"Sfanta Ana" Rohia Monastery, Maramures

"Sfanta Ana" Rohia Monastery - details and images

Among the valuable monuments of church and religious art, which attract the admiration and appreciation of visitors from the country and abroad, a leading place is occupied by the "Sfânta Ana" - Rohia Monastery, from "Lapusului Country", Maramureş County. Set in a picturesque setting, on the crest of a hill, in the middle of a beech and oak forest, Rohia Monastery is the privileged place of seekers of peace and soul comfort, of lovers of artistic and natural beauty.
 
 The beginnings of the monastery are related to the person of the Romanian Orthodox priest Nicolae Gherman (1877-1959), a parish in the village at the foot of the Hill of Viei - Rohia, hill on which the monastery is located. The founding priest built the monastery in memory of his daughter, the child Anuţa, whom he lost, being called to the Lord in November 1922, at the age of only 10 years. This little girl became a benefactor of the will of the Lord because, one night at a time, the child appeared to her father in a dream, asking him to build a house of the Lord "in the Hill of Vine from the border of Rohiei. At first the grieving father kept his dreams in his heart, until, one day, a faithful woman, the Flower of Elijah, came to him and said, "Father, why don't you listen to the voice of God, which commands you through the child Anuţa , to make the house of the Virgin Mary in the Hill of the Vineyard? ”The father asked a question -“ what house to make the Mother of the Lord? ”to which the woman replied -“ Monastery to do, father! ”at that moment, Father Nicholas realized that it is a divine decision, encompassed by a spiritual tranquility, it was decided to build a monastery in memory of his child and to comfort the believers in these parts. Supported by his countrymen, the father decides to erect the Holy Monastery in a meadow called "at the Pintea oak" where, according to custom, a cross was carved. In a few days, however, he was surprised to find that the cross they had placed in the meadow was no longer in its place, but was located elsewhere, just on the top of the hill on a rock. Suspecting that a malicious hand made this move, the cross was brought and placed in its place and a believer, by the name of Alexander Pop, remained on guard overnight. Late in the evening when the believer began to drown, he returned home. The next day, in the morning, when he arrived there, although there was no trace of freshly fallen snow, the cross was not in its place but was again found on the site of the present church of the monastery. They all considered that this can only be a revealed sign that showed the place where the church of the holy monastery should be built.

 The work for the erection of the church began in 1923. After many difficulties, with great sacrifices and helped by the enthusiasm and the arms of the hundreds of believers, it was possible to build a modest church and a monastic house for two years. The monastery was consecrated only in 1926, by the commemorative bishop, Bishop Nicolae Ivan of Cluj, on August 15, by the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which became the monastery's dedication. Thus "the first settlement of this slice" was set up in Transylvania. For a long time, the settlement remained at the sketch stage, unable to develop due to the very difficult access. The monastery could be developed after 1965 and especially 1970, when the electricity was introduced and the access road was arranged. The desire and dedication of some real-life statesmen enriched the patrimony of the Rohia monastery, which today consists of the following values: "Oak House" (1965), "House of Stareiei" (1969-1972), "House with Paraclis" (1973- 1975), "Poet's House" (1977-1979), "Summer Altar" (1980-1983), "Maramureşan Gate" from the entrance to the monastery (1988), "White House" (1988-1992), "Poarta from the village (1999 - 2001), the "Maramureşan Corner" composed of a house and a wooden church (2001) One of the very important achievements of this settlement was, is and will remain the fact that here, during the more than 70 years of existence, hundreds of thousands of Romanians have found their aspirations of the unity of the nation and faith materialized.

  Today, through the reorganization of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the "Sfânta Ana" Monastery - Rohia was under the canonical oblation of the Romanian Orthodox Bishopric of Maramureş and Sătmarului. It is located in "Lapus Land", a very beautiful, picturesque and blessed corner of the Romanian country, at approx. 50 km from the city of Baia Mare and 43 km from the city of Dej, in the border of Rohia village belonging to the city of Târgu Lapuş, in the middle of a beech and oak hill, on the ridge of a hill that bears the name "Dealul Viei", at an altitude of about 500 meters.

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