Țigănești, Strășeni District, Moldova, September 9, 2025
His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir, primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, celebrated the festive Divine Liturgy at Țigănești Monastery on Sunday, marking 300 years since its foundation and 35 years since its reopening.
The Metropolitan was welcomed in the morning by Archimandrite Irinarh (Costru), abbot of the monastery, along with the serving clergy, monastic community, and faithful who had come for the Divine Liturgy.
His Eminence was joined in the service by Archbishop Anatolie of Cahul and Comrat, Archbishop Ioan of Soroca and Drochia, Bishop Filaret of Căpriana and Vicar of the Metropolis, and local and visiting clergy, including Archimandrite Ioan (Okropiridze), spiritual father of the Dormition of the Mother of God Convent in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Moldovan Church reports.
During the Small Entrance, in recognition of the 300th anniversary of the monastery’s foundation and for his diligent work for the good and glory of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, Abbot Archimandrite Irinarh was awarded the highest clerical distinction—the right to wear a second, jeweled, cross.
The Divine service concluded with a Te Deum of thanksgiving to the Lord for all the blessings bestowed upon the monastery and its brotherhood.
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Wikipedia
Țigănești Monastery was founded around 1725 by boyar Lupu Dencu and local landowners from Cobalca commune (now Codreanca), who built a wooden church to shelter local Christians from Tatar invasions. The original wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God was replaced in 1846 with a stone church. A second church dedicated to St. Nicholas was built in 1840 in Moldovan style.
The monastery endured difficult times during the Soviet period. After World War II, during which hundreds of Romanian, German, and Russian soldiers who fell in battle were buried there, communist authorities attempted several times to close the monastery. In 1959, the monks were expelled, and Abbot Ioachim (Burlea) was the last to leave, reportedly crawling on his knees to the monastery gate while cursing the communist regime. The icons and Church books were burned, the monastery cemetery was leveled, and the buildings were converted first into a hospital for the physically disabled (1960-1961) and then into a psychiatric hospital, which operated until July 1992.
On September 8, 1992, Țigănești Monastery was reestablished. The complex was in a devastated state—the summer church’s roof was leaking, walls had many cracks, and all buildings required major repairs. Archimandrite Artemie (Bocșa) became the first abbot of the restored monastery (1992-1994), followed by Archimandrite Donat (1994-1997). Since December 9, 1997, Hieromonk Irinarh (Costru) has served as abbot, leading the monastery’s restoration for over 15 years.
The monastery now operates three churches, including one built in 2009 dedicated to the wonderworking Lifegiving Spring Icon of the Mother of God.
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