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The history of this icon traces back to the 10th century at the Protaton Monastery on Mount Athos. In one of the cells named "The Dormition of the Mother of God," an elderly hieromonk lived with his disciple. They preserved a superb depiction of the Virgin Mary. This old icon became renowned through the revelation of the prayer "It Is Truly Meet."
Between the years 980-982, on a Saturday evening before an all-night vigil, the elder monk left for the nearby church, instructing his disciple to continue the religious routine in the cell. Being obedient, the disciple followed the instructions. When he reached the 9th Ode of the Canons, "More Honorable Than the Cherubim...," he suddenly heard someone beginning to chant alongside him: "It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos..." It was a mysterious pilgrim monk who had appeared unexpectedly and joined in the prayers. At that moment, the icon began to radiate light, as if it were broad daylight. Astonished by the events, the disciple asked the mysterious monk to write down the verses. The monk wrote them on a tile with his finger as if it were soft wax and said, "From now on, this is how you Orthodox Christians should chant," and, saying this, he vanished. Left alone, the disciple realized he had witnessed a great miracle. Enlightened, he understood that the pilgrim was none other than the Archangel Gabriel, who had come, as he had before, to deliver the word of the Highest to humanity.

The icon was transferred from the cell to the Holy Altar of the Protaton Church, where a similar icon is preserved to this day. The tile with the divine hymn was taken to Constantinople and included in the Orthodox Church's liturgical books. Soon after, Archangel Gabriel's prayer was incorporated into the Divine Liturgy, immediately following the Consecration of the Gifts of Bread and Wine. The valley with the cells has since been called Adin, meaning "to chant," "chanting."

The icon "It Is Truly Meet" is of inestimable value and has become the protector of Mount Athos. The icon is celebrated on June 11/24, commemorating the miraculous appearance of the Archangel, and on July 13/26, in honor of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel.

This icon, of the Eleusa type, portrays gentleness and tenderness in its central figures. The Virgin holds the Child with her right hand, while her left hand, placed beneath His feet, grips the hem of His tunic. The small Jesus wears a short tunic reaching His knees and holds a scroll in His right hand inscribed with the words of the Axion hymn. His left-hand slips under the veil of the Virgin towards her left shoulder. Both figures are crowned with golden halos. Two angels flank the Virgin's halo, while the Almighty in an open heaven blesses with both hands.

Crafted using tempera on wood, the icon is adorned with gold leaf and multicolored enamel, giving the image a unique delicacy. The inscription on the lower frame indicates that the icon was created by the painter Ioasaf in 1905.

The painter monk Ioasaf Berghie (1862-?) of the New Neamț Monastery resided there between 1887 and the 1940s, occupying three rooms to set up his studio, where he worked continuously on icons and church artworks. Born into the family of a church teacher in Jabca village, Ștefan Berghie, Ioan Berghie developed a passion for sacred iconography from an early age. In 1890, Andronic, the abbot of the New Neamț Monastery, blessed him to paint icons. Taking monastic vows in 1895 under the name Ioasaf, he traveled by foot to visit major ecclesiastical centers nearby and further afield, learning the art of iconography. Starting with naive-style interpretations, he eventually mastered professional painting techniques and acquired new decorative skills. His works became highly popular throughout Bessarabia and abroad. Painting a significant number of icons, they were often mistakenly sold as coming from major artisan workshops. To prevent such confusion, he received the abbot's blessing to sign his works, earning recognition and fame for his name.

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Exhibitions

“The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences”

July 31 - September 22, 2014

The conflict that started after the assassination of Sarajevo (July 28th, 1914) was an unprecedented historical event by the number of countries involved, the military effort, and the extent of sacrifice. The military conflagration between the years 1914-1918 is cataloged as the first mass war that changed the face of history of the 20th century. World War I (labeled as such after the war), called at the time the Great War or the War of Nations, made ​​history as it changed not only the world, but also because it as a "new kind of war." For the first time warring countries have resorted to total mobilization of men while women participated in the battlefield as sisters of charity. The progress of military industry has enabled modern destructive technologies such as fighting in the trenches, in the air, on the water; it was the time of the first tanks, armored vessels, heavy guns and chemical weapons.

Exhibition “The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences”
The exhibition is part of an international commemoration of the centenary from the outbreak of World War I and aims at the valorification of the photo-documentary heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova. The message of the exhibition is informative and documentary with photographic images documenting life on the front line from combatants to the upper echelon. Selection of original photographs from war albums, newspapers, maps, postcards reveal scenes of war, weapons and ammunition, the soldiers life in hours of respite, medical personnel on the battlefield and behind the front lines, also the horrors left by the military conflagration.
The exhibition is channeled in two directions:
a. Aspects from the battles on the Western front (German armies acting against French, British and Belgian armies), on the Eastern front (German and Austro-Hungarian army fighting against the Russian army) and on the Balkan front where part of Austro-Hungarian army fought against Serbs. War battle scene is completed by Romania's involvement in World War I in 1916, which inscribed a separate page in the war history with the battles from Mărăști, Mărășești and Oituz (1917).
b. Bessarabia and the Bessarabians in World War I. Incorporated into the Russian Empire, Bessarabia had an important contribution under economic and social aspects, the human dimension being most valuable. A big part of future members of Sfatului Ţării and other well-known personalities are found among the participants of the Great War; or common solders called to duty found their rightful place in the exhibition. The research and the valorification of the photographic heritage has allowed us to discover a range of Bessarabian soldiers, participating in that hellish carnage, complementing the list of Bessarabian soldiers. Among them we mention Simion Murafa (v. Cotiujenii Mari, Soroca), who led a sanitation team on the Romanian front, Onufrii Şerevschi (v. Sofia, Drochia), Petru Cebotari (v. Moșeni, Râșcani), Ion Tcaciuc (v. Ivancea, Orhei), Gheorghe Beschieru (v. Samașcani, Orhei), Ion Spătărel (Chișinău) etc. A special page in the history of war was signed by the sisters of charity, including the Bessarabian Iulia Dicescu (one of P. Dicescu' daughters), Sofia Cantacuzino, Elena Ivanov-Spătărel, Eugenia Colodiev, Zinovia Radu-Maiorova etc.
The exhibition message is also conveyed by the newspaper „Iskry" (supplement of „Russkoe slovo") from 1915, with reportages from the battlefield and from behind the front line, a mini-collection of postcards and war map.

Exhibition “The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences” Exhibition “The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences” Exhibition “The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences” Exhibition “The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences” Exhibition “The Great War. Photo-documentary evidences”


 




Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

The history of this icon traces back to the 10th century at the Protaton Monastery on Mount Athos. In one of the cells named "The Dormition of the Mother of God," an elderly hieromonk lived with his disciple. They preserved a superb depiction of the Virgin Mary...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC