Agapia Monastery, Agapia-Neamt, Romania
Agapia Monastery is one of the largest Orthodox monastery of nuns in Romania, situated on the Agapia valley at a distance of 9 km from the Targu Neamt city. The monastery was built between 1641-1643. The church architecture has a specific style. What makes a great value to this monument are the frescoes painted by Nicolae Grigorescu –popular painer of Romania, during 1858-1861. The history of this monastery is related to the old Agapia hermitage. The first known hermit who lived in clearing in the glade of what is now Old Agapia was the blessed Agapie monk of the Neamt Monastery. Here he founded a wooden church named "Changing the Face". So, it was born the first hermitage in the Neamt mountains, known as "Agapie Hermitage". Destroyed by a snow avalanche in a day of Easter, Agapie church was rebuilt on another ground named "Eufrosin glade" located nearby the old one, receiving the titlar saint –“The Wonder, of Saint Michael Archangel, in Colossae”. But construction of the Agapia Hill had little long life due to the land. Therefore, around 1600, some monks had moved to the valley, building around here, a little church, that will become the Agapia Monastery today, sometimes mentioned as the New Agapia. The new monastery was built between the 16th October 1642 and the 3rd September 1644 by the Gabriel Coci “the Hetman” (Vasile Lupu's brother) and his wife, Liliana princess. The monastery was sanctified on the 12 of September 1647, same year of building the monastery sanctum,. The Bell is built at dawn by massive granite stone. It received the titular saint "St. Michael and Gabriel Archangels”and the consecration was made by Varlaam Motoc Metropolitan. At the initiative of Veniamin Costache Metropolitan, Alexandru Moruzzi decided in 1803 by a royal decree, that the monastery of monks Agapia become a nuns communal monastery. Mother Elizabeth was assign the abbey, Veniamin Costache Metropolitan’s sister. She was leading the monastery until 1834.
Size: 3072px × 4608px
Location: Agapia, Neamt, Romania
Photo credit: © Mihai Popa / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: agapia, eastern, europe, monastery, neamt, orthodox, romania, travel
