SURUCENI MONASTERY

St. George's Monastery in Suruceni was founded in 1785 and is home to a community of nuns. The land was donated by the boyar Casian Suruceanu to the hieromonos Joseph, who came from Montenegro and founded a hermitage there around 1785. The summer church of St George was built in wood in 1794 and rebuilt in stone in 1828. The winter church of St Nicholas was completed in 1860. On 3 July 1959, the Soviet authorities closed the monastery and the monks were forced to leave. Many books and icons disappeared, but the monk Iosif Gargalâc was able to save a few of them. The graves of the Suruceanu family and monks were vandalized. The church of St. Nicholas was transformed into a hospital and its altar into an operating room. St. George's Church became an auditorium and its altar a stage. The interior of the church dome was covered with planks, thus preserving Pavel Piskarev's paintings from 1908. The cellar of the Suruceanu family was used as a storehouse for wood. The monastery was restored to its spiritual function in 1991 and welcomed about 40 nuns. The frescoes that have been restored are magnificent, as much by their colours as by their finesse.

In 1992, a small lake was dug near the source of the monastery. The place is calm and enchanting, surrounded by small wooded hills. Walking around the small lake lined with willows is very pleasant. During the religious festivals, the place is a little more crowded.