Romania
Armenia

Hagigadar monastery

Hagigadar monastery

11111“Hagigadar” monastery was built on the Hill of Bulai “on a round crest, as it was made by human on a green mound” (as the historian Nicolae Iorga wrote), which is in the middle of a valley. This monastery is dedicated to St. Mary and has an Armenian name: Hagigadar, meaning “wish fulfilment”.

11111Hagigadar monastery’s church was built in 1512 – 1513 during the rule of Bogdan the Blind (1504 – 1517). There are several legends regarding the construction of this church, with slight differences between them. According to the tradition, Drăgan Donavac once led a cattle herd to Beci (Budapest) and made a stop on the same spot where the monastery is today. He fell asleep and in his dream he could hear the angels singing and, believing that this was a divine sign, he vowed that at his return he would build there a monastery, which he did. According to another source, Drăgan Donavac promised to build the church if he completed the trade in profit. Another version of the legend says that previously, on the height of the Bulai Hill, there was a small wooden chapel, abandoned by the people. One night two Armenian brothers named Donavachian who were trading cattle made a stop there. They went to the chapel and prayed a lot to be lucky in their trade. In the same night they heard angels singing in their dreams and St. Mary appeared and told them: “I bless you to be successful in your trade and that you families live in prosperity. If so, I require you to build a monastery dedicated to the Assumption of Mary on this spot when you return”. The trade went very well for Donavachian brothers and, returning from Budapest they knelt on the hill where the chapel was and thanked to the Mother of God. A similar version of the legend is also told by other authors.

11111Hagigadar monastery is an important pilgrimage place for the Armenians in Romania and diaspora. The most important celebration is the day of the church (Assumption of Mary), always celebrated in the Sunday before August 15th. The pilgrimage is led by the Armenian parson from Suceava, leaders of the Armenians in Romania and sometimes even high hierarchs participating in this event. Hagigadar monastery is known as the monastery of wishes. The oral tradition says that any wish for which the believers pray that particular day will come true if they observe all the rituals.

11111At the beginning of the 18th century the church was damaged because of the frequent enemy invasions. Displeased with the condition of the church and wishing it to be repaired, one of the grandchildren of the founder Drăgan Donavac, the wealthy Armenian trader Dominic Bogdanovici from Lviv bequeathed on March 10th, 1707 the amount of 300 polish forints. Rehabilitation works for the church were carried out in 1863, on the occasion of the anniversary of 300 years from the foundation of this endowment, and in 1896 by an Italian master.

11111Hagigadar monastery church is built in the style of Moldavian art. In terms of architecture, it has a rectangular shape, with the apsis of the altar oriented toward east as all the Armenian churches. The steeple is octagonal and slender having four narrow windows disposed in the four cardinal points. The church’s porch has a triangular cornice with two windows on each side of the door. The narthex and the nave have arches made in Moldavian style. There is a narrow space between the narthex and the nave, with a semicircular vault with double arches. The nave was extended to allow the placement of three altars required in the Armenian religious service.

11111Former convent, Hagigadar monastery was also the place of residence of Armenian bishops. Hagigadar monastery is surrounded by not very high enclosure walls. There are no less than six gates for the exit from the enclosure. Inside, near the church there is a refectory, a covered well, a triptych and a bell tower fitted between two tree trunks.

11111The church’s patrimony comprises many old icons, such as: the icon of St. Mary from the altar – considered to be miraculous; an icon of the Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Jacob, with a Slavonic inscription; icons of the four evangelists on the iconostasis; the icons of St. Archdeacon Stephen and St. Deacon Lawrence – with Romanian inscriptions.