Located at 13km ftom Bucharest, on a small peninsula on a lake along Colentina River (actually two islands, the island of St. George and the island of St. Nicholas, linked together, and also with the bank, by a strip of land), Cernica Monastery was a true school of monastic education, being among the most representative monastic settlements in Romania. Founded by great governor of Michael the Brave, Cernica Ştirbei and his wife Chiajna, the monastery is documented in 1608 under the reign of Radu Şerban.
After a few years, a terrible plague killed most of the population of the area, so nearly 80 years, the church and the monastic cells remained empty. In 1781, Archimandrite George restored the buildings, and gathered a congregation of monks. In the monastery complex were built three churches and three chapels. The Great Church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was damaged during the earthquake in 1802 and renovated in 1809-1815. A general reparation was made in 1925 after an earthquake in 1838 and a tower was demolished in 1923 after a fire.
The church dedicated to St. George was built in the shape of a cross, in the 18th century by Dan Braşoveanu. In the years 1962-1964 was completely restored and after the damages caused by the earthquake in 1977 was reinforced. In 1804 in the monastery’ cemetery, Archimandrite George builds an architectural jewelry in Brâncovenesc style: the Church of Saint Lazarus, which is small, with rich decoration carved in stone. The three chapels of the monastery are: Assumption (1790), St. John (1842), and Entering the church.
At 50-60m from the entrance courtyard is the Turk's fountain, a water source well equipped 200 years ago by abbot Calinic Cernicanul with the gold coins donated by an Ottoman pasha. Inside the complex can be visited the house of Saint Calinic and the memorial house of the Romanian writer Gala Galaction. In the cemetery are buried many personalities of Romania as: writer Gala Galaction, painter Ion Ţuculescu, historian Ioan Lupaş, bishop Niphon Rusaila, and theologian Dumitru Stăniloae.
About the stamps
The first stamp, depicting Anthericum ramosum (Anthericum ramosum) (0.50 RON), is part of the series Flowers' Clock II, about which I wrote here
The last stamp, depicting Constantin Brâncuşi, is part of the series Brilliant Romanians, designed by Mihail Vămăşescu, and issued on March 18, 2016. Constantin Brâncuşi (1876-1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered a pioneer of modernism, one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century, Brâncuşi is called the patriarch of modern sculpture.
• Constantin Brâncuşi (1.00 RON) - It's on the postcard 3030
• George Enescu (2.00 RON)
• George Emil Palade (3.50 RON)
• George “Gogu” Constantinescu (4.00 RON)
• Ana Aslan (12 RON)
• Dumitru Stăniloae (31 RON)
References
Cernica Monastery - The County Centre for the Preservation and Promotion of Ilfov's Traditional Culture
Sender: Eugen Mihai (direct swap)
Sent from Bucharest (Bucharest / Romania), on 26.04.2017
Photo: Eugen Mihai
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