Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu: (1677 - 2010)
Gespeichert in:
| 1. Verfasser: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Buch |
| Sprache: | Romanian |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Chişinău
Pontos
2010
|
| Schriftenreihe: | Istorii şi documente
Monografii ; 1 |
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | Inhaltsverzeichnis Abstract |
| Beschreibung: | Zsfassung in engl., franz. u. russ. Sprache. - Teilw. in kyrill. Schr., russ. |
| Beschreibung: | 245, [12] Bl. Ill., graph. Darst. |
| ISBN: | 9789975511438 |
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Datensatz im Suchindex
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| adam_text |
CUPRINS
ARGUMENT
.6
INTRODUCERE
.7
Capitolul
I.
SCHITUL HÂNCU DE LA FONDARE PÂNĂ ÎN
1812
§1.
Mihalcea Hâncu
-
boier şi dregător al Ţării Moldovei.
.23
§2.
Mihalcea Hâncu
-
ctitor de mănăstire
.32
§3.
Schitul Hâncu în anii
1677-1812.34
§4
Procesul judiciar sub dominaţia ţaristă
.44
Capitolul
II.
VIAŢA SPIRITUALĂ ÎN MĂNĂSTIREA HÂNCU Şl MODURILE DE VIAŢĂ MONAHALĂ
§1.
Modurile şi principiile de bază ale vieţii monahale
.48
§2.
Viaţa spirituală în Mănăstirea Hâncu sub ocupaţia ţaristă
(1806-1918).54
§3.
Viaţa spirituală în Mănăstirea Hâncu în perioada interbelică
(1918-1940,1941-1944).72
§4.
Bisericile Mănăstirii Hâncu
.76
§5.
Şcoala Mănăstirii Hâncu
.86
§6.
Stareţii Mănăstirii Hâncu
(1677-2009).91
§7.
Hramul Mănăstirii Hâncu
-
Sfânta Cuvioasa Parascheva
.101
§8
Biblioteca şi muzeul Mănăstirii Hâncu
.106
a) Biblioteca
.106
b) Muzeul
.116
Capitolul III. MĂNĂSTIREA HÂNCU ÎN PERIOADA ANILOR
1812-1944
§1.
Situaţia economică a Mănăstirii Hâncu sub ocupaţia ţaristă
(1812-1918).117
§2.
Situaţia economică a Mănăstirii Hâncu în perioada interbelică
(1918-1940).140
§3.
Mănăstirea Hâncu în anii
1941-1944.148
§4.
Metocul din Chişinău al Mănăstirii Hâncu
.156
Capitolul
IV.
MĂNĂSTIREA HÂNCU ÎN PERIOADA SOVIETICĂ
(1944-1950).159
Capitolul
V.
REACTIVAREA MĂNĂSTIRII HÂNCU
(1990-2009)
§1,
Mănăstirea Hâncu în anii
1990-2009.186
§2.
Orfelinatul „Preafericitul losif" din or. Chişinău
.191
§3.
Ctitori, donatori şi personalităţi remarcabile din istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu
.193
EPILOG
.„.197
SUMMARY
.198
RÉSUMÉ.,.
.,.*.211
РЕЗЮМЕ.
.212
BIBLIOGRAFIE
.213
ANEXE
.217
INDICE DE NUME Şl LOCURI
.232
Alexei Agachi
SUMMARY
HISTORY OF
HANČU
MONASTERY
An important peculiarity of spiritual life of the Romanian people is expressed in a profound reli¬
gious feeling and attachment towards values of the Orthodox Christianity throughout its history.
A proof to this attachment is building of a great number of holy places, churches, and especially,
monasteries and hermitages that has become the cultural and spiritual heritage of the country.
Varzesti
(1420),
Capriana
(1429),
and Hancu
(1677)
are the oldest monasteries on the territory
of Moldova between the Prut and the Dniester rivers. Hancu, founded by the famous nobleman and
court official of Moldova, Mihalcea Hancu, is now
333
years old. This monographic study represents,
in detail, the whole history of this monastic place bringing about understanding of the following
issues: Mihalcea Hancu, the great nobleman and court official of Moldova, the leader of the revolt
against the Governor of Moldova in
1671-1672,
the founder of the monastery; spiritual and religious
life of the convent, shifting from economy based on existence of individual farmsteads to communal
economy; winter and summer churches as well as other buildings, such as the school, the library, the
museum, Saint Josef orphanage, the dedication day of Hancu Monastery
-
Saint Pious Parascheva;
tsarist authorities' policy of forceful promotion of Russian language and values in monasteries and
monastic schools; the economic development of the monastery throughout its 300-year-old history;
transforming the hermitage into a monastery, the lawsuit between the monastic community and the
claimants of the monastic estate; policy promoted by the Soviet authorities towards churches and
monasteries, spiritual and economical disaster reigning in the monastery as well as reasons of its
closing in
1950;
rebirth of the monastery in
1990-1993
and its development in present, monastery
wardens, donors, and their role in history of the monastery. In this developed summary we will try to
explain, in brief, all these important issues referring history of this monastery.
Mihalcea Hancu was one of the great noblemen and court officials of Moldovan Principality. The
first mentioning about the Hancus in the Middle Age sources can be found in a document dating
back to
1528,
during
Petru Rares's
reign, and the first mentioning about Mihalcea Hancu is found in
Moron Costin's chronicles when he describes Vasile Lupu's battles
(1634-1653)
for governance, the
Governor being supported by Mihalcea Hancu. The latter comes from the village of Secareni, Lapusna
region. He was married twice to women called Marula and
Anastasia
and, according to some sources,
had four children. However, we believe he had six children, two of whom were his step-children.
The nobleman had the position of Cavalry Commander of Orhei and Lapusna regions protecting the
borders of the country against Tatar and Turkish invaders. He had the ranks of Cavalry Commander,
Second Provost Marshal, Steward, High Steward, and Highest Steward. He owned important estates
in different regions of the country.
After Vasile
Lupu
was displaced from the throne, Moldova was governed by Gheorghe Stefan.
Being afraid of this governor, Mihalcea Hancu ran away to Turks. However, the new governor brought
him back into the country by means of Silistria pasha, forgave him for his loyalty to Vasile
Lupu
and
named him into the position of the Second Provost Marshal.
In
1671-1672,
Mihalcea Hancu became one of the most influential noblemen on the whole terri¬
tory of the country as well as in the neighboring countries. These years were marked by the revolt
of the noblemen from Orhei, Lapusna, and
Soroca
against the Governor Gheorghe
Duca
that was
caused by high taxes forced upon the locals and noblemen of the country. The leaders of the revolt
were Mihalcea Hancu, the Cavalry Commander of Orhei,
Apostol Durac,
a former High Stewart, and
Constantin,
High Lord Stewart of
Soroca.
The insurgents headed towards the capital of the country,
lasi, and drove the governor, Gheorghe
Duca,
out of the country. For two months, December
1671 -
January
1672,
the capital of the country was in their control. Some historians state {the authors'note:
groundlessly) that within these two months Mihalcea Hancu governed Moldova.
The revolt was defeated by the Turkish army, Gheorghe
Duca
being reestablished in his position,
whereas its leaders found refuge in Poland, were they got Polish citizenship. As a punishment for the
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Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu
participation in the revolt, the governor, Gheorghe
Duca,
confiscated the lands, owned by Mihalcea
Hancu and sentenced his step-son,
Doni,
to death. After Gheorhe
Duca
was replaced, Mihalcea
Hancu came back to the country. Another misfortune happened to him, though. The new governor,
Constantin Contacuzino,
in order to avoid a new revolt, brought into the country for the winter period
the Tatar from the Bugeac plains. To provide enough food for the latter, the Governor imposed high
taxes on the population including the noblemen.
Mihalcea
Hancu lacked
1,000
lei to pay the tax, this
causing his selling into slavery to Turks. He was bought back by his son, Dumitrascu. His name comes
into sight again in historical documents of
1698
when he wrote his will in favor of his son, Dumitrascu.
Participating in the revolt of
1671-1672
and driving the Governor out of the country immortalized his
name in a saying still present nowadays: „God
-
yes, Hancu
-
no". His well-known characteristic of a
robust and courageous person gave birth to another collocation: „one of the Hancus robust".
Another important act of Mihalcea Hancu was foundation in
1677
of a monastery which today
bears his name. At first, the convent was called Vladnic according to the name of the place where it
was built. According to a hypothesis, one of Hancu's daughters refused to marry the fellow proposed
by her parents, ran away into the forests and got lost. At the Hanculesti lake she had a vision of Saint
Pious Parascheva who showed her to a cave where she stayed through the winter. In spring she was
found by some shepherds who announced her parents about it. Her father came to the cave urging
her to come back home. She answered she would go out only after she heard ringing bells. Hence, her
father promised her to start a monastery. His daughter became a nun, took the name of Parascheva
as her religious name to express gratitude to Saint Pious Parascheva who had showed her the way to
the cave, thus becoming the first nun and the first abbess of the monastery.
According to another legend, Mihalcea Hancu's daughter hid in the forests from Tatars and got
lost. She had a vision of Saint Pious Parascheva who showed her the way to a cave where she found
refuge and survived. Afterwards, in sign of gratitude, she asked her father to build a monastery and
she herself became a nun taking the name of Parascheva.
There is another opinion based on real historic events. Not being able to pay the tax imposed by
Constantin
Contacuzino, Mihalcea Hancu was sold in slavery to Turks. In detention he vowed to build
a monastery provided he was saved. Being bought back by his son, Dumitrascu, Mihalcea Hancu kept
his word given to God and founded the monastery.
At the moment of foundation, Mihalcea Hancu provided it with
1.040
dessiatinas of land. Initially
it was a nunnery, but because of frequent Tatar invasions, the sisters left the heritage in mid-18th
century. Hieromonk Varlaam of Varzaresti Monastery and some other monks came to the place and
reestablished the hermitage having been asked by the Hancus. Thus, it became a friary.
The next section of the work depicts spiritual life in Hancu Monastery. Three monastic lifestyles
are reflected: hermit's life, existence of monks' individual farmsteads and private property as well as
life in monastic communes. Most attention is paid to the latter for it is considered the perfect way of
monastic life. The aspects that are considered are as follows: the process of appearance and evolu¬
tion of this lifestyle, participation of Saint Vasile The Great in development of fundamental rules of
this lifestyle, the principles on which these rules are based, their spreading over the whole Christian
world, including over one of the Romanian people, the first supporters of it in Romanian regions,
i.e. Pious Nichodim the Saint from Tismana, losif Musat from Neamt Monastery, Gavriil Uric and his
followers from
Putna,
Voronet and Humor monasteries.
We also depict the activity of Paisie the Pious (Velicicovschi) from Neamt who
translated„Monasf/c
Rules of Saint Vasile the Great" into Romanian and spread its content on the territory of Moldova. We
also analyze in detail the Regulations developed by Paisie the Pious that made it possible to introduce
life in monastic communities in the monasteries of Dragomirna,
Secu,
and Neamt, this having a great
influence over the whole South-East European region.
Some attention is paid to life in individual farmsteads and existence private property. According
to the principles of this type of organization of monastic life, monks did not get anything from the
monastery. They had to build or buy their housing and earn their own living. Monks had a small farm-
-199-
Alexei Agachi
stead which they could leave as heritage; this was a small piece of land around the cell with a few fruit
trees, some poultry and that was it. From case to case, they either had some duties to fulfill for the
monastery or not. We also present the disadvantages of this lifestyle; they brought about disorder
and conflicts in convents, monks being not given the chance to devote their whole life to service to
God. Existence of individual farms also led to appearance of human vanity and material interests in
monks who had to get their own provisions.
We convey the activity of Bishop Gavriil Banulescu-Bodoni and of Archbishop Dimitrie (Sulima) who
insisted on changing the organization of all Bessarabia monasteries from life in individual farmsteads
to life in monastic communes. In the late
18*
and early 19th century, Hancu Monastery had a mixed
form of organization. Thus, most monks were part of a bigger monastic commune with a shared farm¬
stead and without private property; they worked together in order to support the monastery and the
community, they together participated in religious services and ate altogether at common monastery
refectory. The other, smaller, part of monks had individual cells and their own small farms, supported
themselves and had insignificant or even none duties towards the monastery, disobeyed the rules of
communal monastic life, but had meals at common monastery refectory. This fact led to numerous
conflicts inside the monastery. However, due to the efforts of Bishop Gavriil Banulescu-Bodoni and
of the his successor, Archbishop Dimitrie (Sulima), to the end of the third decade of the 19th century,
all monasteries from Bessarabia shifted their form organization to living in monastic communes, the
first one being Hancu Monastery.
Until
1816
this friary had the status of a heritage, the property being insignificant and the number
of monks small. However, in the middle of the second decade of the 19th century, the number of
monks considerably increased, the farm also grew bigger; it had an important number of cattle,
horses, sheep, a watermill, working tools, this letting diocesan leaders raise its status to the one of a
monastery.
The level of literacy among monks was quite high. Thus, they could read religious books borrowed
from the monastery library. Some of the monks made pilgrimage to holy places in the East: to Jeru¬
salem, to the Holy Mount of
Athos,
and religious centers of the Russian Empire. Hancu Monastery
was the place where Orthodox Church servants and secular people did penance for infringing Confes¬
sional Regulations or for some serious sins. The authors also trace, to a certain extent, ties between
monasteries from Bessarabia and those from Moldova on the left bank of the Prut river, where many
of the Bessarabia monks fled, some from Hancu Monastery among them.
Over the tsarist occupation in
1812-1819,
Bessarabia monasteries were considered non-members
within the Russian church. Hence, they did not get any state subventions and could not elect their
own abbot out of the monastic community, these being appointed by the Russian Eparchy. Tsarist
ecclesiastic authorities and especially non-native leaders made enormous efforts in order to intro¬
duce the Russian language in Bessarabia monasteries and reinforce the domination of this language
over religious communities. The monasteries were forced to buy a great number of books written
in Russian and sent from Petersburg and Moscow Synodical Publishers. Russian Eparchy authorities
directly demanded from the abbots to obligate the monks to learn Russian. Nevertheless, during the
tsarist occupation, in Hancu Monastery, as well as other Bessarabia monasteries, Romanian was the
predominant language.
In the ¡nterwar period, when Bessarabia united to Romania, we relate about participation of
Bessarabian monasteries, including Hancu, in elaboration of the Organic Regulations of Romanian
Church determined by the overall reorganization of the whole church system. The main attention is
drawn to the Extraordinary Congress of Bessarabian Churches that took place on March
7-13,1921,
and of the Eparchial Assembly of Bessarabia Monasteries, held on May
1Д924
at
Capriana
Monastery.
The Abbot of Hancu monastery, Archimandrite lachint, also participated in the event and conducted
the choir during the liturgy. In both events they deliberated upon the part of the Organic Regulations
referring to monasteries in which some changes were introduced. According to the Organic Regula-
-200-
Istoria
Mănăstirii Hâncu
tions,
Bessarabia monasteries regained their right to elect the abbot or the abbess out of their own
religious community as they used to do according to the older traditions and laws. The monasteries
were supervised by an exarch elected by other monastery abbots rather than archbishops appointed
by eparchial authorities. In some cases, monasteries got subventions on behalf of the state especially
for repairing and redecorating of buildings.
Spiritual activity of a convent was connected to a sanctuary; that is why it was important to include
a chapter on churches of Hancu Monastery. By
1835,
five wooden churches had been built within
this religious community either because they had been burnt by the Tartars or because they had
been destroyed by time. The last wooden church was built in
1801,
when hieromonk lezechiil was
its abbot. It was a summer church with a marvelous iconostasis carved in wood and gilded. In this
work, we accurately describe this church, its supplies necessary for divine services and other Chris¬
tian rituals, as well as elements of
décor,
all mentioned in the register of Hancu Monastery in
1817.
The church began decaying and out of this reason in
1833-1835,
when it was run by Dosoftei, a
new stone summer church was built. The iconostasis from the previous one was kept and placed
in the new one. The new sanctuary had a single altar dedicated to Saint Pious Parascheva and was
sanctified by Archbishop Dimitrie (Sulima) on October
12, 1835.
But the monastery never had had
a winter church, so during the same Dosoftei's abbess, in
1839-1841
they built a beautiful palace
designed in classical style, with facade in Doric style, having three pediments, cornices, medallions,
columns and pilasters, arcades, and galleries. In this palace there was a winter church, placed in the
center; it had an altar dedicated to Assumption of the Holy Virgin. There also was a common refec¬
tory and a xenodochium (guest house) with four rooms, the abbot's residence,
13
monk cells, and a
storage room. The winter church and the whole palace were sanctified by the Archbishop Dimitrie
(Sulima) on August
25,1841.
Near the palace there was an artesian well built in
1835.
This palace was built from the modest incomes of the monastery and especially due to the offer¬
ings of the local Bessarabian population who donated to the monastery tens of thousands of rubles,
several thousands of heads of horned cattle, big and small, a large amount of grains, over
500
m
of cloth, and important quantities of wax. The palace was damaged in the earthquake of
1940,
but
after a substantial, reconstruction, offered as a subvention by the Romanian Government, it was
solidly repaired and has been kept in good condition until now, delighting church-goers, pelerines,
and other numerous visitors from Moldova and abroad. Both the winter and the summer churches
were decorated with ornaments, they were supplied with liturgy books and other objects necessary
for divine services and Orthodox Christian rituals. In churches of Hancu Monastery all services were
held in Romanian from their foundation until Archbishop Pavel's pastorship
(Piotr
Lebedev
1871-
1882);
Once Russian tsarist authorities started promoting Russian values and language and denation¬
alizing Bessarabia Romanians, an expression of this tendency being appointment of the above-stated
bishop into the leading position of Bessarabia Church, divine services in Hancu Monastery as well as
other Bessarabia monasteries, were held in two languages
-
Romanian and Slavonic. However, even
in those difficult times, Romanian was the dominant language in religious communities.
In
1876-1888
within Hancu Monastery, there was a preparatory school for clerics' orphans, chil¬
dren of noblemen and peasants coming from nearby villages. Foundation and functioning of this
school is analyzed from a wider perspective of establishment of similar schools in other Bessarabia
monasteries, a process initialized by Archbishop of Chisinau and Hotin regions, Pavel
(Piotr
Lebedev).
We give a detailed description of the project, of the organization of the education process and of the
taught subjects. Advantages of these schools are outlined, among them offering lodging to orphan
children and the opportunity to continue studies in theological schools, such as: Theological Seminary
from Ghisinau and universities from the Russian Empire. This was the way how the schools contrib¬
uted to eradication of illiteracy. The students were brought up in Christian Orthodox spirit.
We also point out the disadvantages and goals followed by tsarist authorities in regard of foun¬
dation of these schools, in which all subjects were taught in Russian only, Romanian being totally
-2M-
Alexei Agachi
excluded from instruction. Thus, these educational institutions became instruments used for promo¬
tion of Russian language and values being a part of a general process of intensification of denational¬
ization of Bessarabia Romanians.
The school within Hancu Monastery was launched in
1876;
it was not a boarding one, having a
small number of pupils constantly decreasing that, finally, caused its closing in
1888.
The school was
maintained by the monastery that got from the eparchial authorities
200
rubles yearly. We do not
skip the protests of religious communities against opening of Russian schools in monasteries.
An important role in spiritual life of a monastic community is played by the library and supply of
churches with liturgy books. This fact defined the necessity to treat the library of Hancu Monastery
with much attention. According to the monastery registers of
1817
and
1821,
the library comprised
69
and
86
religious books respectively,
б
and
15
copies being in Russian. Thus, the majority of books
were in Romanian, similarly to the rate of Romanians (Moldovans) among monks in communities.
We mention titles of old books, rare manuscripts, governors' charters and give valuable information
about books from Hancu Monastery depicted in works of
Oltenia Mitropolitan,
Nestor Vornicescu.
We also make public the list of religious books from the register of Hancu Monastery of
1942.
That year the monastery library had
128
titles that were classified according to the religious criteria
into ritual (service) books
- 44
titles, Holy Bible
- 14
copies, history of religion
- 16
titles, writings
and teachings of Saint Priests
- 35
titles, and service and prayer books of Saints
-19
volumes. Most
books were in Romanian published in religious centers from Romania and Eparchial Publishing House
from Chisinau, created by Metropolitan Exarch Gavriil Banulescu-Bodoni. Out of
128
titles,
51
were
published at Neamt Monastery,
10
in
Bucureşti,
7
in lasi,
5
in Buzau, and
4
books in
Râmnic,
counting
72
volumes all in all. Twenty-five books were published in Chisinau. There also were
6
Bibles published
in Petersburg, an Anastasimata published in
Vienne
and
19
books published in unknown places.
Among old books printed before
1812
we can mention: two Gospel books covered with bronze
and gilded printed in
1753;
two books of composition by Archbishop Simeon of Tesalonic, printed in
Bucureşti
in
1763;
a copy of Teachings of
Teodor
Studitul, published in
Râmnic
in
1763;
Synopsis of
Anastasie
the Great, printed in
Râmnic
in
1783;
a copy of Books of the Apostles, printed in
Râmnic
in
1794,
a book of
Triodion,
published in
Bucureşti
in
1798, 2
copies of Teachings for a Confessor,
printed in
Bucureşti
in
1800.
Books and manuscripts included in the register of
1942
reveal how
intense and rich spiritual life in this monastic community was because most of these books were used
in divine services and were read by the monks.
Over the Soviet occupation, the books from the churches and the library were taken to Harbovet
Monastery, where
23
monks of Hancu Monastery were transferred after it was closed in
1950.
The
fate of the library is unknown after Harbovat Monastery was shut in
1959.
Thus, the great spiritual
wealth, that nourished and enlightened spiritual life of the monastic fraternity throughout centuries,
was ruined and dispelled.
Once Hancu Monastery was reopened in
1990-1993,
a new library was started by gathering books
necessary for divine services and support for nuns to organize communal life according to the old
monastic laws compiled by Saint Vasile the Great, the Apostols, and priests. Nowadays, the library
comprises
2,200
volumes, most of which refer to church service and monastic/ spiritual readings.
Hence, the churches and the religious community possess necessary writings. The vast majority of
books from the library were either donated by different people or bought by the monastery abbot,
Bishop of Hancu, Peter. Most books were printed in the 19th century in various Romanian religious
centers, Eparchial Publishing House from
Chisinau,
and Russian religious centers. There are some
bibliographical rarities: a Bible printed in
1641,
a Tryodion that dates back to
1653,
Dosoftei's Rhymed
Psalter of
1673,
a Pentecostarian (a book of services and prayers from Easter to Pentecost) published
in
Râmnic
in
1793,
a church book with a schedule of sermons for January printed in Moscow in
1759,
a liturgy book published in lasi in
1811
and
1812,
a Bible edited in Petersburg in
1819,
etc. Of special
value is The Gospel for primary school children edited by
Teodor
Codrescu and Dimitrie
Gusti, Bucha-
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Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu
rest, Buciumul Roman,
1862,
that bares the following handwritten note.-'Th/s Gospel book and the
Requiem of God belongs to the Holy Hancu Monastery left after the death of Hieromonk Ghenadie,
who died of typhoid fever on May
10,1943."
Thus, this Gospel is the only book from the monastery
collection that proves with certainty its belonging to the library of Hancu Monastery in
1943.
A library
plays an important role in activity of a religious community. In their spare time, nuns come to the
library to choose books to read in their cells enriching and elevating their spiritual values.
Hancu Monastery also has a small museum where some precious objects are kept, old and new,
including: icons, votive lights, discs, holy water fonts, coronets, chalices, crosses, gilded spoons used
for the Eucharist, a collection of old books, clergymen's clothing, a collection of commemorative
silver coins worth
50
lei each, on which images of
20
Moldovan monasteries are engraved, issued
on the 2000th anniversary of Jesus Christ's birth. The latter was donated to the monastery by the
National Bank of Moldova. In a separate section, they exhibit marvelous carpets woven by the nuns,
whereas in another room there are stuffed animals whose habitat is in the surrounding woods.
A small section deals with the dedication day of the Hancu Monastery
-
Saint Pious Parascheva.
The readers' attention is drawn to the difference between two religious figures: Saint Martyr Para¬
scheva celebrated on July
26
and called Saint Friday and Saint Pious Parascheva, celebrated on
October
14 (27)
and which is called „Big Friday" or Our Pious Parascheva the New. Her whole life and
dedication to Jesus Christ are described, the miracles that occurred at her grave and the coffin with
her relics are revealed, the events that determined moving her relics from one place to the other
are related as well as their transfer to Moldova. This was possible due to the Governor Vasile
Lupu,
who paid all the debts to/ of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from Constantinople
(130,000
ducats), in
reply Patriarch Partenie I the Great and other Synod members, in sign of recognition, presented the
governor with the relics of the Saint Pious Parascheva. However, since the Turks did not allow moving
a dead body to distances over
3
miles, Vasile
Lupu
paid to the Sultan another
300,000
ducats in order
to get permission to take the relics to Moldova. Brought to lasi, the honorable relics were placed at
Trei Ierarhi
(Three Hierarchs), of which the governor was the warden. The inscription made on the
church wall is also presented; it reads the whole history of transfer of relics to the capital of Moldova.
Hancu Monastery also celebrates the festival of Saint Pious Parascheva on October
27.
The great
Moldovan nobleman and court official, Mihalcea Hancu, founded the monastery in sign of grati¬
tude to God for his freedom from Turkish slavery. Advancement of the Hancus and Mihalcea Hancu
occurred during Vasile Lupu's governance, and Mihalcea Hancu was one of Vasile Lupu's proponent
in his struggle for the throne of Moldova. Vasile
Lupu
brought the relics of Saint Pious Parascheva,
who is considered the patron saint of Moldova. This fact had a positive effect on Mihalcea Hancu who
dedicated the monastery he built to Saint Pious Parascheva.
At the monastery there is a small part of Saint Pious Parascheva's relics, which was given as a gift
by Metropolitan Daniil from lasi to Bishop of Briceni and Edinet Dormidont, the latter passing them
to Hancu Monastery.
A passage of the work describes Hancu hermitage in
1677-1812
after it was left by the nuns and
reconstituted by the monks that came from Varzaresti hermitage, repeatedly burnt by Tatars but
each time rebuilt. Documents proving donation of the monastery on behalf of the descendants of
Hancu family are also presented, as well as the Royal chapters that recognize
(85
years late) the prop¬
erty offered to the monastery by Mihalcea Hancu, its disposal on behalf of
Lupu
Hancu to magistrate
Hie Catargiu. He left for Russia where he became a military general and entrusted administration of
his Moldovan property to his nephew, Panaia Catargiu, who on becoming the owner of
Pereni
estate
also had a claim for the monastery estate and oppressed the monks. The first lawsuit, held in
1808
at
Moldova Divan, was won by the monastery. However, Panaiot Catargiu started attacking the heritage
and the monks bringing about much damage.
In
1809
the second lawsuit was held at Divan, both conflicting parties having to present the docu¬
ments proving their property title. The documents presented by the monks were considered illegal
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Alexei Agachi
since they had neither Mihalcea Hancu's signature nor a printed stamp and had not been approved
or confirmed by the Governor or Divan of Moldova for
85
years. Documents presented by Panaiot
Catargiu were recognized as authentic. They bared the signature of
Lupu Hanču,
the seller, and were
approved by the Divan as it was required by laws and traditions of Moldova. Thus, Hancu Monastery
lost its estate.
The judicial process lasted for
57
years more, when the owners of
Pereni
estate, by selling and
exchange, became landlord lordache Tomulet, then again Panaiot Catargiu, a Russian retired military
general,
lakov Ceremisinov,
his spouse, Snell, as well as petty bourgeois Minkov and his children,
Alexe!
and Dimitrie. There were several processes at law at the court of Orhei Judet, at the Civil Regional
Court of Bessarabia, at Bessarabia Supreme Council but all the decisions were against the monastery.
Losing the estate, the monastic community was endangered. Nonetheless, in
1835
when the estate
belonged to
lakov
Ceremisinov, he decides to offer
150
dessiatinas of land to the monastic commu¬
nity as charity following salvation of the monastic place from suppression and finishing the long range
of trials. The donation act was confirmed by the Court of Orhei region. However, at the request of
the Holy Synod from Petersburg, the law suit continued until
1866
when the last session took place
at Petersburg Senate. According to the Senate decision, the monastery lost the whole estate, but
the
150
dessiatinas of land offered by Ceremisinov were left to the community for Russian laws
stipulated that „a litigation finalized in coming to common agreement between parties is considered
to be finally solved and thus neither the conflicting parties that accepted the agreement of common
reconciliation nor their descendants can restart the litigation.
"
In this way, due to General
lakov
Ceremisinov's donation, Hancu Monastery owned
150
dessia¬
tinas of land being saved from liquidation. Legalization of the property brought about a period of
prosperity. After new donations and purchases were made, the monastic estate grew from
150
to
633
dessiatinas in
1918
(circa
690.5
ha). The surface of arable land also grew. The main agricultural
activities included as follows: grain growing, livestock breeding, fruit, vine and vegetable growing.
They cultivated grains, leguminous plants, vegetables, hemp, and greens. The monastery had five
garden lots with the total area of
31.5
dessiatinas, four of which were given for rent yearly, the
fifth one being used by the monastic community. They cultivated potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beats,
radishes, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc. Of special importance were such leguminous
plants as: beans, green peas, and lentil. Due to the fact that leguminous plants could be stored for
longer periods of time and be used for food in the following years, the religious community always
had important provisions of leguminous plants that were a perfect match for the ascetic lifestyle of
monks. Grains were grown in greater amounts: wheat, rye, corn, barley, and oats that were used for
alimentation of the monastic community, of animals, but were also sold.
Another important sector was vine growing. The monastery possessed five vineyards with the
total area of
11.4
dessiatinas
9.8
ha
(12.42
ha). They made great quantities of wine, one third of
which was sold bringing considerable incomes. Partially wine was used in alimentation for monks
and day-laborers, in services and other Christian rituals, at the monastery dedication day, when the
monastery was visited by wardens, donors and a big number of Christians.
The monastic farmstead was better supplied than simple peasants' farms. This community was
situated at the source of the Cogalnic river including between
4
and
7
dessiatinas of lakes offering
good irrigation opportunities. The surface was terraced. They irrigated the orchard near the monas¬
tery, vegetables, and greens. The monastery had vehicles including agricultural ones available in that
period: bull carts, horse carts and sleds, ploughs, push-carts, spades, hoes, scythes, sickles, etc.
Animal breeding was also well-developed. The community owned cows, bulls, horses, sheep,
goats, asses, and bees. The number of cattle heads was between
54
and
165,8-25
horses, the number
of sheep exceeded one thousand in most years, whereas number of pigs varied between
11
and
121
heads. A part of these animals was sold, the other being used for inner consumption. Animal skins
and fur were used for clothing and shoemaking for monks. The bee garden was used to get honey
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Istoria
Mănăstirii Hâncu
and wax. The monastery had natural economy. Almost everything necessary for community life and
activity was produced in their own farmstead with the exception of some cult and handicraft objects.
In
1884, 1902,
and
1905
the monastery had the following buildings: a shingled abbess palace,
that included the winter church, the abbot's cells, four monk cells, a buffet and a refectory, and a
wine cellar placed in the palace basement;
9
shingled premises built from brick with
44
monk cells,
the kitchen, a bakery including one used for communion bread making, temporary schoolrooms and
teacher's lodging; a barn made of wood planks used a s storage for grains, and housing for livestock,
two warehouses for storage of com cobs, six sheds that were used as a cooper's shop, a wheel¬
wright's shop, and storage of carts, push-carts, sledges; two cellars for food storage; two watermills
and a windmill; as well as a branch of the monastery in Chisinau. In
1907
and
1913,
two other
12
and
24
cell buildings were built. The residence building built in
1913
is preserved until now but after
reconstructions comprises only
20
cells. Most funds used for building construction were gathered
from Bessarabia citizens by means of a charity register, many of the people participating in these
charity actions were shown consideration and received diploma from the administration and Holy
Synod from Petersburg.
Consolidation of the economy of Hancu Monastery in the late 19th century contributed to increase
of annual incomes and expenses. The average rate of incomes increased from
4,000
to
7,000,
and then
to
11,000
rubles, whereas bank deposits grew from
900
to
1,000,14,000
and
16,000
rubles. Budget
surplus also enlarged to
15,200
rubles. The main income sources were as follows: wood selling, agri¬
cultural products, especially wine, cattle, as well as rental of the monastery goods (Chisinau residence
and those four gardens), candle selling, contributions, and takings, interest from the bank deposits,
offerings and donations from private persons.
The biggest part of profits was used for community maintenance, construction, reconstruction and
ornamentation of churches, construction and reparations of cells and other buildings, for purchasing
of estates, planting of vineyards and orchards, for candle purchasing, etc.
Russian authorities offered immunity from taxation to clergymen and monasteries, donations,
and labor conscription since the church was the most reliable supporter of the tsarist autocracy.
Buildings that belonged to the clergy got exemption from the responsibility of placement of Russian
military servicemen. At the request of the eparchial authorities, Hancu Monastery annually paid
certain sums that were used for maintenance of the bishop's residence, of the Theological Seminary
from Chisinau, of the eparchial school for girls, for reopening of the eparchial publishing house, for
orphans, the injured. Some of the money was used in military purposes.
In
1821
Hancu Monastery receives a present from Eufrosinia Sprancenoaie from Chisinau, by this
becoming the owner of a residence complex. In
1836
instead of the old wooden houses, the monas¬
tery built three stone buildings. They were offered for rent yearly bringing important profits to the
religious community, In
1938
this convent was worth
200,000
lei and was rented for
47,000
lei. It was
last mentioned as Hancu Monastery property on December
8,1943.
Once Bessarabia was occupied
by the Soviet Union, reference to this property vanishes, thus the monastery lost it and this was when
Soviet authorities acquired it.
At the beginning of the interwar period, prosperity of Hancu Monastery was impacted by the agri¬
cultural reformation applied in Bessarabia and by the introduction of some tax paying to the state,
regional, and local authorities. The agricultural reform was a progressive event and had a major social
influence over Bessarabia peasantry. Estates belonging to monasteries were expropriated, each of
the religious communities getting
50
ha of arable land, vineyards and gardens, and later lakes, as
well,
589
ha of arable land and woods were expropriated from Hancu Monastery, this monastery
being left
101
ha of arable land including the orchard and the vineyard. Instead the got a refund on
behalf of the state, one ha of land being estimated at
727
lei and one ha of forests at
950
lei; this was
reimbursed in form of redeemable funds over
40
years with a
5%
annual interest. Thus for the expro¬
priated lands the monastery received over half a million lei and
25,000
lei as interest.
-205-
Alexei Agachi
Economic decline of the monastery was short-termed. The economic situation improved quite
quickly. This was possible to several important factors: the efforts of the religious community and
considerable funds acquired from the state for the expropriated land, annual interest paid by the
bank, a big lot of wood offered usufruct by the state, rental payments for Chisinau convention and
selling of important amounts of fruit and wine, donations from individuals, some money gathered
with the chanty registry, and decrease in taxes for the state, regional and local budgets. But pros¬
perous, indeed, this religious community became at the end of the ¡nterwar period.
The surface of the estate owned by the monastery doubled growing from
101
to
221
ha of land,
including own wood terrains and usufruct ones, vineyards, orchard, hay fields, vegetable garden, and
a marvelous park with the area of
15
hectares. There were five agricultural vehicles in the farmstead
(tractors, mowing machines, hay collectors), three mills
-
two watermills and a steam one, a metal
wine press, three vine sprayers, a grape treading machine,
10
ploughs, four bull cars with iron axles,
cloth and shoe sewing machines, workshops (cooper's shop, a wheelwright's shop, a carpentry),
sheds, seven stables, as well as an important number of cattle and small horned animals, horses, pigs,
and bees. All monks lived in cells built from stone and bricks. Incomes and expenses grew. Annual
budgets were finished with surpluses. Certain amounts were deposited in banks. Taxes paid to state,
regional and local budgets were three times smaller and sums required for maintenance of eparchial
authorities were also diminished. The monastery had a charity fund contributing to maintenance of
a refuge for the elderly, of the eparchial school, of a school for singers, of Ismail Bishop, of the reli¬
gious historical-archeological association from Chisinau, etc. Thus, we can state that at the end of the
interwar period, Hancu Monastery prospered and was seriously affected by the Soviet occupation of
Bessarabia produced on June
28,1940.
Very little information was left about the state of the convent during the Soviet occupation from
June
28,1940
to June
22,1941.
However, there are enough documented testimonies revealing that
after retreat of the Soviet Army from Bessarabia, Hancu Monastery was left devastated. Bolsheviks
took all the cattle:
16
bulls,
7
horses, and
230
sheep. The mill was destroyed. The monastery lost rent
titles of property deposited at the bank worth
404,000
lei. Everything had to be restored from scratch.
Recovery of Hancu monastery's economy, as well as other religious communities, was impossible to
be realized without support on behalf of the Romanian government which, disregarding the war,
offered subventions with total value of
1,400,000
lei,
70,000
of which were given to Hancu Monas¬
tery. This community additionally got
160,000
lei financial aid from the state in order to rebuild the
abbot's palace destroyed after the quake of
1940.
The reparations were of high quality since the
palace is in good condition until now resisting all natural disasters that took place after.
Gradually the monastery began recovering its economy. It regained rights over the estate it
possessed before the war. Important quantities of grains, vegetables, leguminous plants, fruit and
wine were produced. Budget excess grew from year to year; this also included funds available for
credit and deposit deposits, for medical and cultural aid, as well as charity. Steam mill and oil press
functioned. It had a thresher, a sifter, nine ploughs, carts, carriages, workshops, sheds, stables, cattle,
horses,
45
pigs, the number of beehives and sheep doubled growing from
40
to
80.
In
1942
the whole
estate, real and movable, was checked and assessed being estimated at
15,000,000
lei all in all.
This religious community paid taxes to state, regional and local budgets. Though, they were rather
low varying from
3.5%
to
4.5%
from the total of annual income, including for the maintenance of the
Eparchial Council. From cultural and charity funds they paid for maintenance of orphanages, subven¬
tions for
„Luminatorul"
journal and cultural center from Varzaresti. In this manner, the efforts of the
religious fraternity and the support gained on behalf of the Romanian state resulted in restoration of
the economy of Hancu Monastery during the war years of
1941-1944.
It had resources necessary for
maintenance of the religious community, for taxes to the state, regional and local budgets, as well as
deductions to eparchial authorities and charitable actions.
Yet, the prosperity was spoiled again by the war. January through March
1944,
in the woods of
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Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu
central Bessarabia, where
Hanču
Monastery is placed as well, more and more Soviet bailers and parti¬
sans appeared. Some of Marxist ideologists declare that monks from Hancu monastery collaborated
with the Soviet partisans, a fact for which
18
monks were arrested by German authorities and taken
to
Brăila
to be tried. But this declarations of „collaboration" proved to be false. Indeed, some of the
partisans got food from some of the monks of Hancu Monastery for which they were arrested and
escorted to
Brăila
to be tried. However, the so-called collaboration is challenged by the documents
and by the fact that the monks' guilt was not proved, they were discharged and let to go back to the
monastery.
Once the bailers appeared, the Abbot of Hancu Monastery, Protosinghel lachint, and some other
monks and other lay brothers retreated to Romania and evacuated a part of the monastery property:
priests' clothing, bowls and some other cult objects made of silver. All these evacuated objects were
transmitted back to the Soviet authorities by the Romanian authorities in accordance to the provi¬
sions of the Soviet-Romanian truce. Regretfully, they did not reach back to the monastery being
taken into a completely different direction. Thus, all the statements made by the Soviet authors
that Bessarabia monasteries, including Hancu Monastery/were looted by Romanians are false and
groundless.
The part of the book covering the situation in the Monastery in the period of Soviet occupation
begins with a brief presentation of the legal framework regulating relationships of the Soviet state
and the church and monasteries. It is mentioned that the church was separated from the state and
education was separated from the church. The whole property belonging to the church was national¬
ized; buildings and objects designed for divine services were distributed by the Soviet authorities to
the religious community for free usage.
These regulations, however, did not come into operation in that part of Moldovan Autonomous
Soviet Socialist Republic that had been recently annexed to the USSR where in
1944-1950
the nation¬
alization of the church property had not been performed yet. Hence, the Soviet authorities did not
have the right to expropriate the property and belongings of churches and monasteries. It is impor¬
tant to mention that in
1944-1946
central authorities of the Soviet Union did not even try to obtain
these belongings since they have decided to use the economic potential of the monasteries in their
own interests. The war was ongoing and the whole economy was to serve its needs. Under these
circumstances, there was a great shortage of food and consumer goods. In order to repress the
economic crisis, Soviet authorities intended to use the potential of monasteries which represented
well-organized communities able to produce important amounts of food and consumer goods. A part
of these were taken from the monasteries as tax, the other was bought by contract at prices estab¬
lished by the state, these being very low in most cases.
Starting
1945,
Hancu Monastery,
aş
well as other monasteries, was forced to pay taxes in money
and goods, profit tax for all sectors of its economy: arable land, vineyards, orchards, hay fields,
cattle; they were also forced to pay for the edifices they possessed and pay in such goods as: bread,
sunflower seeds, meat, milk, eggs, animal skins, etc.
When
18
monks came back from
Brăila,
they found the convent completely devastated. Besides
this, some conflicts appeared between the monastery and Soviet local authorities when the latter
started expropriating agricultural land, vineyards, and confiscated the whole harvest, although the
legislation in power interdicted sequestration of monastery property. However, Soviet local authori¬
ties took nothing into account. The surface of the estate owned by Hancu Monastery went down
from
168.5
ha in
1945
to
33.6
ha in
1947,
whereas the area of the cultivated land decreased from
32.7
ha to
14.9
ha only.
In
1948-1949
collectivization of the agricultural sector started and Soviet authorities abandoned
the policy of relative tolerance towards monasteries launching the process of liquidation of religious
communities. A deliberate and well-organized undermining of monasteries began. Communities did
not get any materials necessary for reparations of monastery edifices, these being completely absent
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Alexei Agachi
in trade. Agricultural lands of monasteries surrounded by lands of collective farms were exchanged
for terrains of poor quality. Accepting minor persons in monasteries was interdicted. Youngsters
were taken out of monasteries, mobilized into army or sent to various schools, plants, and factories.
The communities became smaller, they were not completed with other monks, a part of religious
communities grew old losing capacity to work or losing health; there was no sufficient labor power
to work the lands, a part of them staying uncultivated, this forcing the communities to give the lands
away. Monasteries were imposed to pay bigger and bigger taxes. The annual tax was divided into
parts and had to be paid throughout the whole year starting the month of March when monasteries
did not have any funds they could use to pay the taxes.
On the other hand, the same Soviet authorities deliberately and artificially created all sorts of
difficulties to monasteries in order to justify their liquidation; they accused convents that they were
not using their edifices to the full extent, were not using their lands or were insufficiently working
on them; they were also blamed for being sources of serious diseases, for monks degrading and
conducting immoral lifestyles; all these blames were invented deliberately.
During the famine of
1946-1947,
religious community from Hancu faced great difficulties; monks
died of hunger, requests of help being unheard. Yet, disregarding all difficulties in
1947-1949,
Hancu
Monastery started restoring its economy. Famine contributed to growth of the number of monks
that varied between
38
and
41
brothers most of which being able to work. The whole arable land,
the vineyards and gardens were cultivated; good harvest was gathered, the number of cattle, small
horned animals, horses, pigs, poultry, and bee hives grew. The monastery had animals and neces¬
sary tools that could be used for agricultural works having even a thresher. The same situation was
attested in other monasteries. This could not please the Soviet authorities that conducted forced
collectivization of farmsteads.
In order to stop recovery of economy in monasteries, the Soviet authorities imposed even harsher
taxation for them. In
1949-1950
the tax paid in money in case of Hancu Monastery was of
54%
off the
annual income. Besides this, the monastery had to pay in goods: big lots of grains, sunflower seeds,
meat, milk, eggs, sheep skins, etc. This was an unbearable burden. The monastery had debts in tax
payments for
1949.
In the middle of the summer of
1950,
the situation was disastrous, There were
no funds at all, the taxes were impossible to be paid within the terms and financial authorities could
start sequestration of the property in account of taxes.
,
Under these circumstances, the religious community of Hancu Monastery made a request to
Eparchial Bishop Nectarie in which they asked the monastery to be closed and the brothers to be
transferred to Harbovat Monastery. The request was approved by the Bishop and was very much
encouraged by the Soviet authorities. In August
1950,
the property was catalogued and after the
crop, the monks were transferred to Harbovat Monastery. Thus, Hancu Monastery was closed. We
can conclude that tax burden imposed by the Soviet authorities was the only reason that led to liqui¬
dation of Hancu Monastery.
Edifices of the monastery were transmitted to the Central Union Council of the USSR and instead
of the monastery they created Holiday Home nr.
14,
village of Ciuciuleni,
Strašeni
district. In
1956
this
holiday home was authorized as a subordinate institution of the Ministry of Health Care of Moldovan
Soviet Socialist Republic and was transformed into a holiday home for students and employees of
the Institute of Medicine from Chisinau. Initially, the summer church and the temple of Saint Pious
Parascheva were made into a storehouse and later into a club. In
1978,
the monastic center was
transmitted to the Institute of Medicine free of charge. A production center of the Pharmacy School
was created here; it was an academic center and an experiential field of medicine plants used for
internships. In
1985-1986,
the holiday house was reconstructed and a canteen and
5
mansions were
built,
230,000
rubles being spent. However, after the Soviet Union was destroyed, in conditions of
financial crisis, the reconstruction works were not finished and by
1990,
the place was devastated
and deserted.
-Щ-
was
Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu
In
1990,
at the request made by the Christians from surrounding villages, Hancu Monastery
.
reactivated. On September
14, 1990,
Moldovan Government adopted a decision through whichlt
obliged the Ministry of Health Care to pass the monastic complex from Hancu to the Eparchy of
Chisinau and Moldova. Initially, it was a friary but nothing is known about their activity. In July-August
1992,
this community of brothers was dissolved.
Although there were monks at the convent, the governmental decision was not executed, the
monastic complex still being in subordination of the Ministry of Welfare and „Testemiteanu" Univer¬
sity from Chisinau. After several requests of the Archbishop
(Mitropolitan
Vladimir nowadays), the
monastic complex was transmitted to Chisinau and Moldova Eparchy in February-May
1992.
With the blessing of All Saintly Vladimir, Metropolitan of Chisinau and of the whole Moldova, the
Abbot of Hancu Monastery became hieromonk
Petru
(in the secular world
Valériu
Ion Musteata).
Abbot
Petru
was promoted to the ranks of Archimandrite, then Bishop of Hancu, and finally, Vicar¬
ious of Moldovan Metropolitan with residence in Hancu Monastery.
This monastery was also the place where Zinaida Cazacu came as a lay sister, and then other
nuns and lay sisters joined her. In July
1993,
the religious community of Hancu Monastery was offi¬
cially constituted. Lay sister Zinaida Cazacu was appointed as the Deputy Abbess of the monastery,
in August
1993
she became a nun, named Parascheva, and on October
27, 1993,
was confirmed as
Abbess by Metropolitan Vladimir; she was also exalted to the rank of Lady Superior.
Gradually, this religious community grew and worked on
54
ha of land offered by the state.
Summer and winter churches were repaired and restored. The interior of the summer school was
painted by the renowned artist from Poceaev (Ukraine), Nikolae Panciuk. On October
27,1995
the
summer school was sanctified. Reparation, ornamentation, and consecration of summer and winter
churches crowned the efforts and hard work of Bishop of Hancu
,
Petru,
and of the Abbess, Lady
Superior Parascheva; the latter was decorated with the Diamond Cross, the highest award offered to
abbesses. In the summer church there still is the coffin with a small part of Saint Pious Parascheva's
relics and coffin of Saints from Kiev
Lavra
caves (Ukraine) and of the Great Saint Martyr Panteleimon.
The foundation for another 60-cell edifice was conceived and another one for the beautiful abbess.
They are building a great two-level Cathedral with the main altar dedicated to Saint Apostles Peter
and Paul and other altars. At the moment the community comprises over
100
persons. Seventeen
cjergypersons are conducted by the monastery confessor, Bishop of Hancu Peter; there also are
85
sisters and Sister Superior Parascheva.
The monastery possess
56
ha of land; it has gardens, vineyards, cows, horses, sheep, donkeys,
pigs, rabbits, poultry, bee hives, means of transportation, vehicles, tractors, a hoisting crane, an
excavator. They cultivate grains, vegetables, etc. In the workshops, the nuns weave carpets, make
towels and clothes, including religious gowns, blankets stuffed with sheep fur; they crochet and make
embroideries. At the monastery, there is a store, where one can buy icons, crosses, religious books,
incense, chrism,, cords. The nuns and lay sisters do duties in the kitchen, the bakery including the one
used for making communal bread, a refectory, and a water bottling factory. They give away food to
the poor who come on festivals, help the elderly from surrounding villages.
Every day Saint liturgy Is
pepformed,
preceded by morning prayers, Midnight Prayers, Three-
o'clock and Six-o'clock Prayers, Daily Prayer for the Dead; at Sin the afternoon the Evening Prayers
take place, followed by the Morning and One-o'clock Prayers.
Meals are taken three times a day, except during Lent. Meat is not served. In the first and the
last week of Lent, they have the so-called „black" fast (only water and communal bread are served),
and on the other Lent days, food is eaten only two times a day, on Wednesdays and Fridays oil is not
used. At the monastery they organize baptizing and marriage services, prayers for the dead and other
rituals for all Christians. There are three springs at the monastery: Mihalcea Hancu, Saint Avraam and
Saint George's.
In
1995,
through efforts of Archimandrite
Petru,
nowadays Bishop of Hancu, an orphanage was
-209-
Alexei Agachi
opened in Chisinau as a monastery annex. It is situated at
4/2
Onisifor Ghibu street. This is a private
orphanage that is maintained and guarded by the monastery. Sixty orphan and single-parent children
aged
2-17
are brought up here. In opening of this orphanage particular efforts were made by the first
Moldovan President, Mircea Snegur, former Mayor of Chisinau, Nicolae Costin, and others.
In the monograph there is a chapter dedicated to the abbots and abbesses of Hancu Monas¬
tery from
1677
to
2009.
We focus attention on their names, period of abbess, monastic ranks,
education, languages spoken by them, nationality, and awards received from ecclesiastic and civil
authorities. We also point out that during the tsarist occupation of Bessarabia,
1812-1918,
ten out
of
20
abbots and abbesses of Hancu Monastery were Moldovan (Romanian), five were Ukrainians,
there were Russian abbots/ abbesses and a Bulgarian one, whereas the nationality of one of them
is not mentioned. From
1818
to
1848,
all abbots/ abbesses were speakers of other (than Romanian)
languages, but four of them:
Arsenie,
Dosoftei,
Silvestru,
and Sinesie spoke Romanian and conducted
services in this language. There is very little information about other abbots who were speakers of
other languages and it is not known whether they spoke Romanian or not.
Iov
and Anatolie were
abbots only for short periods of time. In the interwar period
1919-1940,1941-1944
only two abbots
are mentioned: Archimandrite Domitian
(Hodorogea)
and Protosinghel lachint (Ciobanu). The years of
Soviet domination,
1944-1950,
were characterized by instability and economic disaster that brought
about frequent change of abbots. The biggest contribution to prosperity of the monastery was made
by such abbots as: hieromonk lezechiil, Father Superior Dosoftei, Father Superior and Archimandrites
llarion (Turcanu), who was the abbot of the monastery three times, Gherasim, loachim (lonascu),
Dometian
(Hodorogea),
Protosinghel lachint (Ciobanu) and Sister Superior Parascheva. At the end
of this chapter, we included a list of abbots and abbesses of Hancu Monastery
1677
through
2009.
We also approach the right for churchwardenship, categorize churchwardens and present their
rights and responsibilities. We specify the names of Hancu Monastery wardens: the great and the
first warden Mihalcea Hancu, the second one, Russian General of the Army lacov Ceremisinov, who
gave the monastery
150
dessiatinas of land and saved it from liquidation, and the third warden
-
Mircea Snegur, the first Moldovan President who substantially contributed to reopening and revival
of Hancu Monastery. He was the one who found donors for reconstruction of the monastic complex
and construction of a 60-cell monastery edifice. He bought plated gold and contributed to the altar
gilding of the summer church using his own funds. State authorities also decided to asphalt the
portion of road from the monastery to the national highway. Some Belgium sponsors were found to
build a small water bottling factory. All these and other efforts and charity acts on behalf of Mircea
Snegur let us consider him the third warden of Hancu Monastery. We also mention other donors
who contributed to the development of the monastery later, the son, grandchildren and great-grand¬
children of Mihalcea Hancu among them,
Alexandru
Russo,
who offered
67.5
dessiatinas of land
to the cloister, Eufrosinia Sprancenoaie, who presented the monastery with a residence complex
in Chisinau, and other donors. Contemporary contributors are also mentioned. Among remarkable
persons who activated at the monastery we can mention the following: hieromonk
Sava,
famous
for his abilities to relieve people's sufferings by means of the prayer,
Mihail
Dobzeu, a former lay
brother of the monastery, nowadays Archimandrite of
Husi
Monastery of Saint Apostles (Romania),
who being imprisoned christened the Jewish intellectual Nicolae Steinhardt. Mihalcea Hancu, the
great warden of the monastery, landowner loan Chescu, and loan, brother of the Russian General
lakov
Ceremisinov, were buried here.
-210-
Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu
RÉSUMÉ
La
presente
monographie
porte
sur une série de problèmes concernant l'histoire du Monastère
de Hancu depuis sa fondation en
1677
et jusqu'en
2008,
tels que
:
Mihalcea Hancu, boyard et haut
fonctionnaire moldave, chef de l'insurrection de
1671 -1672
contre le prince reignant de la Moldavie
et fondateur du monastère qui porte son nom
;
l'état de l'ermitage de Vladnic dans les années
1677
-1812 ;
la transformation, en
1816,
de l'ermitage en monastère
;
la situation économique de l'éta¬
blissement monacal aux époques moderne, de l'entre-deux-guerres et soviétique. L'auteur explique
les causes qui ont mené à la fermeture du Monastère de Hancu en
1950,
notamment
:
la politique
antireligieuse et l'attitude hostile du gouvernement soviétique à l'égard de l'église, les lourds impôts
et redevances que le monastère devait payer à l'Etat.
Une attention particulière est accordée à la vie spirituelle du Monastère de Hancu, au passage de
la communauté monacale de la propriété privée à la propriété collective, à la stricte observation des
lois canoniques, à la célébration de l'office divin et de la fête de la Sainte Parascheva, patronne du
monastère, à la construction et à l'embellissement des églises, au fonctionnement de l'école, de la
bibliothèque et du musée et au rôle qu'ils ont joué dans la vie de la communauté manacale.
La monographie présente la liste complète des prieurs du Monastère de Hancu et l'on met en
évidence le rôle de certains prieurs dans le développement et la prospérité de ce centre monastique.
On peut y trouver aussi une ample information sur le fondateur, Mihalcea Hancu, et sur les dona¬
teurs du monastère dont les plus importants sont lacov Ceremisinov qui faisant don au monastère
d'environ
150
ha de terrains agricoles l'a sauvé de la fermeture et Mircea Snegur, le premier prési¬
dent de la République de
Moldova,
qui a beaucoup contribué à la réouverture et à la restauration du
Monastère de Hancu.
L'étude traite aussi de la situation de l'établissement monacal à l'heure actuelle, de l'activité de
la communauté monacale, de la construction d'une nouvelle cathédrale ayant comme patrons les
Saints Apôtres Pierre et Paul, du rôle du confesseur du monastère, Monseigneur Pierre, évêque de
Hancu, vicaire
episcopal
de l'Eglise métropolitaine orthodoxe moldave, et de la prieure Parascheva
dans la réouverture, la restauration et le bon fonctionnement du Monastère de Hancu et de la fonda¬
tion de l'orphelinat
«
Saint Joseph
».
-211- |
| any_adam_object | 1 |
| author | Agachi, Alexei 1941- |
| author_GND | (DE-588)1273738632 |
| author_facet | Agachi, Alexei 1941- |
| author_role | aut |
| author_sort | Agachi, Alexei 1941- |
| author_variant | a a aa |
| building | Verbundindex |
| bvnumber | BV036696673 |
| ctrlnum | (OCoLC)705876270 (DE-599)BVBBV036696673 |
| era | Geschichte gnd |
| era_facet | Geschichte |
| format | Book |
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| id | DE-604.BV036696673 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-12-13T13:01:44Z |
| institution | BVB |
| isbn | 9789975511438 |
| language | Romanian |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-020615196 |
| oclc_num | 705876270 |
| open_access_boolean | |
| owner | DE-12 DE-Re13 DE-BY-UBR |
| owner_facet | DE-12 DE-Re13 DE-BY-UBR |
| physical | 245, [12] Bl. Ill., graph. Darst. |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publishDateSearch | 2010 |
| publishDateSort | 2010 |
| publisher | Pontos |
| record_format | marc |
| series | Istorii şi documente |
| series2 | Istorii şi documente : Monografii |
| spelling | Agachi, Alexei 1941- Verfasser (DE-588)1273738632 aut Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) Alexei Agachi Chişinău Pontos 2010 245, [12] Bl. Ill., graph. Darst. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Istorii şi documente : Monografii 1 Zsfassung in engl., franz. u. russ. Sprache. - Teilw. in kyrill. Schr., russ. Mănăstirea Hâncu Mănăstirea Hâncu (DE-588)7729481-6 gnd rswk-swf Geschichte gnd rswk-swf Mănăstirea Hâncu Mănăstirea Hâncu (DE-588)7729481-6 b Geschichte z DE-604 Istorii şi documente Monografii ; 1 (DE-604)BV036696661 1 Digitalisierung BSB Muenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020615196&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Inhaltsverzeichnis Digitalisierung BSB Muenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020615196&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Abstract |
| spellingShingle | Agachi, Alexei 1941- Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) Istorii şi documente Mănăstirea Hâncu Mănăstirea Hâncu (DE-588)7729481-6 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)7729481-6 |
| title | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) |
| title_auth | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) |
| title_exact_search | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) |
| title_full | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) Alexei Agachi |
| title_fullStr | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) Alexei Agachi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677 - 2010) Alexei Agachi |
| title_short | Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu |
| title_sort | istoria manastirii hancu 1677 2010 |
| title_sub | (1677 - 2010) |
| topic | Mănăstirea Hâncu Mănăstirea Hâncu (DE-588)7729481-6 gnd |
| topic_facet | Mănăstirea Hâncu Mănăstirea Hâncu |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020615196&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020615196&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| volume_link | (DE-604)BV036696661 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agachialexei istoriamanastiriihancu16772010 |