The Dintr-un Lemn Monastery

Studia Humanitatis No. II (XII) / 2021 Two wills of Archimandrite Hrisant Penetis, adorned with icons Dr. Oana-Mădălina Popescu

Archimandrite Chrysant Penetis, a Greek by birth from Andros and abbot of Hurezi Monastery, drew up on 1 January 1850 two wills adorned with miniature icons — the Transfiguration for the Greek church in Sibiu and the Holy Trinity for the Ciorogârla-Samurcășești hermitage —, bequeathing to them revenues from Mount Cocora and from a storehouse in the port of Brăila. The study publishes transcriptions and facsimiles of the two documents, analysing the clergyman’s personality, the content of the bequests, the iconography of the miniatures and the place of these documents within the typology of Romanian charters decorated with images of saints.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XI) / 2021 On the deposition and beheading of Saint Constantin Brâncoveanu: details from the domestic chronicles Dr. Oana-Mădălina Popescu

The study analyses the causes of the deposition and beheading of Saint Constantin Brâncoveanu (15 August 1714), based on domestic narrative sources — the chronicles of Radu Popescu, the Anonymous Chronicle, the accounts of Anton-Maria del Chiaro and Dimitrie Cantemir — and the Ottoman documents published by Mihai Maxim, demonstrating that the Cantacuzino family orchestrated the voivode’s downfall through intrigues, forgeries and denunciations, with the aim of seizing the rule of Wallachia.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XI) / 2021 Bishop Antim Petrescu – the shortest tenure as Bishop of Râmnic (I) Rev. Dr. Laurențiu Rădoi

Bishop Antim Petrescu (1875–1920) of Râmnic is presented through his life, theological training and pastoral and cultural work, from his origins in Vlăduceni, Vâlcea County, right up to his election as vicar bishop of the Metropolis of Moldavia and Suceava in 1912. His patristic and moral writings are highlighted, as are his translations of works by Christoph von Schmid and Henry Drummond, the studies he published in Biserica Ortodoxă Română (The Romanian Orthodox Church), and his role in founding the Society of the Protection of the Mother of God.

Studia Humanitatis No. III (VII) / 2018 Further Details on the History of a Crime (II) Dr. Oana-Mădălina Popescu

This article presents previously unpublished documents from the archives of the Vâlcea Court and the Vâlcea Prefecture concerning the trial of the 16 robbers who attacked the Surpatele Hermitage on the night of 10 September 1839, resulting in the death of Abbess Elisabeta. The article includes the nuns’ petition of 11 September 1839, the judgement of the High Criminal Court of Craiova dated 27 February 1840, and the decree of Prince Alexandru Dimitrie Ghica dated 3 February 1841, by which the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment.

Litterae No. III (VII) / 2018 The Mother Superior Rev. Dr. Ștefan Zară

Mother Elisaveta, the abbess of Surpatele Monastery, prays in distress following a dream in which she sees the monastery being plundered and her own funeral, wondering whether this revelation is from God or a diabolical deception. Alongside her are depicted the figures of the young Anica, gifted with the talents of psalm-singing and icon-painting, and of Archimandrite Simeon, a devoted ascetic from the community of Dintr-un Lemn Monastery.

Studia Humanitatis No. II (VI) / 2018 Further Details on the History of a Crime (I) Dr. Oana-Mădălina Popescu

The article reconstructs the robbery of the Surpatele Hermitage in Vâlcea County on the night of 10–11 September 1839 and the death of Abbess Elisabeta as a result of the beatings she received at the hands of the seven robbers, by transcribing and commenting on the documents from the ‘Delă atingătoare’ file concerning the robbers who murdered the late Elisabeta Surpăteanca, the abbess, held at the Central National Historical Archives, which reveal the identity of the attackers, their modus operandi and the correspondence between Archimandrite Hrisant of Hurezi, Abbess Platonida and the authorities of Vâlcea County.

Theatrum No. I (V) / 2018 The Martyrdom of the Brâncoveanu Saints Rev. Prof. Dr. Codruț-Dumitru Scurtu

This three-act play depicts the martyrdom of the Brâncoveanu Saints: Constantin Vodă, his four sons and his adviser Ianache Văcărescu, who were executed in Constantinople on 15 August 1714 on the orders of Sultan Ahmed. The plot unfolds through the prophecy of the nun Platonida of Hurezi Monastery, Constantin’s dialogue with the Sultan on the banks of the Bosphorus and the testimony of the Venetian plenipotentiary Andreea Memno before Doge Giovanni II Corner, culminating in the reading of the Tomos of canonisation dated 20 June 1992.

Studia Theologica No. II (IV) / 2017 Legislation concerning church life in Wallachia in the 18th century Dr. Oana-Mădălina Popescu

The study provides a comparative analysis of a series of ecclesiastical decrees issued in Wallachia during the 18th century — pastoral letters from the Bishops of Râmnic: Inochentie (1731), Climent (1743, 1747) and Filaret (1781–1785), the charter of Prince Mihai Racoviță (1742) and the charter for the Dintr-un Lemn Monastery (1746) —, highlighting their jurisdictional, moral, patrimonial and liturgical provisions. The documents do not introduce new legislation, but reaffirm the canons of the ecumenical and local councils, the writings of the Holy Fathers and Orthodox tradition, with the aim of rectifying the irregularities observed in church life and guiding the faithful towards a pure Christian way of life.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (I) / 2016 Monastic samizdat Dan Ciachir

Based on diary entries from 1982–1983, the article recounts the author’s visits to the monasteries of Oltenia and Muntenia – Dintr-un Lemn, Surpatele, Hurez, Frăsinei, Cozia, Căldărușani, Dragoslavele – in the company of the vicar bishop Gherasim. Through portraits of monks such as Father Paulin Lecca and Sister Mihaela Ghișoiu, and through references to church samizdat, a picture of Romanian monastic life under the communist regime emerges.

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