Bodrog Monastery

The monastery Hodos - Bodrog (Romanian Mănăstirea Hodos - Bodrog ) is a medieval Romanian Orthodox monastery on the right Maroschufer, close to the Natural Park Mures Floodplain, in Arad County, in the historical region of Banat. The monastery Hodos - Bodrog was first mentioned in 1177 and is one of the oldest monasteries in Romania.

History of the Monastery

The monastery Hodos - Bodrog is located on the lower reaches of the Maros, 12 kilometers west of the city of Arad. By the year 1839 the monastery was on the right Maroschufer and belonged to the village and the municipality of Bodrogu Vechi Pecica. Since the monastery was threatened by the flooding of the river Mures, whose bank was expanding up to the walls of the monastery, the Maros was in 1839 by intervention of the abbot Grigore Chirilovici and using the territorial authorities of Arad, north west of the monastery redirected.

According to legend, the founding of the monastery dates back to an aurochs, is said to have here with child found a wonder-working icon of the Mother of God. The discovery of this icon is said to have led the monastery.

The first recorded mention of the monastery dates from the year 1177th Other documents from the years 1213, 1233, 1278, 1293 mention a monastery Hodos. In 1446 a monastery Bodrog makes its appearance. Since the year 1784, the double designation Hodos - Bodrog is used. The monastery is now a place of pilgrimage to the Assumption of the Romanian population in the Banat.

In recent years, restorations have been performed on the entire monastery complex, a new bell tower and a new entrance was built. The situated in the eastern buildings were built in the second half of the 18th century, while the Occupying the western chapel and monks' cells were built between the years 1904 and 1907. The monastery was dissolved in 1949, refounded in 1975 and been repaired between the years 1979 and 1985. After 1990, a church, monastic cells, a refectory, a hostel monastery, a museum with a rich collection of images of saints, old books and religious objects, was built.

Currently, 25 monks live in the monastery.

Description

The monastery complex includes an office building, a residence of the abbot, the monks' cells, several places of worship and the church. Inside the church the fossilized head of the aurochs and the wonder-working icon are held even today.

The present monastery church dates from 1370 and is built by the Byzantine Trikonchos style with three, the entrance opposite apses.

Inside, the church is painted with fresco. The fresco painting of the painter Nicodim Diaconul dates from the year 1658., The restoration of the painting was between the years 1938-1940 by the painters at. Damian and C. Cenan carried out between the years 2009-2010 by the restorers Scărlătescu Adriana and Marius Oprea. The iconostasis was created by the sculptor Busuioc Banat. The outside of the church is plastered on three sides, the north side is decorated with outer niches, some painted with fresco by the painter E. Profeta in 1968.

During the Turkish occupation from 1552 to 1690, the monastery served as the residence of the Erzpriestern. In 1651 the Metropolitan Sofronie was from Russia guests here. In the 19th and 20th century, the church served as a burial place of the bishops of Arad.

The monastery museum is a medieval library with Slavic churches manuscripts from the 16th century and altrumänischen books. A jewel is the law book " Indreptarea Legii " which was printed in 1652 at the instigation of Govora Matei Basarab. Here Sevastian Tabacovici wrote in 1835 one of the first Romanian theater pieces " Jertfa lui Avram " ( German Abraham's sacrifice or sacrifice of Isaac ).