Tisău, Buzău County, Romania, October 31, 2023
Photo: arhiepiscopiabzvn.ro
Another Romanian Orthodox monastery has reopened after being closed for more than a century.
The rebirth of Bradu Monastery in the Buzău County commune of Tisău, 70 miles north of Bucharest, was celebrated by His Eminence Archbishop Ciprian of of Buzău and Vrancea on Thursday. The service was attended by a large number of believers and public officials, reports the Basilica News Agency.
Abp. Ciprian consecrated the antimens for the altar in the monastery church then celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with eight hieromonks, priests, and deacons.
“The event marks a new beginning for monastic life in this area, involving extensive restoration and beautification works on the church surrounded by enclosure walls – a complex built in the 16th century on the site of an older holy place, dating back even two centuries earlier,” writes the Archdiocese of Buzău and Vrancea.
The monastery was closed as a result of the law on the secularization of monastics assets in 1863. Its reopening coincided with its patronal feast of St. Demetrios the Great Martyr.
A number of monasteries that were closed by the Habsburg Empire have been revived in recent years.
Abp. Ciprian said in his sermon on Thursday: “We are experiencing a day of special significance, as we have blessed a new beginning and prayed together that St. Demetrios the Great Martyr will protect the works that will be accomplished here, as well as the monks who will live here.”
Photo: arhiepiscopiabzvn.ro
At the end of the service, Fr. Eftimie (Burghiu) was elevated to the rank of protosinghel and installed as the abbot of the monastery.
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The first documentary attestation to Bradu Monastery dates to January 15, 1600, though the holy habitation is much older—archaeological research has established the existence of monastic life at the site of the monastery as far back as the mid-14th century.
The existing stone church is from the time of the ruler Radu of Afumați (†1592).
The monastic establishment at Bradu was dissolved by the law of secularization of monastic estates on December 29, 1863, turning the holy place into a parish church.
The diocesan council resolved on November 18, 2022, to revive the Bradu Monastery.
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