Romanian Orthodox Monasteries - Day 2

On the second day of touring the Romanian Orthodox monasteries, we got to see three beautiful monasteries with churches painted on the outside and inside.  Since photos are not allowed inside most churches, these pictures represent a lot of what we saw because these churches were also painted on the outside.  We visited Voronet Monastery, called the "Sistine Chapel of the East," famous for its special shade of blue "Voronet blue," which cannot be recreated.  After Voronet, we also visited Moldovita and Sucevita.  We were surprised at how similarly they were painted, but if you look closely, you will notice some minor differences.  We were also amazed at how many pictures there were (mostly inside the churches) of martyrs.  Imagine hundreds of pictures of people being beheaded, crucified, burned alive, etc. for their faith.  Also, at Sucevita we really enjoyed a whole section of pictures from the book of Revelation.

The cemetery at Voronet Monastery

Voronet

The "Tree of Jesse," which interestingly also contains Aristotle and Plato.  This is the world-famous color "Voronet blue."

 

This scene depicts the Final Judgment from Revelation.

A close-up from the picture above showing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Below the Holy Spirit is a scale with angels pulling down on one side and demons pulling down on the other side.

The paint on the other side of the church at Voronet is more faded.

That's a lot of hay!

Jessica with the sign at the entrance to Moldovita Monastery.

Cameron with Moldovita Monastery

The beautifully painted church inside Moldovita

All the monasteries also had a well inside the grounds.

The picture at the bottom depicts the siege of Constantinople from the medieval period, but instead of Persians they painted Turks because this church was built after a successful battle against the Turks.

The Three Wise Men offering Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The entrance to the church

Near the church entrance, in the corner of the grounds is the tomb of Petru Rares, the son of Stefan cel Mare.

Like Voronet, the paintings on other side of the church are more faded.

The road from Moldovita to Sucevita was snowy, curvy, and steep, but really beautiful.

Sucevita Monastery

Cameron at the entrance to Sucevita (with the sheep)

The church in Sucevita

A close-up of the "Ladder to Paradise"

A scene from Revelation depicting a dragon with seven heads

Another scene from Revelation depicting angels pouring out seven bowls of wrath

Angels with seven trumpets

A frightening picture of the angel of death riding on a white horse

The lower picture depicts Jesus with a sword coming out of His mouth

An image of martyrs being beheaded

The courtyard at Sucevita