The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.
The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.
The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."
On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.
This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.
The destiny of woman in the history of Moldavia. Myths and realities about Catherine the Circassian – the second wife of the hospodar Vasile Lupu
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
In this study the author came to some specific conclusions. In particular, it is safe to say that the marriage between Vasile Lupu and Catherine was far from accidental. As the sources of the era attest, all the details have been well thought out. Almost immediately after the death of his wife, Vasile Lupu sends the ambassadorial cortege to get his second wife, hence not respecting even the basic mourning traditions. One may also assume that perhaps in that situation government and political interests were high above his emotions. Vasile Lupu was an ambitious, far-sighted politician and a brilliant strategist. His plan was to expand the Moldovan boarders. He prepared his only son Ioan as future ruler of Wallachia. However, his plans failed after the son's death, and he was left without an heir. Vasile Lupu was well aware that he had to urgently resolve the dynastic crisis. He needed a young, strong and healthy wife, able to give birth to his heirs. The choice fell on Catherine the Circassian. How and under which circumstances this choice has been made remains an unsolved mystery. Unfortunately, we do not have any sources that could provide a reliable answer to this question. At the same time, we do not deny the well-known and hackneyed opinion in the historical literature that this marriage took place in a certain political context, for the Moldavian-Tatar mutual support in the political, military and economic spheres.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Vasile Lupu, Catherine and their son Ştefan (Hlincea Monastery).
Fig. 2. Lady Catherine Cercheza (the Circassian), the second wife of Vasile Lupu (fresco in the Golia Church) (by Nicolescu 1970, pl. CXCIIIb).
Fig. 3. Maria Radziwiłł (daughter of Vasile Lupu) and Catherine, wife of Vasile Lupu (fresco in the Church of Trei Ierarhi, Iasi) (by Nicolescu 1970, pl. CCIII).
Fig. 4. Ioan, the son of Vasile Lupu (embroidery from the Church of Trei Ierarhi, Iași) (by Nicolescu 1970, pl. CXXXVIII).
Fig. 5. Lady Tudosca, the first wife of Vasile Lupu (fresco in the Church of the Trei Ierarhi, Iași) (by Nicolescu 1970, pl. CLXXIX).
Fig. 6. The Golia Church.
Lilia Zabolotnaia
Ştefan Lemny, Dimitrie Cantemir, un principe român în zorile Luminilor europene. A Romanian prince at the dawn of the European enlightenment. Un prince roumain à l’aube des Lumières européennes. Bucureşti: Editura Institutului Cultural Român, 2019, 186 p. + 59 ilustraţii. ISBN 978-973-577-737-1
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIII [XXVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia
Regency, reign and power to feminine (centuries XIV-XVII)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia
Epistolary heritage of women’s texts. Private correspondence of the Cantemir sisters
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVII [XXXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia, Sorin Iftimi
Portrait of Maria (Lupu) Radziwill in the works of the Polish painter Korneli Szlegiel (1851)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lilia Zabolotnaia
The bounds of the private in the life of Antiochus Cantemir: Myths, speculations and realness regarding his secret family in Paris
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIV [XXIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters...
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
