My heart is Moldova. My love is Moldova. My sun is Moldova, The country I love !!! Inima mea e Moldova - Ion Suruceanu

Moldova A Country where I whant to live. Nadejda Cepraga - Moldova mea

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA A HOLY ORTHODOX LAND !!! The Song : Cat traim pe-acest pamant

Moldavian Monasteries

Monasteries and Convents of Moldova are of both the religious and doubtless cultural and historical importance. A monastery in the Eastern Orthodox Moldova is something more than just a monastic community and a center of culture and education like monasteries in Roman Catholic countries. Many Moldovan monasteries are the unique monuments commemorating the successes achieved by the local rulers at war; most of the monasteries were simultaneously fortresses protecting the community and the local residents from attacks of the Turks and Tatars.

The attitude of Moldovans towards their local monasteries is similar in a way to the Buddhist monastic tradition: any adult considers it his or her duty to make pilgrimages to a monastery/convent at regular intervals and even to live there for some time, if possible. As practically all convents and monasteries are located in extremely picturesque places of Moldova, autumn-time pilgrimages are quite popular.

There exist currently about 30 active monasteries, convents and habitats in Moldova, all of them within to Chisinau Diocese. In terms of history, all Moldovan monasteries and convents are categorized in 3 groups. The first group includes the oldest and largest monasteries and convents established in the central part of the country (Codru area): Varzaresti, Capriana, Hirbovet and Ghirjava. This area was called ‘the Bessarabian Thebais’.

The second group includes similarly old and impressive скальные монастыри located on the banks of the Dniester: Tipova, Orheiul Vechi, Saharna and Japca. The third group comprises so-called ‘new’ monasteries and convents established in late 18th – early 19th century: Curchi, Neamt Nou, Hincu and Monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity in Rudi.

Most of the monasteries and convents are open for visits throughout the year; all major monasteries and convents offer rooms for pilgrims. In addition many monasteries and convents offer guided tours with a monk/nun who speaks Romanian and Russian as a local guide.

You can go to any monastery either by booking a tour with a travel agency (practically all local travel agencies offer a guided tour of the Moldovan monasteries and convents) or on your own, taking a trip in a suburban coach (they leave from the Central Bus Terminal according to a fixed timetable) or in a private fixed-run minibus taxi (several of them leave from the Bus Terminal every hour).

source:http://www.allmoldova.com/

Tipova

Tipova Monastery is one of the most beautiful in Moldova.It is situated
at 100 km far from Chisinau. It is located above and comprimes
 three monastic complex carved into the rock. 

The first set consist of several huts and a church dedicated to Holy Cross 

and dates from XI-XII centuries. St.Nicholas Church was the center of 

the second monastery complex, erected in the fourteen century and the 

third most complex cluster of cells surrounding the Assumption Church,

dating from the XVI-XVIII.

Te beauty of these places attracts many tourists.

About the monastery of Hîrjauca

Accordingly to the legend, it was founded by a monk named Hîrju or Hîrjan, in 1740. Sleeping in the wood, the monk had a dream with the Mother of God (Teotokos, God-bearer), and on that place he built a monastery dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus Christ. Another legend says that the monastery was established by an old man from a local village, named Teodosie, by two monks from Neamţ Monastery and by a Moldavian boyar, Niculiţă. The monastery is located in the Hîrjauca commune, in the raion of Călăraşi, inside the valley of Ichel River.

The monastery has two churches, one dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus Christ (founded by the egumen Spiridon Filipovici in 1836) and one to Saint Spyridon, established in 1848. The firs into the monastery yard, that can be seen in the pictures, and also on the coin and on the 10 lei banknote, were brought in 1920 from Bucovina. The monastery library was enriched with many Romanian religious books in 1918, when Nicodim Munteanu, future patriarch of Romania, was locum tenens of the archbishop of Chişinău and Hotin and worked at the reorganization of the orthodox church in Basarabia.

The monastery was closed for about 30 years, until 1993. In 1959 the old monastery was transformed into "Soviet Moldavia" resort, and the church became dancing club. Nowadays near the monastery is Codru resort, one of the most famous resorts in Moldavia.

On the coin the summer church Ascension of Jesus Christ is represented. At the last restoration the exterior of the church was adorned with Cosăuţi stone.