Ratesti Monastery
Encyclopedia
The Răteşti Monastery is a monastery of Eastern Orthodox
nuns located in the Berca commune in the Buzău County
in Romania
, on the left bank of the Buzău river
.
family of Dragomir, an army captain. The oldest known document relating to it is a donation deed, dated 6 May 1634. At the time, it was a monastery of monks. Because of the lack of monks, the monastery went deserted in 1752, and in 1760 was revived as community of nuns.
As of 2006, about 75 nuns live there.
and local ecclesiastical style. It was painted in 1843-1844 by Nicolae Teodorescu
and his nephew Gheorghe Tattarescu
.
The bell tower, erected by Dionisie Romano in 1854, was re-designed and reduced in height to 18 meters in 1894, when it was rebuilt after an earthquake.
. It exhibits a multi-language Bible printed in 1629 in Greek
, Latin and Hebrew
. The visitors can also see a fragment of the original 1688 Bucharest Bible, the first edition translated into Romanian
, along with the anniversary reprint of the Bucharest Bible from 1988.
Other items on display are numerous icons painted on wood or glass, as well as gold and silver-thread embroidery
.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
nuns located in the Berca commune in the Buzău County
Buzau County
Buzău is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 496,214 and the population density was 81/km².*Romanians – 97%*Roma – under 3% declared, and others....
in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, on the left bank of the Buzău river
Buzau River
Buzău is a river in eastern Romania, tributary of the Siret River. Its total length is 302 km. Its source is in the south-eastern Carpathian Mountains, east of Braşov. The Buzău flows through the Romanian counties Braşov, Covasna, Buzău and Brăila...
.
History
The monastery was erected by the boyarBoyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
family of Dragomir, an army captain. The oldest known document relating to it is a donation deed, dated 6 May 1634. At the time, it was a monastery of monks. Because of the lack of monks, the monastery went deserted in 1752, and in 1760 was revived as community of nuns.
As of 2006, about 75 nuns live there.
Architecture
The monastery church was built in a mixed neoclassicalNeoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and local ecclesiastical style. It was painted in 1843-1844 by Nicolae Teodorescu
Nicolae Teodorescu
Nicolae Teodorescu was a Moldavian-born Romanian church painter , and the uncle of artist Gheorghe Tattarescu.In 1831, he was called on by Chesarie, the Orthodox bishop of Buzău to open a school for church painters at the local bishopric...
and his nephew Gheorghe Tattarescu
Gheorghe Tattarescu
Gheorghe Tattarescu was a Moldavian-born Romanian painter and a pioneer of neoclassicism in his country's modern painting.-Early life and studies:...
.
The bell tower, erected by Dionisie Romano in 1854, was re-designed and reduced in height to 18 meters in 1894, when it was rebuilt after an earthquake.
The museum
The compound includes a museum, near the water-well (which dates from 1911). The museum was opened in 1975, in a wide hall painted in 1859 by a monk from the nearby Ciolanu MonasteryCiolanu Monastery
The Ciolanu Monastery is a monastery of Eastern Orthodox monks, located in the Tisău commune, Buzău County, Romania. It was erected around 1570 by Dumitru Ciolanu, a boyar from Buzău, whose name it bears, together with the Sorescu boyar family from the nearby Verneşti commune.The compound contains...
. It exhibits a multi-language Bible printed in 1629 in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Latin and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. The visitors can also see a fragment of the original 1688 Bucharest Bible, the first edition translated into Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, along with the anniversary reprint of the Bucharest Bible from 1988.
Other items on display are numerous icons painted on wood or glass, as well as gold and silver-thread embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
.