The Museum of Saint Hierarch Gavriil with parts recovered in 2016 from the crypt of Metropolitan Bishop Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni was inaugurated at Căpriana Monastery. The archeological vestiges were restored in Iasi. The museum was created in the framework of the crossborder cooperation project “Enhancement of Capriana Monastery for the Promotion of the Unique Ecclesiastic Heritage by Crossborder Cooperation and Digitization” (UEforCulture), IPN reports.
Metropolitan Bishop Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni pastored in Bessarabia in 1812-1821. He founded in Chisinau the Theological Seminar and the first publishing house where books in Romanian were published for churches of Bessarabia and Hotin County. For the canonization of the bishop, his crypt at Căpriana Monastery was opened after almost two centuries of his burial. In 2016, the archeological material was transmitted to the Iasi Research and Restoration-Conservation Center for Cultural Heritage. There were found fragments of his leather boots, clothes, medal cross and hand crosses, icons.
Attending the inaugural ceremony, EU Ambassador to Moldova Peter Michalko said he is proud of the fact that the EU could support this project and this is a very good example for seeing the variety of areas that are supported by the European Union. “The museum will be a joy for each visitor as these could inform themselves about the history and spiritual life,” said the European official.
Romania’s Ambassador in Chisinau Daniel Ioniță said this museum puts Căpriana in a special light and also casts additional light on it. “This way, this museum will be included in the tourist route “Voievod Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt” that connects Romania and the Republic of Moldova. I’m convinced that this museum will be one where pilgrims will stop to admire a part of our common history,” stated the ambassador.
Ex-minister of culture Monica Babuc said that in 2016, when she held the post of minister, she authorized the archeological works in the crypt of Metropolitan Bishop Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni, who was canonized the same year by the Synod of the Orthodox Church of the Republic of Moldova. This is the first museum of the kind in Moldova that was inaugurated with an EU grant under a very successful partnership between Căpriana Monastery and “Moldova” National Museum Complex of Iasi.
The museum was inaugurated as part of Europe Days 2021 in the Republic of Moldova, which will take place throughout May.
