Houses of the LORD

Wood e n Church e s The Orthodox Christian church e s are hou s e s . Even though they belong to the LORD, the cleare s t sign that we are spe aking about an e bodie d a !od is given even by the od e s t Ro a nia n wooden and stone church e s where Christian rituals were being per"or e d . #t Cost e t i , $%lcea, only two cross es on the slope o" the roo" and on the poligon al decroch e o" the altar testi"y the sacrality o" space. Otherwise we are con"ront e d with a typical woode n building. The stone bas e e n t "ollows the uneve n n e s s o" the ground and gives to the church entra nc e &prece d e d by an a ple veran d a ' a so e h ow onu e n t al aspect. The thre e roo s co posing the plani e tr y o" every !reek( Orthodox edi"ice have decre a sing di en sions, starting "ro the narth e x and ending with the altar. The grad a tion o" height also "ollows the depth o" the spac e. The Eastern wall o" the altar is "inely connect e d to the ground"loor sugg e s ting, along with the introvert e d spirit o" the church and the whole area o" connot a tions Christianis attribut e s to it, the idea o" cave. #t the other extre e lies the church o" Rp ciu n i ( )ea * &to be "ound today at the Villag e Mus e u m '. #lthough raised o" the sa e war at erial, the edi"ice shows evident traces o" a fe e d - back originating in the +oldavian ona s t e r y wall architectur e, the pres e n c e o" the three( cuspe d plane with two polygon al aps es, then the i itation o" wooden cupolas through curve ribs and the pres e n c e o" an a ple exon art e x on the -outh ern side o" the church, a possible direct borrowing o" the veran d a o" the Mon a s t e r y of Nea m . This veran d a and the stee ple, are also charact e ri.ing Transs ylvania n woode n church e s. The plani e tric structur e o" wooden churche s is recta n g ular. Di""erenc e s lead to a classi"ication according to the plane speci"ic, as "ollows, ( The "irst cate gory ( evincing the ost rudi e n t a r y sche e ( is the one propos e d by church e s as una Ves tir e &/001' and !finii "rhan g h e l i &/234' "ro Deag, +ure5, the recta n gle shelters the three space s o" the church, having e6u al di ensions. This is the typical peas a n t hous e reinterpr e tin g the eg ar o nic archet yp e without the wood7s in"luencing the speci"icity o" the source structur e. The stee ple does not yet i pos e in the volu e tr y o" the church. #t Vale a #arg$ two church e s &since /089 and /239', alongside with other twenty churche s o" +ure: evince anoth er categ ory o" planes, where the altar is polygon ally treat e d and has three sides, like an undetc h e d aps e. To so e o" thes e church e s a verand a sur ou n t e d by a stee ple has been add e d. $asile Dr;gu* signalled the existenc e o" a "our( side polygon altar treat e n t , as in the cas e o" the church e s o" N$d a a , Cuci &+ure5'. <n the sa e variant

o" undet a c h e d altar, we ay "ind at %etl e a and Mura- Mic$ , +ure5, a plane with "ive( side altar, and thus a tend e n c y towards a curved structur e. The narth ex at %etl e a is preced e d by a veran d a and has a thre e( sided aps e, which institute s a possible balanc e axe, i" not a sy e t r y one. #s to the undet a c h e d se icircular altar type, it is appreciat e d as a direct in"luenc e o" wall architect ur e, being insigni"icant "or the Ro a nia n woode n church e s. The second i port a n t cate gory is the one where the altar &recta n g ul ar up to se icircular', is detach e d o" the plan o" the church, as a superior expres sion o" the "unction and sy bolic signi"icanc e which this space has in the !reek( Orthodox ritual. The church o" $g $ u , #lba, illustrat e s this topology and also shows porches on the =estern and -outher n sides and a stee ple. #s to the church in R;pciuni, where lateral aps e s are pres e n t, si ilar structur e s ay be et at Reg h i n or &oplia , a "act which proves the di""usion o" odels on both sides o" the Carpat hia n s. <n /8>2 pro"ess or ?etranu had identi"ied in Transsylva nia the pres e n c e o" no less than />24 wooden church e s. # great nu b e r o" thes e was destroye d by "ire or ti e and replac e d by as onry churche s . <nscriptions as the one in Mes e t e a testi"y, @this year /024 was the one o" the wooden church, which was da a g e d @. The stor o" history have also ad e their contribution to ruining. This akes that the total o" the wooden church e s to be consider e d onu e n t s raises today in thes e li its &data is provided by $asile Dr;gu*', +ara ur e 5 , >8A Oltenia, /4>A Cri5ana, /18A +untenia, 01A Banat, >/A +oldavia, /0CA Transs ylvania, >C3. <n Transylvania the re aining patri onial acts reve al the existe nc e o" a Ro anian "eudality building thes e woods church e s which replace d one anoth e r in ti e. The last invasion o" the Tartars arks church building, the aDority o" the surviving exe pl aries date "ro the second hal" o" the /3th century. <t is interes ting to point out that roo"ing o"ten evinces cupolas. This is o" cours e an in"luence o" aso nry churche s but also un unavoida ble press ur e o" the sy bolic, the narth ex7 s vault is called 'cerim e'( s ki e s ) *ault , being thus a proDection o" heav e n. The vertical develop e n t o" the stee ple is conte p o r a r y with the evolution o" volu e tric thinking. The church( hous e sudd e nly stres s e s the spiritual vertical through aDes tic towers denoting the signal( role o" the church on the co u nity scale. The church ( a central point o" the village. The orna e n t al structur e o" woode n church e s takes into account the latent decora tive capacities o" the at erial used, through the plastic treat e n t o" the corner Doints and o" the roo" adorn e d with hors e head, as in !f+ Nicola e , Reghin and !chit ul ,oa m n e i , Topli*a. #s to the other decorative ele e n t s , $.Dr;gu* considers cables and cable oulding are repres e n t a tiv e ele e n t s "or the Ro anian art o" the wood, i porta n t sy bols "or the cons ecr a tion rituals o" hous es and church e s. These otives are dee e d by the rese arch e r as persisting "ro prehistoric ti es especially in

the anti6u e +editerra n e a n spac e. )everth el e s s they see to have been best appreciat e d and treat e d here, in the Ro a nia n countries, both in wooden architect ur e and as onry work, individuali.ing the style na e d a"ter the voivod BrEncove a n u . The particularity o" entra nc e vaults see s to be a recalling o" Ro an triu p h al arches, through their excep tion al sy bolic "unction arking the chang e o" status &"ro pro"an e to sacred' o" the spac e. The plastic treat e n t reach e s the lo"tines s o" this sy bolic "unction. Decoration is abounding, the relie" showing incisions and excisions propos e s solar rosett e s , cross es, cable oldings, the three o" li"e, the winding path. #s to the "or o" the vaults, it varies "ro a rectan g ul ar design to the ost co o n one, the arche d portal & #$-$r e t i , #lba'. #t #$-$r e t i , #lba, when considering the orna e n t al luxury, the rese arch e r s clai there could be a certain in"luenc e o" the .pisc o p a l Church)s portal in Curte a de #rge5. Fet the less used design is the one having the shap e o" a key lock, as at !f+ Nicola e , Cu5telnic and #$pu , +ure5. -o e historians have seen in the wooden church pheno e n o n , especially re"erring to the +ara ur e 5 and Transs ylvania n church e s, an in"luence o" the Central( Europe a n !othic or even o" the Cistercian Burgund architect ur e. -urely this in"luence, uch as it is, ay be decipher e d barely in the "or o" the stee ple, o"ten exalte d, to which "our little peri e tr al towers, re e b e rin g the right certain cities had to sent e nc e to deat h, are so e ti e s adde d. Obviously the "unction o" thes e little towers is si ply decora tive. #nother aDor in"luenc e sends to the highly credite d press ur e o" on a s t e r y architect ur e, upon wooden church e s. Fet wooden church e s are an elo6ue n t expres sion o" the spiritual unity o" Ro anian popular culture, a testi o n y on the circulation o" odels and reciprocal in"luenc e s inside religious architect ur e. Ca*e Church e s #t as ar a b i- Murfatl ar , Dobroge a, carved in a sunny cretac e o u s hill, the oldest cavern ens e bl e known in Ro ania can be "ound. On the right o" the entra nc e, on the outer wall o" the little church we ay discover a Cyrillic graphite inscription which gives in"or a tion as to the year when the ens e bl e was conceived, 0911 b.C., that is 88>. The ona s t e r y and "uneral ens e bl e consists in a church, two chap els and a group o" six roo s co u nic a ting, so e o" which have a "uneral destina tion. The church is an approxi a t ely rectan g ul ar nave, e a s u ring 9, 08 etr e s in length /,29G/,89 etr e s in width and > etr e s in height. The altar is arked by a se icircular aps e, a hal"( callote in section, and is carved into rock. The narrow openings separ a ting the three roo s o" the pri ary Christian church &and pres erv e d by !reek( Orthodoxis ' ( narth e x, naos and aps e ( witnes s a "inal crystalising o" the plani e tric structur e. #nd let us not "orget that we are appro ac hing the o e n t o" the separ a tion de /ure o" the two Christian church e s .

The spac es annou ncing the altar are se icylindrically vaulted. The other two chap els sugg e s t a si ilar topology, which, including the alread y obvious sy bolic structur e o" the space, speaks about the aturity o" the Christianis o" the Danubian lim e s o" the By.antine E pire. The calcare o u s walls o" the co plex bear runic inscription, a "act which gives indications as to the diversity o" the population united onto Christianis . Decoration is rather aust er e, proposing a suite o" Christian sy bols recurren t in the Christian art o" the age, here rudi e n t a r y "or ulat e d, carved into li eston e . The ens e bl e at as ar a b i is the oldest, thus its i porta n c e is big. Fet as to the typologic evolution o" Christian cult spac es it is not an ess en tial link, a cons erv a tive basilical space adap t e d to the gradu ality o" the !reek( Orthodox cult. # uch older church situat e d near the entranc e in the city o" Histria, was alrea dy "unctioning at the hal" o" the $th century. The basilical "or is per"ectly belonging here, the se icircular altar is undet a c h e d . +ore than three centuries stand betw e e n the two edi"ices, during the which the evolution towards centrality in the Christian East was alrea d y discovering new typologies, totally di""erent "ro the basili6ue. Iro this point o" view the church in ,ino g e t i a shows ore elo6ue n tly the progre s s ad e in the direction o" constituting the inscribed !reek Cross type. The uni6ue space o" 4 x 4 etr e s , developing vertically, sugge s t s the pres e nc e o" a cupola or ayb e o" a tower "or erly discharging over "our e6ual se icircular vaults included in the thicknes s o" the walls. =hat has re ain e d o" the as onry proves the By.antine charact er o" the building, the latter altern a ting the layers o" brute stone and the layers o" brick &thre e at a ti e'. This building syste was ainly used in the cultural buildings in the Ro anian countries, the @By.antiu a"ter By.antiu @, as ). <orga called it. #t Niculi e l , )orth Dobroge a, the church o" !f+ "tan a s i e owes a lot to the Latin Cross, which it neverth el e s s does not "ully resp ect. <t is ore o" a hybrid, an undecid e d variant o" basilic and central space. <" in the /Cth century the body o" the church co pris ed a s all narth ex, "ollowed by a cross( like naos se icircularly valuted on the two directions and with the aps e o" the altar detac h e d interiorly and exteriorly, subs e 6 u e n tly the naos was prolong e d and co plet e d by an exonart h e x in /331, which also odi"ied the "acad e s at their top. This church is typical "or Eastern Christianis . The church o" !f+ "tan a s i e speaks about the cons e 6 u e n t leap "orward o" the architectur e in Jara Ro En e a s c ; &=allachia, as co p ar e d to the +oldavian cult architect ur e ilustrat e d at as ar a b i- Murfatlar ', detac h e d narth e x, thre e( lobed naos with curved aps es, altern a ting stone and as onry. The sa e design is evinced by a church in )iculi:el &K<th or K<<th century'. )ot spect a c ulous in the least, include d in the paradig o" the Latin Cross, this church is i porta n t "or its martyrio n "unction, in the seve ntie s the relics o" "our o" the artyrs o" Christianis were "ound here, and are now exhibited at the Coco Mon a s t e r y nearby. The plani e try "or erly described ay be trace d in +untenia, where the -outh e n( Danubian in"luence "unction e d as vehicle and od er a t or as to the By.antine source. The church o" the city o" !e* e ri n describes a si ilar

origination as the church o" ,ino g e t i a , having as distinctive trait a pillar betw e e n the naos and narth e x. +asonry altern a ting with stone is the co on building proced ur e which also appe a r s at Curte a de "rg e where at the end o" the K<<<th century &thus coinciding with the church o" -everin' the church -En )icolar; is being edi"icate d. <t still do ina t e s the town with its tower raised on top o" the narth ex. The i porta n c e bestow e d to the building o" this church ust not astonish, as long as the city was alrea dy the centre o" the stat al "or ations that would later constitut e the "uture +untenia. # letter o" the pope <nocentio <<< date d #pril, />14, re6u e s t s a survey o" the dis6uieting situation o" the on a s t e ri es o" Transs ylvania, Cri5ana and Banat. the next year, a letter o" the sa e entions the existe nc e o" a !reek( Orthodox dioces e in -outh Tansylvania. But Christian church e s are ention e d as existing uch earlier than this in Transylva nia. &he #i*e s of th e !ain t Chiril and Meto d i u speaks about Kth century =allachian ission aries who have preced e d the two broth ers. Lp to the K<th century a hill near -ieu was being called 0irye elei s o n , and the nowad a ys na e, Chiral e , is no ore than an adap t a tion o" the !reek variant. Thus Transsylva nia is also included in the do ain o" architectur e in the Christian area. # "or er Ro a n tower in "lba- 1ulia was trans"or e d into a church throug h the additioning o" a se icircular aps e. The circulary "or per itt e d a con"usion &the church was though t o" as a baptist ery o" the K<th or K<<th century' to perp et u a t e "or so e ti e. The circular plane having precious roots in the pre( Christian =estern #sian peninsular .one &#natolia' was adopt e d in <taly, on the Dal atian coast and the Central( Europe a n .one, yet it is not speci"ic to Ro ania. The roun d churc h in "lba- 1ulia is attribut e d by so e rese arc h e s to the bishop onk Merote e, brough "ro Consta n tino pole by a local leader, !yla. Cave ens e bl e s are pres e n t in Transsylva nia too, testi"ying the expa n sion o" Cappa d oc hia n( like on achis , which $. Dr:gu: attribut e s to the Basilian onks which had taken re"ug e in Europe, "earing the #rabian and Turkish thre a t. The ens e bl e s o" Cib , on the "mpoi Valle y and o" V$r$dia , Banat &K<<th century', the ens e bl e o" 2acu , !$la/ and the ultitud e o" her it a g e s and chap els carved into rock on the u-$ u Valley are so e exa ple s . The cave spac e as sacre d spac e is so very pres e n t "or it is less subDect to destruction. The Tartar invasion betw e e n />4/ and />4> is respon sible "or the ruining o" any o" the Transsylva nia n !reek( Orthodox church e s and on a s t e ri es &see the cas e o" the church e s in 1sou , 3ele d A 4odo or !f+ 1oan ot e - $ t o r u l , Cen a d , all or thes e previous to the ention e d date'. The oldest aso nry church and ona s t e r y ens e bl e still "unctioning is at R5m e i . The place e n t o" this little church into a natur al "orti"ied site account s "or the de"ensive charact er o" Transs ylvania n K<<(K<<<th century cult architect ur e. Ior the Tartars are not the only who destroy !reek( Orthodox church e s. <n />C4 pope !regory <K was alrea dy asking king Bela to take sever e ea s ur e s agains t the Ro anian bishops @keeping the rite o" the !reeks@. ?ope )icholas <$ de a n d e d in />28 king Ladislau the Cu a n to

banish the schis a tics "ro Hungaria and the other lands he ruled over. <n />28 again, the -ynod o" Buda decided that heretic priests were to be "orbidde n to hold a godly cult, to raise chap els or holy hous es and Christians had no right to atte n d any such rites or to enter such churche s . Here, in R6m e i , the wall pictures date "ro /C22 and inscriptions ention the as t er +ihul de la Cri:ul #lb and the "ound er, archbishop !helasie. The architect ur al testi onies o" Christianis at the turn o" the illenniu prove the religious unity o" the Ro ania n s, above stylistic in"luence s so e ti e s adding new shad e s to cult edi"ices. Evincing di ension al decency and si plicity, the "irst Christian architectur e exa ple s spe ak about a !od close to his people, a !od towards who one does n7 t have to raise stat ely towers, as long as churche s enco pris e hi ildly inside their vaults and cupolas o" 4ou s e s of th e #7R, . The dwelling i pres sion o" !reek( Orthodox church e s shap e s their orphology. # care"ul reading o" the !ospels ay be the best proo".