prayer life for the monastic members. Unlike on Mount Athos, both men and women are equally encouraged and welcome to visit as pilgrims.

Romanian Monasteries

This Photo Album is for my friend David Robles from Washington State. We met at St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery (Florence, Arizona) 3 years ago. I invite you all to read his wonderful blog, Finding The Way To The Heart .

Mount Athos Άγιο Όρος

Mount Athos is situated in the entire third, eastern and most beautiful peninsula of Halkidiki, called the peninsula of Athos. It is the only place in Greece that is completely dedicated to prayer and worship of God. For this reason, it is called the Holy Mount. The Holy Mount is about 50 Km in length, 8 to 12 Km in width and it covers an area of about 350 square kilometres. The borders of the monasterial city are defined on the ground by an imaginary line that starts from the location "FRAGOKASTRO" in the West coast and reaches the cape "ARAPIS" in the opposite end. The natural beauty of the peninsula is extraordinary. The highest point of Mount Athos is like a huge cone, reaching 2033 metres in height. It’s a naked, treeless crest that seems to lance the sky and its slopes are fully covered by ancient evergreens. All these help to create an area of incomparable natural beauty.

The Holy Mount is a self- governed part of the Greek state, subject to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its political aspect and to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinopole as regards its religious aspect. It has been divided into twenty self-governed territories. Each territory consists of a cardinal monastery and some other monastic establishments that surround it (cloisters, cells, cottages, seats, hermitages). All the monasteries are communes (of a convent nature) which means that there is common liturgy, prayer, housing, nourishing and work among the monks. The Superior of the monastery, being elected by the monks for life, is responsible for the affairs of the monastery. The Superiors of the monasteries are members of the Holy Assembly and exercise legislative authority. Moreover, every year the monastery elects its representative to the Holy Community which exercises administrative authority, while the Holy Supervision exercises executive authority and consists of 4 members, elected by the 5 hierarchically preceding monasteries.

According to mythology the name Athos belongs to a Thracian giant. During the conflict between the Gods and the Giants, Athos threw a huge rock against Poseidon (the God), but the rock slipped through his fingers and fell to the sea creating a huge block of land which is now Mount Athos. In a different version it was Poseidon who threw the rock against Athos. The rock crushed Athos and burried him underneath. This rock was called Mount Athos. Up to the 3rd century BC, there where quite a few small Greek towns in the peninsula. Later, for unknown reasons, these towns fell into decay or were destroyed, resulting in a deserted area for many centuries. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary with John the Evangelist, or their way to visit Lazarus in Cyprus, encountered a stormy sea that forced them to temporarily seek refuge in the port which is now the Holy Monastery of Ivira. The Virgin Mary, admiring the wild beauty of the place, asked God to give her the mountain as a present. Then the voice of our Lord was heard saying: "Let this place be your lot, your garden and your paradise, as well as a salvation, a haven for those who seek salvation". Since then, Mount Athos is considered as "The Garden of the Virgin Mary".  In the 5th century AD, the first monks came to Mount Athos, who disappointed from the boredom of everyday communal life, found this beautiful and uninhabited place ideal for worship their God.

 
Source: http://www.inathos.gr/

St. Paisius Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Arizona - Church Construction

 St. Paisius Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Arizona

St. Paisius Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Safford, Arizona

Church of the Holy Virgin

"O Lord our God,

Who has condescended at this place,

and upon the stone laid thereon and blessed in Thy name,

to found for Thyself a Church:

Do Thou mercifully accept those

who bring to Thee Thine own of Thine own,

for the erection to Thy glory of the temple

founded in honor and memory

of the Dormition of the Holy Virgin."

BY THE GRACE OF GOD, our fervent desire -- to have a church built in honor of the Mother of God -- is, through the prayers of many, now being accomplished. This Church will be dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, and will have two small side chapels, the first will be dedicated to St. Paisius Velichkovsky, our patron, and the second to the Holy Hierarchs John Maximovich and Nikolai of Zica. In addition to the spiritual blessings bestowed through the Mother of God, this monastery church will finally be able to encompass the numerous faithful who come as guests to the monastery. After God, we humbly rely upon your prayerful and financial support to complete this holy offering.

"O Master Christ, Immortal Wisdom,

in Thy dispensation

come down from on High on this temple,

and keep it unshaken to the end of the ages.

And count worthy of the inaccessible light, O Lord,

them that hasten to it with faith. "

St. Paisius Orthodox Monastery is a women’s coenobitic community which follows the traditional rule of monastic life. The monastery was founded in 1993, and is dedicated to St. Paisius Velichkovsky, who labored his whole life to collect and translate the texts of the Philokalia as a means of preserving the teachings of the Holy Fathers on the authentic Christian way of life.

Source: St. Paisius Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Arizona

The Romanian Skete of Timiou Prodromou - Mt. Athos, Greece

The skull you see with some writing says (in Romanian): “Where I am, you will be. Where you are, I was.”

Source