Bela and I spent time in Northern Romania last weekend visiting and praying at some old monasteries in that area. Orthodox churches are incredible to me in their beauty. One isn't allowed to take photos of the insides of the church, but they are completely painted, from floor to ceiling, and typically the highest point of the building is Christ...the idea being (I think) that all others, whether they be saints or disciples or apostles or the mother of Jesus, point and lead the way so that in the end, our eyes are cast upon Him. The awe of it all is breathtaking and, I think, very worshipful.
Bela mentioned that it is amazing to think of all the prayers that have been offered in these churches, especially since some of them are 500 years old. Truly, it is amazing and humbling to think that I am one of many...including those who painted and prayed as they worked (and so worshiped), who have prayed in these places. And even while the details and faces are lost on some of these churches, so will we...and yet our prayers remain.
Monastery at Voronet
Monastery at Moldavita (my favorite)
Monastery at Sucevita
We didn't take many pictures here. There was a tax one needed to pay to take photos of the church and we opted not to pay it.
The drive...
The oh-so-blatantly-communist art was a piece dedicated to those who built the road.
The Monastery at Humor
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
October in Bucovina
Posted by April at 1:41 AM
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6 comments:
Your life is so full of art and history, April. I must confess I'm a little jealous, but still very happy for you. :) I had to laugh at the communist "art" in the midst of all the other beauty of this post. Thanks for sharing at all.
i got chills thinking about the prayers in the space of 500 years. and it made me smile, thinking that God has been the constant, the one true thing in all of that time.
love you
so beautiful. What a blessing to be able to be a part of!
Oh so beautiful! Mark and I are headed to a Monkery in November and are really excited about it! Thanks for sharing the gorgeous photos of the land where you are living! :)
I agree with what Bela said about the prayers. WOW!! Amazing pictures. Thanks for sharing:-)mom
Such beautiful pictures...and I'm sure it was even better in person. Know what you mean when you say it was your favorite part so far.
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