St Gheorghe Church with new mural paintings will be sanctified on August 28, on Capriana Monastery’s day

Saint Gheorghe Church that forms part of the Capriana Monastic Complex will be sanctified with its new mural paintings on August 28, when it is celebrated the day of the monastery and of Capriana village – “Assumption of the Virgin”. Pantelei Taltu, the president the Observers Council for the restoration of Capriana Monastic Complex, has told Info-Prim Neo that on this day, the Metropolitan Bishop of Chisinau and all Moldova will hold a bishop’s service. Bishops and priests from Moldova will take part in the service. The senior authorities of the country are also expected to the event. Besides the church, three auxiliary buildings and a part of the renewed lower terrace (roads, flower beds, fence and gate) will be put in commission after restoration. Two of the buildings contain monks’ cells, while the third building is a modern lavatory for monks, parishioners and visitors. Saint Gheorghe Church was built during 1903 – 1905 and was first restored in a century – between 2003 and 2005. Since 2006, the church has been painted. According to Pantelei Taltu, national and foreign specialists ascertained that the existent painting, which was made by pieces during many years, did not have a great value. The fresco was removed, but only after it was filmed and photographed. The new painting in realistic style, made with tempera paint, is the work of a group of painters headed by brothers Iazan. Capriana includes three churches: Assumption of the Virgin and Saint Nicolae, which are situated on the lower terrace, and Saint George Church, which is located on the upper terrace, 11 auxiliary buildings and the adjacent territory. The 25 monks led de by the monastery’s abbot, archimandrite Filaret own about 25 hectares of agricultural land, tractors, ploughs, a pig and cattle farm. The restoration of the monastic complex started in 2003 on the initiative of President Vladimir Voronin. A sum of 10.3 million lei was collected from legal entities as a result of a radio and television drive. The economic entities also made different donations. About 75 million lei has been spent on the restoration works until present, Pantelei Taltu said. Saint George Church and the upper terrace were repaired between 2003 and 2005. The churches Assumption of the Virgin and Saint Nicolae and four auxiliary buildings located on the lower terrace were inaugurated after reconstruction in 2007. Assumption of the Virgin Church, which formed the base of the entire complex, dates from 1420, from the times of Alexandru cel Bun, being one of the oldest monasteries in Moldova, on the both banks of the Prut. The church has been restored for several times. Only the stone foundation remained the same. In 1420, the church was built from wood, with roof in old Moldovan style (a single sharp tower, with very large eaves), like Putna, Sucevita, and Moldovita monasteries. In about 100 years, when Petru Rares reigned, the church was reconstructed completely, according to the same project. Stone walls were built on the old foundation. The second restoration was carried out in 1820 under the aegis of Metropolitan Bishop Gavriil Banulescu Bodoni, the first Metropolitan Bishop of Chisinau and Hotin, named by the Patriarch of Russia. He was the one to transfer the monastery under his subordination, Capriana becoming metropolitan monastery. He was the monastery’s abbot and worked and was buried there. As the church was damaged by earthquakes, wind and rain, Bodoni repaired it fundamentally. He strengthened and lowered the walls, made a roof in Slavonic style (round domes of sheets), raised the belfry over the church. The old belfry located at the entrance was destroyed. In 2003, after many debates, the restorers decided to reconstruct every element of the church, in the style of the époques from which they dated. The stone foundation dating from the époque of Alexandru cel Bun was strengthened. The walls were plastered with sand and limed in old Moldovan style, as in the times of Petru Rares. The roof was made from copper sheets in Slavonic style. Currently, the walls of Assumption of the Virgin Church are being painted. The mural painting will be in Byzantine style of the fifteenth century. The works will last for at least two years, Pantelei Taltu said. The building of the monastery’s museum is now being erected. The museum will include all the objects found during archeological works and old church objects and icons. The construction works will last for about a year. In the future, the restorers plan to build a hotel with 50 small rooms like cells, where the pilgrims could stay for the night.