Saint Sabbas Church, Iași
Saint Sabbas Church (
Origins and rebuilding
The first church on the site was built soon after 1583, when Greek monks from
Problems with the land on which it was built caused the first church to deteriorate rapidly, a process accelerated by the Tatar invasion of 1624.
17th and 18th centuries
In 1676-1678, Prince Antonie Ruset, a distant relative of Caragea's, rebuilt the surrounding wall, of which the eastern part still survives. Archaeological excavations carried out in 1976-1979 found that the original church was quite similar to the second one, that the newer one was built further to the north and that both were used as burial grounds including over 300 graves. Research also determined that the area was used for ceramic production from the 15th century until shortly after 1500, when a powerful fire destroyed the workshop. Caragea died without descendants, and by the mid-17th century, the monastery was in the hands of the noble Palade family, with several of its members being buried on the site through the 19th century.[1] Three of their graves are in the vestibule; a fourth has an illegible inscription, but may belong to the architect Ianachi. It was the Palades who removed Caragea's grave, just as he had removed the graves of the 1583 founders. When the Peloponnesian archimandrite Grigore repaired the church in 1820, he left a plaque portraying himself as the sole ktitor. Such historical amnesia had the approval of the church, which benefited from substantial contributions in exchange for allowing donors to claim the status of founders.[2]
Due to its importance, the monastery hosted various foreign visitors. These included
Later history and collections
After 1863, the monastery scaled back its cultural activities, although a school opened in the archimandrite's residence the following year. By 1877, this had become a girls' school, housed in a new building. The monastery was converted into a parish church after clergy reform in 1893. The parish closed in 1951 but reopened in 1958.[1]
The church features a two-room museum that includes 80 books from the 18th and 19th centuries and valuable religious objects such as a Polish-inscribed bell from 1570, an aër from 1842 with Greek writing, an 18th-century wool curtain sewn in Byzantine style, 19th-century vestments, icons and liturgical items. There is a large Slavonic Gospel book printed at Moscow in 1637 and coated in silver and gold at Iași in 1642. Coins, ceramics and jewelry unearthed in the 1970s are also kept there. A large icon of Saint John Chrysostom in the nave is from 1711. The Renaissance interior painting done in fresco-secco in 1832, largely destroyed over time, was reworked in neo-Byzantine style from 2010 to 2013. The 19th-century iconostasis, featuring rich Baroque carvings, was restored in the same period. After Dancu Monastery was demolished in 1903, the relics of Saint Tryphon and Saint Marina were transferred to the church.[1]
The church is listed as a
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Early 20th century
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Former girls' school, now a charitable institute
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Entrance
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Detail
Notes
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