Saint Spyridon Church, Iași
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Saint Spyridon Church () is a
Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...
church located at 1 Independenței Boulevard in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
,
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 ...
. The church is dedicated to
Saint Spyridon Spyridon, also Spyridon of Tremithus (Greek: ; c. 270 – 348), is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. Life Spyridon was born in Assia, in Cyprus. He worked as a shepherd and was known for his great piety. ...
, its history is linked to that of the nearby Sfântul Spiridon Hospital. The original church on the site was built between 1752 and 1758. Funds were supplied by the learned ''
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...
'' Ștefan Bosie, whom the expense bankrupted; he was later joined by ''
hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
'' Vasile Ruset and the merchant Anastasie Lipscanul of Corfu. The ''
ktitor ''Ktetor'' () or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ; ), meaning 'founder', is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icon ...
''s also founded the hospital, Iași's first, in 1757. This took place during the rule of
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
Constantin Racoviță Prince Constantin Racoviţă (1699 – 28 January 1764) was twice monarch of Principality of Moldavia from Ottoman government: 31 August 1749 – 3 July 1753 and 29 February 1756 – 14 March 1757; and also twice of Wallachia: July 1753 – and 9 ...
, who issued the decree ordering construction. It is unknown why the somewhat unusual name of Spyridon was selected: this is possibly because he was the patron saint of the
Ghica family The House of Ghica r Ghika(; }; , ''Gikas'') was an Albanian noble family whose members held significant positions in Wallachia, Moldavia and later in the Kingdom of Romania, between the early 17th century and late 19th century. The Ghica famil ...
, or because his canon was printed at Iași in 1750. The church was initially used as a monastery, and in 1763,
Ecumenical Patriarch The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...
Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
declared it
stauropegic A stauropegion, also spelled stavropegion (from , in turn from σταυρός ''stauros'' "cross" and πήγνυμι ''pegnumi'' "to affirm"), is a monastery or a parish which depends directly on the Primate (bishop), primate or on the Holy Sy ...
, making its
archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...
the
titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Irenopolis. In 1770, during the
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
, the Russian army was quartered inside the building. Andi Emanuel Mihalache
History
at the Iași County Cultural Office site
The church was gravely damaged in the 1802 Vrancea earthquake, demolished in late 1804 and completely rebuilt in 1807. It was repaired in 1862, 1938, 1976 and 1990. The bell tower dates to 1786, a conclusion drawn from the presence of Alexandru Mavrocordat Firaris' coat of arms. A date of 1757 has also been proposed, coinciding with the surrounding wall built by Racoviță. It is shaped like the reed cap worn by Saint Spyridon; at first resembling a Russian onion dome, the present shape was fixed in 1862. Initially, its tip featured a crescent, the idea being to offer a certain protection against Ottoman attacks. In 1807, when the structure was rebuilt, this was replaced by an eye within a triangle, a symbol of divinity. The Parisian clock was added after 1830, in line with an express provision of ''
Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, ; ; )The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual nature of the document; however, the singular version is usually preferred. The text was originally written in French, submitt ...
''. The roof's current form also dates to 1862. Twin fountains, inscribed in Greek, Ottoman Turkish and Romanian Cyrillic, were added by Grigore III Ghica in 1765; the water flowed along a tiled path from what is now the
Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
. Architecturally, rectangular forms predominate. The interior features a central nave flanked by two smaller side naves. The mural frescoes beneath the cupola depict the
Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...
, while the cupola ceiling shows
Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator (, ) is a specific depiction of Christ. or , literally 'ruler of all', but usually translated as 'almighty' or 'all-powerful', is derived from one of many names of God in Judaism. The Pantokrator i ...
and the altar has the Holy Trinity. The ornamented marble imitation from the interior dates to 1863. During the same period,
Eustație Altini Eustație Altini (Greek: Ευστάθιος Αλτίνης; c.1772, Zagora1815, Iași) was a Moldavian painter of Greek ancestry; specializing in decorative art and iconostases. He studied in Austria with famous painters Heinrich Friedrich F ...
executed the iconostasis painting. In 1863,
Dimitrie Ghica Dimitrie Ghica or Ghika (Albanian: Gjika) (; 31 May 1816 – 15 February 1897) was a Romanian politician. A prominent member of the Conservative Party, he served as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1870. Dimitrie Ghica was born in Buchares ...
had the iconostasis repaired and coated in gold. The church property includes valuable items such as worship items in precious metals, vestments, and sacred books decorated with gilt silver and Biblical scenes in porcelain enamel.Short history
at the Saint Spyridon parish site
The body of Grigore Ghica, beheaded by the Ottomans in 1777, is buried inside the church, while his head was taken to Istanbul. There Greek inscription mentions a "premature death", while the sculpted palm branches signify martyrdom. Both the church and the bell tower are listed as historic monuments by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Iași
/ref> File:Detaliu Clopotniţă SF Spridon.jpg, Bell tower (detail) File:Saint Spiridon Church in Iași 13.JPG, Cupola File:Saint Spiridon Church in Iași 28.JPG, Icon of Saint Spyridon File:Saint Spiridon Church in Iași 17.JPG, Valuables on display


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spyridon Historic monuments in Iași County Romanian Orthodox churches in Iași Churches completed in 1807