Three Holy Hierarchs Monastery in

Iași
The Three Hierarchs of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea), Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of
Nazianzus) and John Chrysostom. They were highly influential bishops of the early church who played pivotal roles in shaping Christian theology. In Eastern
Christianity they are also known as the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, while in Roman Catholicism the three are honored as Doctors of
the Church. The three are venerated as saints in Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, and other Christian churches.

Above the door of the southern

entrance one can read the votive
inscription of the founder, Vasile
Lupu: "By the will of the Father,
with the help of the Son and with
the partaking of the Holy Spirit, I,
the servant of our Lord and God
and Saviour Jesus Christ, and
worshipper of the Holy Trinity,
Prince Vasile, by the mercy of God
ruler of Moldavia, together with
Lady Tudosca and with our children
- given by God - Prince Ioan,
Princess Maria and Princess
Rucsandra, have built this holy
prayer in the name of the Three
Holy Hierarchs, St. Basil the Great,
St. Gregory the Theologian and St.
John Chrysostom. And it was
consecrated by Archbishop
Varlaam’s hand on the 6th of May
7147."

Votive inscription of the founder.The founder A feast of arts, the church of the Trisfetite is an
Vasile Voievod and family.Bringing the relics of authentic cultural and spiritual centre. Iasi
Saint Paraskeve(mosaic).Print of the period received with devoutness Saint Paraskeve’s
1845.Plundered and burned by invaders relics in 1641; this church was the place where
coming from the East (1650) and from the the Synod adopted in 1642 the famous
North (1686), damaged by earthquakes (1711, Confession of Orthodox Faith written by
1781, 1795, 1802), the church waited for the Metropolitan Petru Movila, whereas in 1645 the
IndependenceWar (1877) to get over with this same church witnessed the anointment of the
succession of humiliating situations. The Patriarch of Jerusalem.Most of the interior
restoration of the architectural structure elements, commissioned in Vienna and Paris
lasted from 1882 to 1887 while the paintings between 1889 and 1890, were offered by King
and the inside renovation until 1898; the Carol I and Queen Elizabeth. The princely chairs
church was consecrated once again in 1904, and the archbishop’s, the pews etc. made in
during the reign of King Carol I of Romania. gold plated bronze with enamel and ivory
The building that hosts the Gothic Hall was insertions replace the former exotic wooden
erected by Vasile Lupu; it was restored several pieces sculptured in Istanbul. The present-day
times, the last one in 1960. chandeliers are also made of golden bronze,
decorated with ostrich eggs; they replace the
old ones that were made of silver but
disappeared before the restoration works.

The Three Holy Hierarchs (St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John
Chrysostom) Monastery was designed as a traditional monastic settlement and it is one of the most
famous complexes of Romanian Medieval art, a legendary architectural masterpiece that has never
ceased to enchant visitors from all over the world. Its current appearance is the result of the restoration
works that took place from 1882 to 1904 under the supervision of the French architect André Lecomte
de Noüy.
The restorations works preserved the outside structure, which has ensured the uniqueness of this
monastery among other illustrative monuments of Romanian ecclesiastical architecture. Many significant
changes were made during restoration, both in the church and the adjacent buildings, yet they did not
affect the initial architectural design, nor the stone embroidery of the façades. The painting of this holy
place, as well as the entire interior decoration, date back to the same period of the last restoration.
The furniture, commissioned by King Charles I and Queen Elizabeth, the new founders of the church,
was designed by the same French architect and made in Vienna.
Aerial view of the monastery.Detail of the exterior embroidery.Detail of the church exterior. Main
entrance.Exterior wall to northwesterly.
Detail of the exterior embroidery.
The Outside of the Church
A magnificent stone embroidery covers the outer church in its entirety. It is made up of individually
minutely carved blocks of stone, joined together by molten lead, in a wonderful harmony of completely
different styles. Under different circumstances, this style that borrows Caucasian, Byzantine, Gothic
and baroque elements could have produced an artistic failure; here, instead, it gave birth to a notable
identity, a real masterpiece, The Three Hierarchs Monastery.
The exterior ornaments (originally gold plated) cover the church completely and they combine Turkish, Arabic, Georgian,
Armenian and Persian elements with Romanian architectural patterns in a spectacular stone embroidery. More than thirty
strips of ornamental patterns adorn the church from bottom to the top of the spires, and none of them occurs twice.
Persian vases, framed by Russian pilasters, solar disks resembling those sculptured on the Maramures gates, exotic flower
patterns, and universal mystical symbols combine in perfect harmony with elements inspired from the traditional Romanian
sculpture, folk embroidery and wood carvings.
The Inside of the Church
The plan of the Three Hierarchs Monastery is typical for 17th century Moldavian churches, and it comprises the porch, the
narthex, the nave and the altar. The church has two towers, one above the nave and the other above the narthex.
The porch has two entrances, one to the north and the other to the south, and is overhung by two small vaults. Access to the
narthex is made through a portal-like door, surrounded by five Gothic-looking mouldings and two rectangular frames. The
bronze door features the twelve Apostles in bas-relief. Above the door there is the icon of the Three Holy Hierarchs, made of
gold plated mosaic.

Iconostasis.Details of the interior painting.Saint Paraskeve niche.Queen stall.Chandeliers, notably the ostrich eggs.
In the original architecture, the narthex was separated from the nave by a massive wall, replaced during the restoration
works by three arcades supported by two pillars. One should notice that the angles of the narthex walls as well as the
angles between the walls and the vaults are closed by the same ornamental twisted band to be found in the external
decoration. The lateral walls of the narthex shelter four tombs, two on each side, dug as vault-like niches. Here lie the
remains of the founders’ family as well as those of Prince Dimitrie Cantemir and of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The
tombs are covered by massive tombstones of decorated black marble.
The relics of Saint Paraskeve, given to Prince Vasile Lupu for his generous help to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, were
brought from Constantinople and put in a niche that had been created especially for this purpose; this niche is decorated
with marble, precious stones and mosaics that illustrate the Saint’s life.
Nowadays, St. Paraskeve’s relics can be
worshipped in the Metropolitan Cathedral
of Iasi, while the niche in the church of
the Three Hierarchs shelters St. Basil the
Great’s relics, offered as a gift to Prince
Vasile Lupu in 1650. Seized by the
communist officials in 1975, the relics of
This detail is taken from
the great hierarch were returned to the the side of the church,
town of Iasi on the 28th of December this flower has in its
2000. composition a total of 32
The iconostasis of the church dates back petals in a circular shape
to the end of the 19thp century, when the
old one, that had been severely
these petals are divided
deteriorated, had to be replaced. The new into 4 rows of 8 petals per
iconostasis was sculptured in Carrara row placed in a straight
marble and decorated with mosaics and line.
enamels. The votive candles, the The row of petals
candlesticks as well as the other pieces of
furniture date back to the same period of
decreases in each row
the last restoration and were made of towards the center.
bronze studded with ivory and precious
stones.
The altar has two spacious niches: the
proskomid niche and the vestry, and it fits
the architectural design of the church. The
walls are decorated with the icons of the
Three Holy Hierarchs, framed by cable
columns.

Behar Shpendi