The church of the Assumption Mother of God in the city of Causeni

We present a church which, besides the historical and artistic importance it has, can become a true touristic destination. It is about the church the Assumption Mother of God from the city of Causeni, which the work of the restauration were initiated in 2017 with the support of the Found of the Ambassadors of USA for the Cultural Conservation project implementated with the Center of the Archaeological Research of Republic of Moldova. After finishing the project will be create favorable conditions for restoration of the public circuit and cultural value, educational, touristic and economical of a valuable object of heritage from Europe of South-East. So, the Church from Căușeni will overcome its signification of symbol and will transformate in one veritable museum whichwill became an omnipresent cultural factor in the most various locals activities, national and international.From all medieval moldovan churches, the churchAssumption Mother of God in the city of Causeni has an architecture and a special history, which is different cardinal by other cultural monuments. The laconic form from exterior comes in neordinary contradiction with the the richness of the painting inside, created by the masters from the past. Beside this, the building is also different by other buildings of this type by the fact that the church is half-deep in the earth.

After its plan, the building is related with the old basilica from Byzantium, but at exteriorresembles with the wood church from Moldova. Slight walls, devoid of decoration make it like the peasant houses from the century XIX. Even today, only the little tower from the East tell us about the cult character of this construction. At the entrance in the church, the both parts of the door are the figures of two heraldic lions are cut into the stone. At the entrance in the church, at the both parts of the doors, two figures of heraldic lions are cut in stone.

Above the door, arranged in a row, there are three editorial inscriptions. In the central part, in bottom rows are mention the craftsmen who took part in the decor of the interior(Voicu, Radu, Stanciu), the years of reconstruction (1763-65) and the name of the the main founder – The  Metropolitan Daniil de Proilavia. The apparence of the church from Căușeni we know more from legends told by grandfater’s Alexei Mateevici – Ioan Neaga than from istoriographical sources referred to this jewerlery of medieval art. One of the legend tell us, for exemple, that during the turkish domination, in the century XVI-XVIII, was an there is a sultan's firmaccording to was fobidden the construction of the churches taller even the surrounding wall or the spear of the rider. Sometimes they are quoted as saying by the inhabitants, which affirmed that thechurch was built by masters from Constantinopol, concomitantly with the construction of the mosque (the day was building the mosque, and the night - the church). It is remembered and the legend about the fact those who built the church was and the inn of the tartars Cherim-Ghirei, in the century XVIII. And it is not accidentally the fact that the Church the Assumption Mother of God in the city of Causeni till today remains one of the most enigmatic church from Moldova Medieval.

In the porch, above the ornamental frieze, two compositions are distributed with the portraits of the founders. In the right, below the window, there are the portraits of six moldovan kings, in clothing in Byzantine in crowns and diadems. There names are: Grigore Calimah, Nicolae Mavrocordat, Constantin Racoviţă, Grigore Alexandru Ghica, Scarlat Grigore Ghica and Ecaterina Ruset. Near are Daniil de Proilavia in clothing of hierarchy, together with his mother. On the left wall is painting are painted 15 figures, probably of the founders from the city Caușeni and two figures of the monks. Above the figure with sceptercan hardly read the Greek inscription Daniil – Metropolitan of Ugro-Wallachia. Here, in the vault of the porch, three medallions are arranged with the images of saints and scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. On the tympanum of the arcade separating the nave narthex are placed scenes from the Acatist of the Virgin Mary and the monumental composition Dormition.

In the nave the entire vault is occupied by evangelical scenes with John the Baptist, Christ and Nicholas of Mira Lichias. In the center of the vault there is the Christ Pantocrator, and below are the scenes dedicated to Christ (the Last Supper, the Exodus in Egypt, the Defamation of Christ, etc.). With the painting of the apse (the Eucharist, the Emanuil and the Old Days) the pictorial decoration of the interior of the Dormition church is completed.

And yet who and when did it contribute to the church? In Moldova, the churches deepened in the earth are few and during of many century, till the century XVIII. Similar designs have existed, until recentrly, in Cetatea Albă (The White Cytatel, Armenian church, century XV), at Chilia (the Saint Nicholas, built by the king Vasile Lupu in 1648). Deeped in the church was  and the church from Akkerman, demolated in the years '20 of the century  XX. The edifice of the Causeni church, after the confirmation of the archaeological excavations of the 1960s, was built without foundation. Concomitant, all over the church, at a depth of almost one meter descovered a considerable layer of construction waste, under which several graves were found, in which many coins were found, one of which was executed in 1560.The Tatars of Bugeac appeared in the regionCauseni in the second half of the 16th century, during the time of the king Petru Rares, founding Căuşenii Noi, not far from the old one.

From the archive's laconic data, concerning the Dormition church, we find out that in 1817 it was halfway between the Old Causeni and the New, at a distance of 1-2 years. At that time ... the church was dilapidated, permanently requiring repair, and the roof was flowing during the rain. This information hardly matches the claims of the writer's inscription that the church, built by Daniil in 1765, was in such a situation only after five decades of existence.

There are still some issues that cast doubt on the objectivity of the inscription, which reminds Daniil of Proilavia. Apart from this Daniil, there is another among the founders - Daniil of Ugros-Wallachia. Two metropolitans are known in Moldova: one is mentioned in 1566 and the other in 1719-1720. A special place in the painting ensemble of the Dormition Church occupies the acatist motifs in which the Mother of God is glorified. Being popular in Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia and the Russian cousins in the 13th-16th centuries, the scenes of the Acatist in Moldova only date back to the 16th century, in the churches of Arbore, Humor and Sucevita Monasteries. The acatist of the Căuşeni church coincides, in general, with the iconography of the mentioned churches.

 The relieves of the church from Căușeni with the appearance of mythological lions there are archaic elements few spread în Medieval Moldova. This kind of reasons, being popular in Christian area from Balcani and Olr Russia, have been remained in Bizanț, which art dominated în Medieval Moldova.

It can also be mentioned that the lion's fantastic figures were also present in the molds of the first Moldovan leaders - Dragoş, Sas, as well as some Transylvanian blazons. The function of guarding or defending the church was also characteristic of the cult of the Mother of God, the dying of which the church is consecrated, being guardian and fertile of misfortune - the acatist leitmotif. And in this respect, the reliefs of the fantastic lions, the semantics of the painting dedicated to the Virgin Mary, have a period of development between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries - the peak time of the development of the medieval Moldavian art.

According to the authentic qualities of architecture and painting, the ensemble of Căuşeni church is not only one of the most interesting monuments, but also the only one on the territory of the republic, where some frescoes and mural painting are preserved. According to the artistic value, the Dormition deserves to continue the circle of the Moldovita, Sucevita, Arbore and other churches.

After repaving the frescoes inside and ordering Daniil, one of the three painters - Voicu, Radu, or Stanciu - wrote above the inner door the following: This divine church, sanctified in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin, during His Holiness, Metropolitan Daniil , being old and drowing to the ground, this divine thing left him not in destruction, but in love with God and his mother's help, and glorifying all believers ... with the help of his reign. they embellished the interior ... in the ... moon ... of the world.

Thus, one more legend has been added to the existing legends.

The sourse: Tudor Stăvilă, imagini: Iurie Foca, revista Moldova, iulie-august, 2018.