#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. 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.

Virtual Tour

Publications

Journal „Tyragetia"

vol. V [XX], nr. 2

Pages from the history of hotels in Bessarabia. Deltiologic research (2nd half of 19th - early 20th centuries)

ISSN 1857-0240
E-ISSN 2537-6330

Ana Grițco

Pages from the history of hotels in Bessarabia. Deltiologic research (2nd half of 19th - early 20th centuries)

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

The present article is the result of a research of the museum collection of illustrated postcards representing the images of old Chișinău hotels in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. It aims to reﬂect some aspects of hotel life of those times, and also a particular architectural appearance, which, unfortunately, we can admire now only in photographs.

Hotels have been and remain the face of the city. They also reﬂect the material achievements of urban civilization in Chișinău of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, especially after the installation of telegraph (1860) and construction of the railway line (1870s). This has contributed to the development of trade relations between Bessarabia and Russia, Bessarabia and Europe. Chișinău began to develop as the capital: there have been paved the streets, build public and administrative buildings, opened new factories and plants from abroad. So it is no accident that the owner of the ﬁrst modern hotel was a Swiss Charles Thomas Selouidenis who in 1874 had rented the building at the intersection of Aleksandrovskaya and Seminarskaya streets (today – the corner of Stephen the Great Blvd and G. Banulescu-Bodoni St.). There was opened the Swiss Hotel, which existed for a long time, even after a change of ownership.

At the beginning of the 20th century the number of hotels in Chisinau has increased substantially, enriching the “geography” of names: Paris, London, Bristol, Grand Hotel, National Hotel, Petersburg, France, etc. Most of them were located in the upper part of the city, near the banking, administrative, legal institutions. Advertisements in the press at the time allow us to see the development of hotel services and a high level of comfort: bright and spacious rooms with beautiful interiors, windows and balconies onto the street, telegraph and electricity, restaurants and cafes with gourmet meals and drinks for guests, stables and coach-houses, etc.

On May 1, 1914 in Chisinau there was opened the most luxurious hotel of the city – the Palace Hotel, owned by a millionaire N. Barbalat. It had 120 rooms and was located in a four-storey building with a restaurant, cafe, elevator, telephone and telegraph. The hotel provided new services in the hotel industry – table setting in the rooms and booking of theater and train tickets.

Time, full of destructive events, and human indifference wiped out these architectural jewels, with the exception of the Swiss and Palace Hotels, which are partially preserved, having lost some features of the exterior.

List of illustrations:
1. Advertisement of the Alexandr Wolkenberg’s shop of stationery.
2. Exterior view of the Swiss Hotel, early 20th century.
3. Exterior view of the London Hotel, early 20th century.
4. Exterior view of the Palace Hotel, early 20th century.
5. Advertisement of the Palace Hotel.
6. Exterior view of the Bristol Hotel (Shumsky’s House), early 20th century.

Ana Grițco

The church – a hypostasis of the charity gesture from Bessarabia in the modern period

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Ana Grițco

An exhibition full of lights

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVII [XXXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Ana Grițco

Amusement places in Chișinău. Cafe Man’kov (Late 19th century - the 30ies of 20th century)

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Ana Grițco

Requisition as a way of sovietisation of Bessarabian peasants

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007