The Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery is one of the oldest monastic institutions in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It was originally a Roman Catholic (

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

) monastery, built before 1177 and destroyed before 1293. The present monastery, which belongs to the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the East ...

, was built near the ruins of the first monastery in the late 14th or early 15th century.

Benedictine monastery

The

monastery was built for the

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

Hodos kindred in

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. It was first mentioned as ''ecclesia de Hudust'' in a royal charter, issued in 1177. The monastery was dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, according to a 1278 royal charter.

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II (, , , ; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 until 1189/1190, and again between 1208/1209 and ...

granted a yearly income of 1000 salt cubes to the abbot. The last record of the monastery was made in 1278: in this year, Paul Gutkeled bequeathed the right of patronage of the monastery upon his five nephews. The monastery seems to have been destroyed shortly thereafter, most probably during the

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

of the

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

, because

Andrew III of Hungary Andrew III the Venetian (, , ; – 14 January 1301) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1290 and 1301. His father, Stephen the Posthumous, was the posthumous son of Andrew II of Hungary although Stephen's older half brother ...

donated the land known as ''Hudusmonostura''"the monastery of Hodoș" in Hungarianto one ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...

'' Itemus and his brothers in 1293.

Orthodox monastery

The new Orthodox monastery was built near the ruins of the former abbey in the late 14th or early 15th century. The present church of the monastery was built around 1370, according to a

triconch A tetraconch, from the Greek for "four shells", is a building, usually a church or other religious building, with four apses, one in each direction, usually of equal size. The basic ground plan of the building is therefore a Greek cross. They are ...

plan (having

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

s with semi-domes on three sides of a square chamber), at a time when this architecture was spreading to

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, the other Romanian provinces. The Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery was also under Ottoman domination between 1552 and 1699, as part of the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The Ottoman rule was briefly interrupted for a short time by the struggle for the independence and unification of the Romanian countries, led by

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

(1595). It is likely that, during the military operations, the monastery suffered serious damages. The monastery was rebuilt at the very beginning of the 18th century, thanks to bishop Sava I Branković (oldest brother of

Đorđe Branković Đorđe Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Бранковић; anglicized as George; also known as Saint Maksim; 1461–1516) was the last male member of the Branković dynasty, and titular Despot of Serbia from 1486 to 1497. The title was grant ...

), who resided in Lipova and later in

Ineu Ineu (; ) is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. It is situated at a distance of from the county capital, Arad, it occupies a surface at the contact point of Crișul Alb Basin and Crișurilor Plateau. Ineu is the main entranc ...

(towns in what is now

, Romania). In the following decades, although continuing to suffer under the Ottoman rule, and even the hardships induced by the

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

n nobility, the monastery housed the residence of the bishops who shepherded this area. Among these were Sofronie, who visited

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1651, and

Isaija Đaković Isaija Đaković or Isaija I (Grabovac, near Stari Slankamen, Habsburg monarchy, 1635 – Vienna, Habsburg Monarchy, 20 July 1708) was elected to the rank of Metropolitan of Krušedol ( Karlovci) in 1708. Isaija is best remembered as the first S ...

, who stayed at Hodoș-Bodrog around 1694 (he would later establish the Hodoș-Bodrog as the seat of the diocese of Ineu and

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

). From the last decade of the 17th century until 1864, the monastery was under the jurisdiction of the metropolitans of Karlowitz,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and was the only contemporary Orthodox monastery of the Arad diocese that faced great difficulties. The church underwent several restorations throughout the centuries. The original structures were altered to some extent. After the 17th-century restoration, a baroque helmet was added to the dome. The frescoes in the monastery date from the first decades of the 17th century. Several sacred objects dating from earlier centuries add new values to the artistic treasure of the monastery, including the skull of a bull which dug up an icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

at the current site of the church.Romania Journal website, profile page
/ref> Since then the monastery has added a new church, an outdoor summer chapel, and other buildings. Today, the monastery is within the boundaries of the Mureş Floodplain Natural Park, in the village of Bodrogu Nou (Arad County). The land and monastery are still owned by the Romanian Orthodox Church. However, in 2004 the Mureş Floodplain Natural Park was officially declared to protect and preserve the landscapes along the Mureş River. Because of the proximity of the monastery to the river, the monastery is now inside the natural park.

Gallery

Bodrog Monastery 3.jpg, Overview of the Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery from near the Mures River Bodrog Monastery 2.jpg, The new church (1989-1997) of the Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery Bodrog Monastery 1.jpg, Fountain in the monastery courtyard Bodrog Monastery 4.jpg, The Mures River and the village of Bodrogu Vechi near the monastery

References

Sources

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External links