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Tismana Monastery

The Tismana Monastery is one of the oldest monastic settlements from Walachia.

The founder of the monastery is Saint Nicodim (1310-1406), who chose the place, the architecture and the ornamentation. The Basarab rulers: Voivode Radu Negru (1377-1386), and his sons, Dan I (1384-1386) and Mircea the Old (1386-1418) contributed to the building of the monastery.

Saint Nicodim was a Vlach from the south of Danube and he was a relative of Basarab rulers and Knez (ruler of the land) Lazar of Serbia.

The wish of dedicating his life to God. lead him to leave home (in Prilep, Macedonia) at age 16. With the help of a few monks he reached Mount Athos's Hilander Monastery. Here, he improves his knowledge; he learns Slavic, Greek, and becomes initiated into: calligraphy, painting, making of silverware, architecture, mansonry and barrel making etc.

Saint Nicodim came in Walachia by divine call. His mission was to build a monastery in a place chosen by God. Historical documents mention other monasteries and hermitages that were built by him: Gretna and Manastirita (Serbia), Vodita, Gura Motrului, Topolnita, Visina, Aninoasa, Tismana (Walachia) and Prislop (Hateg Land).

Devout Nicodim brought a group of monks organised in communal life and living by the prayer of the heart: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."

The place of his prayer, vigil and burial was the cave situated on the rock near the monastery.

In 1375, he mediated the reconciliation between the Serbian Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. As a reward, the ecumanical patriarch Filotei gave him the rank of archimandrite, the patriarch's crosier and relics.

After the monastery was built, Saint Nicodim initiated a "cultural stage"; he founded a calligraphy school with copyists of ecclesiastical books in different languages. In the year of 1405, Nicodim himself did the calligraphy and the miniature of a Four Gospels on parchment, bound in gilded silver the masterpiece of those days.

Besides the organizing and spiritual activity Saint Nicodim was in correspondence with many people. From his correspondences the answers received from Eftimie, the Patriarchate of Tarnovo are the only ones remaining. Their dialogue had an impressive cultural and theological style.

Saint Nicodim passed away on 26 December 1406 and was buried in the tomb from the church porch that was digged by him. The icon lamp that is watching the place where his holy relics rested is always burning.

The church of the monastery was dedicated on 15 August 1378 having "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" as dedication day this is by Voievode Dan I's document dated on 3 October 1385.

Built in Byzantine style having a trichonch plane with three spires namely on the nave, the pronaos and the church porch, the church has thick walls of stone and brick sustained by abutments and by the church porch that surround the pronaos and a part of the nave.

Like other monasteries, Tismana knew times of severe persecution. So, after numerous destructions caused by the Turks, the monastery knew more periods of restauration and change achieved with the help of Basarab voivodes and local boyars.

In 1520, Neagoe Basarab covered the church with lead; in 1541, Radu Paisie made the frames and the doors of the big church; Matei Basarab built not only a small church for the hospital of the monastery (1650) but also the steeple, and he bestowed a big bell. Cornea Brailoiu, the great ban (ruler of the land) of Craiova, next to his big donations, he helped to rebuilt a few of the monks rooms. Lady Stanca Glogoveanu restored the paint (1733 and 1766) and the church doors (1782). Constantin Brancoveanu also brought important financial gifts and worship objects.

This is the place where Tudor Vladimirescu conceived the Proclamation from Pades (22 January 1821) of "Justice law".

PAINTING. At the begging,the church was painted in only one color ochre with geometrical and floral images. The first iconographic painting was made in 16th century (1546) by the painter Dobromir from Targoviste. Painted with vegetal colors, some of the painting was preserved on the pronaos wall, being the oldest Byzantine painting from Walachia.

In 1732, the painting from the nave and from the altar was restored. In 1766, Dimitrie Diaconu applied a new layer of paint over the fresco painted in 1564.

In 1955, during the restoration of the monastery the fresco painted in 1766 was cleaned from pronaos uncovering the layer painted in 1564. The clean fresco was fixed on the walls of the Monastery Museum and the halls of the monk's rooms. The first painting (1564) which was realized with great talent and fidelity according to the canons of the church art was also restored.

A special nuance of red, the specific color of Tismana, they say, was used for the painting of the two frescoes of the Synaxarion.

The church porch pulled down by the ruler Dimitrie Bibescu in 1846, who wanted to build a princely palace here, was rebuilt in 1983 according to the initial plan and painted by Grigore Popescu in 1994. The painting of the church porch was realized in Byzantine style with a discreet harmony of the chromatic tones and nuances like those of the older paintings. The iconographic presentation is unique because here for the first time , all the Romanian saints, beginning from the first Christian centuries up to the last years of the 20th century, are painted here.

THESAURUS. The monastery had an artistic thesaurus according to its beauty and originality. A great part of it has been lost. From the remaining objects, a part of them may be found in The National Art Museum. In the Monastery Museum there is a great collection of murals (which originally, were a part of the pronaos - the paintings realized in 1766) old wooden icons, worship objects, old books, vestments and the former doors of the church which date back to 1782.

Inside the church there is a silver shrine that contains the Saint Nicodim's Relics (the forefinger of his right hand and the lead Cross which he wore), Saint Ignatie Teophorus' and Saint John the Divine.

In the memory of his son Alexandru, George Cosbuc the poet, donated for the Chapel built by Matei Basarabov, two colored glass windows. Being inspired by the beauty of this region, Cosbuc ended the translation of Dante's work "The Divine Comedy" here.

The Church of Tismana's Monastery is an impressive "art monument" due to its gilded iconostasis with floral ornaments which was realized in a post-brancovenesc style in 1766; its gilded small iconostasis carved in lime wood (1742); its lecterns carved by the monks in 1731; its metallic bell board having the bicephalous eagle from the Basarab ruler's coat of arms.

In 1949, the monastery became a coenobitic community for nuns having a communal life that combines work and prayer. The services are held according to the traditional ritual: tha daily Holy Liturgy, in the evening the Vesper, at midnight Matius and Midnight service. The singing is psalmic according to the monastic ritual.

There are now approximately 60 nuns and sisters at Tismana Monastery, five of them are living in the hermitages of the monastery. The abbes Stavrofora (cross-bearer) Ierusalima Gligor has been the abbes of the monastery for 40 years. During her pastor ship, due to the hard work and the contribution of the nuns, the monastery was renovated many times.

On the Cioclovina Mountain (in Turkish: cioc=much, lovin=hunting) at N-W from Tismana Monastery, there are two hermitages: Cioclovina de Jos and Cioclovina de Sus, surrounded by a very beautiful landscape. These were built by the abbots (cross-bearers) of the monastery for those monks who wanted a more severe ascetic life style.

At a distance of 5 kilometers from the monastery, on the mountain paths, one can find the first hermitage, Cioclovina de Jos. This hermitage was dated in 1660, having "The Saint Voievodes" as dedication day.

The present church was restored in 1715 with Lady Stanca Glogoveanu's contribution; it is divided in nave, pronaos and altar. Its frescoes were painted in neo-Byzantine style. The wooden church was built in 1849.

At a distance of 3 kilometers from the Cioclovina de Jos, at the top of the mountain there is Cioclovina de Sus hermitage which was built in 1714 having "The Transfiguration" as dedication day. Nicodim, the abbot (cross bearer), and Patru Obedeanu, the cavalry commander were mentioned among the founders. The small church of the hermitage was painted in 1999.

Nothing has been preserved from the two cells which were still visible at the beggining of the 20th century. The hermits disappeared and nobody else has had the courage to live here, on the top of the mountains surrounded by steep clefts and wind. Despite all these, in the last few years, the ascetic life has been revived.

Romania at a glance

Attractions

Tismama Monastery - aerial view

Tismana Monastery - the main entrance

Tismana Monastery

Manastirea Tismana - poarta

Tismana Monastery - door

Icoana

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