The first of the "Holy Eight"

Probota Monastery, Bukovina













We took a little P-Day adventure to see another of the many churches.  In Romania where the Orthodox church is prevalent, there is at least one church in every village, and multiple in the cities.  For example, from our apartment which we can only see two directions we can count at least seven that we know are churches.  We have realized that they serve a very different purpose than what we might be accustomed to in the U.S., ie., there is very little, if any, seating.  The photos above are of one of the churches referred to as the "Holy Eight" (in some circles).  They are eight of some of the oldest in the country and known as the painted churches.  The paint, inside and out is referred to as Fresco, which is "an ancient mural painting technique where pigments mixed with water are applied to wet lime plaster, causing the paint to become an integral part of the wall as it dries and creating a durable, luminous artwork."(AI)  Durable is an understatement.  The outside has taken its toll, but the inside is pristine.  Built in the mid 1500's it goes without saying.  Two of the photos are actually the ceiling and the next two are the graves of the original priest and his family.  The next few are interior and exterior walls of the fortress and the last is the stairwell to the basement and the view from the top of the wall.


The walkway outside the walls and housing for the nuns, presumably.  The ground around the place is amazing and beautifully kept.  Lined with rose bushes of every color, we just wanted to share






Just a couple more churches on our way through the countryside.  The one on the left is in a village where none of the streets are paved and the one on the right is at the top of a huge hill.


Transfers happened this week and we lost some friends Sora Nigh and Sora Otsuji and gained some friends Sora Morrison who came in from Bucharest and Sora Turcsanski who traveled all night Tuesday from Arad, which is on the border of Hungary, met up in Bucharest and didn't arrive in Iasi, which is on the border of Moldova, until after 7:00 pm the Wednesday evening.  They are all so resilient.  So, district council was a get to know you lunch.  We love these worthy, willing and capable servants of the Lord.



Oh, and by the way, a little storm rolled through again this week.





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