The
Romanian Skete Prodromos is a
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
n
cenobiticCenobitic monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West, the community belongs to a religious order and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of precepts...
sketeA skete is a community of Christian hermits following a monastic rule, allowing them to worship in comparative solitude, while also affording them a level of mutual practical support and security....
belonging to the Great Lavra Monastery, located in the eastern extremity (called Vigla) of the
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
Monastic State of the
Holy Mountain AthosMount Athos is a mountain on the peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Agion Oros , or in English, "Holy Mountain". In Classical times, the peninsula was called Aktí...
, between the
Aegean SeaThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
in the East and the peak of Athos rising 2033 m in the West, nearby the cave of Athanasios the Athonite. Its name, Prodromos, is the Greek for "The Forerunner", a cognomen of
St. John the BaptistJohn the Baptist was a mission preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of Baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel...
.
Spiritually, through its mother monastery, and like all the Athos peninsula, it is under the jurisdiction of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleThe Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fourteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches...
. Currently, 25 monks live there.
History
The oldest records of
RomaniansThe Romanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian ; they are the majority inhabitants of România.In one prominent interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would...
in this place are from around 1750, when a few monks, under the guidance of a
hieromonkHieromonk Hieromonk Hieromonk (Greek: Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; Slavonic: Ieromonakh, , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a *priest in Eastern Orthodox Christianity....
Macarie, lived there in seclusion near the chapel of St. John the Baptist (which gave its name to the skete). Around 1800, there were three Romanian
hermitA hermit is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion from society....
s, confessor Iustin the Vlach and two apprentices, Patapie and Grigore. It is said that once Iustin drove out a swarm of locusts from the Great Lavra by sprinkling them with
holy waterIn Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and some other churches, holy water is water which has been sanctified by a priest or bishop for the purpose of baptism or for the blessing of persons, places, or things.Holy water is water that has been...
.
As the number of Romanian monks increased around him, Iustin thought of broadening their cell by making it into a skete, and made a request to the Great Lavra, who agreed and gave its blessing. But Iustin died in 1816. His successors asked the Great Lavra for a deed to establish the skete. In 1820, they received a document of 13 articles, stating the operating conditions, that it belongs to the Great Lavra, that it will be a cenobitic skete, will have an
hegumenHegumen, hegumenos, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot...
, will have its own seal, and will obey to its duties to the Great Lavra (like the other Athonite sketes).
1821 marks the beginning of the
Greek RevolutionThe Greek War of Independence was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1829, with later assistance from several European powers, against the Ottoman Empire, who were assisted by their vassals, the Egyptian Khedivate and partly the Vilayet of...
, and the skete cannot be founded. Monks Patapie and Grigore left for
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
, taking the deed to
Neamţ MonasteryThe Neamţ Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox religious settlement, one of the oldest and most important of its kind in Romania. It was built in 14th century, and it is an example of medieval Moldavian architecture...
. The two died, but other two monks, Nifon and Nectarie, from Horaiţa Monastery (in
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
), found the document and in 1851 redeem the Prodromos cell from Greek monks for 7000 lei. The Great Lavra strengthened the deed, and added three more articles. Then, Nifon and Nectarie started the fund-raising. The Prince of Moldavia
Grigore Alexandru GhicaGrigore Alexandru Ghica or Ghika was a Prince of Moldavia between October 14, 1849 and June 1853, and again between October 30, 1854 and June 3, 1856...
contributed the largest amount, 3000
ducatThe ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade currency throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, AGW, actual gold weight.-History:...
s, along with Metropolitan Sofronie of Moldavia and Metropolitan Nifon of
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
. In 1856,
Patriarch Cyril VII of ConstantinopleCyril VII was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1855 to 1860.-See also:*List of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople...
approved the establishment of the skete.
The building of the skete’s church began in 1857 and ended 1866 when, on 21 May, on Saints
ConstantineCaesar Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus , commonly known in English as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine , was Roman emperor from 306, and the sole holder of that office from 324 until his death in...
and
HelenaSaint Helena also known as Saint Helen, Helena Augusta or Helena of Constantinople was the consort of Emperor Constantius, and the mother of Emperor Constantine I. She is traditionally credited with finding the relics of the True Cross.-Family life:Helena's birthplace is not known with certainty...
feast day, it was sanctified. The service was conducted by hegumen Isaia Vicol from Golia Monastery, in
IaşiIaşi , is a city and municipality in Moldavia, in north-eastern Romania...
. The church was sacred to the
Baptism of JesusThe Baptism of Jesus Christ inaugurates his public ministry as an adult. Matthew's infancy narrative has established Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, Son of David and King of the Jews. Matthew's description of John the Baptist explains that John preached repentance before the coming judgment,...
.
The church, 30 m long and 8.5 m wide, has three domes, and it was painted in 1862-1863 by painters from Romania in a
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
inspired style (typical of 19th century Romanian paintings). On the southern wall of the porch there is a depiction of Mount Athos with the monasteries and the saints living there, between which there are 14 of Romanian origin. Over the main entrance in the skete there is a 23 m high belfry and a chapel sacred to the
Dormition of the TheotokosThe Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos . It is celebrated on August 15 The Dormition of the Theotokos ( Koímēsis, often anglicized as Kimisis) is a...
.
Seeing his wish fulfilled, hegumen Nifon retreated to a cell in a nearby St. Athanasios cave in 1870, and died in 1899. First he was buried in the cave to which he had retreated, then his remains were moved to the vault underneath church’s altar.
Initially named
Moldavian Skete Prodromos, after
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
and
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
united in January 24, 1859 giving birth to a new state,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
, it changed its name to
Romanian Skete Prodromos. In 1889, the Great Lavra signed a new deed to Prodromos Skete, strengthened by the seal of the Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysius V of Constantinople. It had 16 articles and, stated among other things, that the skete has the cognomen "Romanian", it is cenobitic, it belongs to the Great Lavra, the great church is sacred to the Baptism of Jesus, and the number living there is established to 60 monks and 10 brothers.
Over the years the skete was enlarged, but the
communist regime in RomaniaCommunist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the leading role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
confiscated its properties in the country, leaving it without means of living. Supplies from the country ceased and no new monks arrived at the skete. This status slowly began to improve after 1963 when the Mount Athos millennium celebration occurred, attended by all heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The skete started receiving support from the country, and new monks arrived in 1976, founding a community of 10 elders, many of whom were ill. The restoration started in 1984 and currently is almost complete. Help was received from
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and individuals.
On April 11, 2007, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies passed a bill stating a €250,000 yearly financing for the skete from the state's
budgetA budget is generally a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
, through the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs. The money is to be used for restoring and maintaining the four churches and chapels, for promotional materials and for sustaining the activity of the monks.
Holy relics
The skete, like all establishments of the Holy Mountain, holds holy relics in its church. There are parts from
St. John the BaptistJohn the Baptist was a mission preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of Baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel...
, St. Trifon,
St. Archdeacon StephenSaint Stephen , known as the Protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Stephen means "wreath" or "crown" in Greek...
,
St. Matthew the EvangelistMatthew the Evangelist , also called Levi, apostle and once a tax collector, composed the Gospel of Christ. It was first published in Judea in Hebrew for Hebrew Christians...
,
St. BarbaraSaint Barbara, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara , was a Christian saint and martyr. Although there is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings, nor in the original recension of Saint Jerome's martyrology, veneration of her was common from the...
,
St. John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
, St. Gregory the Theologian, St Modestus of Jerusalem,
St. CharalampusSaint Charalampus was an early Christian bishop in Magnesia, a region of Thessaly, in the diocese of the same name. His name Χαράλαμπος means joyful light in Greek...
,
Saints Cosmas and DamianSaints Cosmas and Damian were twins and early Christian martyrs born in Arabia who practised the art of healing in the seaport of Aegea in the Gulf of Issus, then in the Roman province of Syria...
, unmercenary physicians and St. Martyr Trifon.
Icons
The skete has, alongside icons of saints celebrated over the course of the year, five large icons, of which three are thought to perform miracles.
The Icon of TheotokosTheotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
"Acheiropoietos" (i.e. not made by human hands) is the most well-known of the skete. Few icons in the Orthodox world are considered to have been miraculously painted. In 1863, after a long search, the skete’s founder Nifon asked an old painter in Iaşi, Iordache Nicolau, to paint an icon of the Theotokos, accordingly to Church’s canon - by daily reading the Akathist to the Theotokos and
fastFast may refer to:* Fasting, abstaining from food* Nacional Fast Clube, a Brazilian football club* A speed racing for dirt horse racetracks* Fast Search & Transfer, a Norwegian company focusing on data search technologies...
ing (eating only after ceasing work that day). After painting the Holy Faces of
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
and Mary (which, in the Orthodox iconography tradition, are painted last), the painter was not satisfied with the result, as he felt not to manage to paint the images properly. Covering the icon with a cloth, Nicolau retreated into prayer for help to finish his work. The next day he found the icon finished and beautifully painted. The icon is said to work wonders. It is covered in silver and placed in the church in front of the left rood screen. Its feast day is celebrated on July 12.
There are also
The Icon of Theotokos, the one protecting from fire,
The Icon of St. John the Baptist,
The Icon of Three Holy HierarchsThe Three Holy Hierarchs of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great , Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. They were highly influential bishops of the early church who played pivotal roles in shaping Christian theology...
,
The Icon of the Holy Mountain.
The library
The skete's library has over 5000 volumes and about 200 manuscripts of which
The History of Athonite Monasteries, written by
anchoriteAnchorite /anchoress , , denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic and, circumstances permitting, Eucharist-focused life...
monk Irinarh Şişman (1845-1920) a century ago, consisting of 10 volumes, with beautiful ornaments, depicts the history of the Holy Mountain, all its monasteries, and the Romanian establishments in them.
The cemetery
According to traditional practice on the Holy Mountain, the skete's cemetery has only one gravesite. It is a simple one, and it is used for all the monks who pass away. This is for two reasons. One is the lack of space for a large cemetery on the mountainous terrain. The body is then exhumed after three years (as no coffin is used in the burial, the body decomposes quickly) and the bones are afterward kept in the nearby
ossuaryAn ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
. The second reason is that the remains may be holy relics, and exhuming them is a mean to acknowledge this and treat them appropriately.
Skete's hegumens
- Nifon, 1866-1870 (anchorite
Anchorite /anchoress , , denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic and, circumstances permitting, Eucharist-focused life...
in the last part of life, d. 1899)
- Hieromonk
Hieromonk Hieromonk Hieromonk (Greek: Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; Slavonic: Ieromonakh, , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a *priest in Eastern Orthodox Christianity....
Damian, 1870-1890 (anchorite in the last part of life)
- Hieromonk Ghedeon (anchorite in the last part of life)
- Hieromonk Antipa Dinescu
- Hieromonk Hrisostom
- Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Petroniu Tănase - b. 1914, Fărcasa village, Neamţ CountyNeamţ is a county of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamţ. It has three communes, Bicaz-Chei, Bicazu Ardelean and Dămuc in Transylvania.-Demographics:...
, Romania; bachelor of Theology, attended also Mathematics and Philosophy courses
See also
- Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain on the peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Agion Oros , or in English, "Holy Mountain". In Classical times, the peninsula was called Aktí...
- Great Lavra, the monastery Prodromos belongs to