Nuns' House in Agapia

The nuns of Agapia are wonderful gardeners and in the spring and summer the entire town is covered in flowers around the various houses, in pots... more

by Sarah Loft

Title

Nuns' House in Agapia

Artist

Sarah Loft

Medium

Photograph - Mixed Media: Painted Photo Digitally Processed

Description

The nuns of Agapia are wonderful gardeners and in the spring and summer the entire town is covered in flowers around the various houses, in pots lining balconies and porches, and around the churches.

Agapia is a collection of women's monasteries or houses under the rule of a single abbess who resides at the main (and largest) monastic house. There are some 400 nuns in residence and the town includes several churches and chapels, cemeteries, a retirement home (for elderly nuns), workshops where vestments and altar coverings are intricately embroidered and where beautiful floral carpets are hand tied, a guest house, a farm, gardens, a couple of museums and so on.

The monastery was founded as a male monastery in the 14th century. The institution grew through a number of grants from various kings of Moldavia. The main complex was built between 1641 and 1643. There have been a number of major renovations over the centuries. The icon work in the main church was done between 1858 and 1861 by Nicolae Grigorescu. The Church of the Transfiguration (on the hill, the center of attention when this photo was taken) is a contemporary building of red wood constructed in a traditional Romanian style.

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Featured in the Your Favorite Images group, March, 2014.

Featured in the ABC group, May 2014.

Featured in the Pleasing the Eye group, August 2014.

Featured in the No Place Like Home group, January 2018.

Uploaded

February 12th, 2011