Ortho Romanians have a long tradition for monastic life. Some of the most beautiful Romanian monasteries were built in the fifteen century, by one of the most revered Romanian kings, Stephan the Great of Moldavia. He was a man of profound faith and as a general rule, built a church or a monastery after every major war campaign against the Turks. Romanian kings supported monasteries not only in Romania but also at Mount Athos, in Greece. The monastic life declined after the middle of the nineteen century, when a number of Romanian leaders, educated in the West, attempted to "modernize" the country. Many were closed and the monks or nuns were forced to leave. Some of them desperately tried to continue their life in humble jobs, sometimes around existing Orthodox churches. This process was intensified with the advent of the Communist regime after 1945. Many monks, among them Roman Braga, who is now the starets of a Romanian monastery in Michigan, were thrown in prison. After the fall of Communism, monastic life started to thrive again. Old monasteries are reopened and new ones are started all over the country at an amazing rate. In October 1999, during a visit to Romania, I met a young monk on the street, in the Transylvanian city of Alba Iulia. He was collecting money for his newly started monastery. His humble demeanor impressed me and was one of the factors that attracted me to Orthodoxy.
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Pictures of monasteries and other historical places in Romania |
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