Mănăstirea Nămăiești

Useful Information

Location:	DC19, Nămăești 117811. (45.3049814, 25.1100654)
Open:	All year Mon-Sat 7-19, Sun 5-21. [2024]
Fee:	free. Ethnographic Museum: Adults ROL 5. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=8 m, W=5 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	np
Bibliography:
Address:	Mănăstirea Nămăiești, DC19, Nămăești 117811, Tel: +40-248-557-101.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1547	first written mention of the monastery.
1843	church front and tower built thanks to the care of the priest Pană Costescu.

Description

Mănăstirea Nămăiești (Namaiesti Monastery) is simply named after the village Nămăiești, where it is located. It is located northeast of Câmpulung, easily reached on 73 and DC19. The monastery is the main site of the village and well signposted and well visited. The monastery is located on the hillside a little above the village, and consists of a series of buildings. The most impressive is red brick building of the Muzeul Etnografic (Ethnographic Museum), which is worth a visit.

But the reason why the monastery is listed here, is the Biserica Mănăstirii Nămăești (Nămăești Monastery Church), a quite extraordinary cave church. It is dug into a huge boulder of sandstone, has a rounded form, and the ceiling is arched. In the middle there is a sort of shaft or well which leads up to the surface. But the really extraordinary fact is, that it was not dug into a cliff face, it was dug into a boulder, and the cave inside is only slightly smaller than the boulder, in other words they hollowed the boulder like an egg and only the eggshell remains. The entrance portal was closed by a wall with windows and doors, the well to the surface is topped by a small tower with a roof. So the cave church is well camouflaged, it looks like a normal church from the front, only the side walls show some bulbous parts of the boulder, and the origin is only visible on the far end. In other words, we strongly recommend walking around the church and have a look from all sides.

The monastery is often dubbed a cave monastery, but that's untrue, the monastery is above ground, only the church of the monastery is a cave church. Its first written mention in 1547 is in the christian book of Mircea Ciobanul, where it is described as "a church that is made of stone". It was a monastery for nuns, in 1810 nine nuns were living here under the abbess Epraxia. The nuns were very skillful, and they sold the handmade items they created, it was their only source of income. But the quality and beauty of their work was so high, they were awarded in Paris during an exhibition in 1889. During World War I the monastery was burned down and rebuilt after the war.

One day three shepherds fell asleep in this place, on top of the rock, and the Mother of God appeared to them in a dream. She told them that if they dug deep into the rock, they would find Her icon. They did so and finally found the icon as promised by the Mother of God. In his search the shepherds had dug the church, and the monastery was born. In the dream, the shepherds were also told that there must always be 33 souls in that monastery, which is the number of years lived by the Savior Jesus Christ on earth.

The icon from the legend is actually the oldest icon in Romania, which was painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. It is believed that he painted only 12 icons, and this icon was brought here by the Holy Apostle Andrew. St. Luke lived at the same time as the Virgin Mary, this icon is believed to represent the true face of the Virgin Mary. The icon was framed in silver in 1798 and lithographed in 1871 by Major Popazoglu. Its current appearance is rather strange, the whole icon is covered by metal, and only the faces of Mary and the child can be seen through holes. But the original silber cover was replaced by gold, and the faces were painted on a separate canvas and attached over the original. In other words, what you see is the box in which the icon is stored, the original icon is not visible.

The apostle Andrew left Dobrogea and arrived here. He found a cave in which he believed there was a servant of Zalmoxis whom he wished to convert to Christianity. When he entered the cave he uttered the words "nemo est"—there is no one. This is where the name of the Nămăiesti monastery comes from.

Another weird story, but actual history, not a legend, is connected with Mother Mina Hociotă, the head of the monastery between 1923 and 1977, when she died. During World War I she fought on the front, alongside Ecaterina Teodoroiu, who was the first female officer in the Romanian Army. Mother Mina Hociotă was the second female officer in the Romanian Army and was decorated with the "Star of Romania", the "Commemorative Cross of the War 1916-1918" and "Military Virtue" - 1st class. During World War II, she cared for the wounded at the Campulung Muscel Hospital.