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.
Aspects of the Moldavian Soviet writers' activity in 1942-1944
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
After June 22, 1941 the Soviet Writers’ Union of Moldavia was inactive for almost a year. In June 1942 the Group of Moldavian Writers under the rule of I. Ciobanu consisted of I. Canna, V. Galiț, L. Deleanu, V. Polyakov (composer), M. Kakhana, and L. Barsky. After the conference of Moldavian writers held in Moscow in September 1942 there were written many letters to the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia and to the leadership of the Moldavian Writers’ Union. Kakhana wrote about the lack of organization, Canna – about mistakes made by the Writers’ Union in 1940-1941, when such writers as N. Costenco, M. Curicheru, Barcari, and Țurcan were ignored. In January 1944 Bucov criticized Canna and Istru for “Moldovenism”. In his report of March 3, 1944 Canna summarized the work done by 11 members and five young writers of the Union during the war. He also mentioned the necessity of a literary journal and the need to write theater plays about the “historical people’s heroes” – the hospodars Stephen the Great, Vasile Lupu, Alexander the Good, Dimitrie Cantemir and the Bolsheviks Grigory Kotovsky, Sergey Lazo, and others. The first meeting of the writers after their return (with the Red Army) took place on May 26, 1944 at Soroca. The main discussed issues were the work on the hymn of the Moldavian SSR, preparing for the celebrations on June 28, publication of brochures with literary works of members of the Union, etc. This study is based on the documents from the Archives of the Socio-Political Organizations of the Republic of Moldavia (Fund 51, Inventory 1, Folder 107), which contains documents on the activities of the Soviet Writers’ Union of Moldavia from 1942 to August 1944.
List of attachments:
Attachment 1. Meetings held at the Soviet Writers’ Union of Moldavia (January-May 1941) – the date, the author discussed, the referent and participants.
Attachment 2. Timesheet of writers’ presence at the discussions in February-May 1941.
Attachment 3. Work plan of the Group of Moldavian Writers attached to the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia for the period of from June 1 to October !, 1942.
Attachment 4. Part of the letter of Moses Kakhana-Ardeleanu to the Secretary of the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia N. Salogor and the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars M. Konstantinov (15 January 1943).
Attachment 5. The letter of I. Canna to the Secretary of the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia Zelenchuk concerning the works sent to the State Publishing House of Moldavia (16 September 1943).
Attachment 6. Fragment of Emilian Bukov’s letter in which he criticizes Bogdan Istru and Ion Canna for “Moldovenism” (10 January 1944).
Attachment 7. Report of the Moldavian writer’s organization sent to CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia by I. Canna (3 March 1944).
Marius Tărîță
The Khrushchev Thaw in the literature: the Republican Conference of Young Writers (Chisinau, November 22-24, 1957)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
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...
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.
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.
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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
