"To the believer the liturgy is not a spectacle. He lives the moment. If he doesn't sing with his voice, he must sing with his soul," Father Filon Ionel, the parish priest, told me later. "It doesn't matter if he is Orthodox or another [denomination]. He will enrich his soul."
I asked if they'd been performing this liturgy for the entire life of the monastery, 500 years. Father Ionel smiled indulgently. "We have performed this liturgy for 2,000 years."
The decorative walls of the red-frescoed church in Humor, Romania, illustrate gruesome scenes of saints being tortured.
(Photos Dana Wilson)
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Afterward, we drove the few miles south to Voronet, the oldest of the monasteries. It has been dubbed the "Sistine Chapel of the East," and the comparison does Michelangelo credit. Swathed in a satiny indigo known as "Voronet blue," it was the most beautiful church I'd ever seen.
The famous blue derives from lapis lazuli stones imported from Egypt, explained Slemco, whom we'd hired for our last day in Bucovina. As with the other monasteries, the formula for creating the exterior colors died with the painters, so the frescoes can never be repainted -- when a piece fades or flakes off, it is gone.
Slemco talked us through the Orthodox calendar painted just inside the entryway. He showed us the altar with its icon of God holding a Moldavian scarf, representing the universe. With the skies darkening, he hurried me to the west wall to show me the "Last Judgment," Voronet's -- and Bucovina's -- masterwork.
All the monasteries have apocalypse frescoes, but Voronet's is the most overwhelming, and seemingly the one designed to elicit the fiercest identification from its intended audience of peasants and warriors. Angels sound the final call on a bucium, a local shepherd's horn, and send turban-headed sinners tumbling toward a beastly Satan. The apostles watch from a grandstand of Romanian thrones as Jesus weighs souls, with Turks and Tatars prominent among those awaiting judgment. Everybody gets a shot at salvation, Slemco said, describing this image as an olive branch extended to unbelievers and enemies of the state.
We asked how that squared with other frescoes, like that of the siege of Constantinople, that identified the Turks as marauding foes of Christianity. Didn't the monasteries have a propaganda purpose? Weren't they painted to fire up the faithful against their adversaries?
Slemco waved me off. "You are trying to find too many explanations, my friend," he said. "This is a miracle of God, and that's all."
Andy Markowitz is a writer and editor living in Prague.
Details: Bucovino's Painted Monasteries
GETTING THERE: Suceava, Bucovina's largest city, is a 275-mile drive or a six-hour train ride from Bucharest. The round-trip rail fare from Bucharest is about $132 if you book in advance at www.raileurope.com, but you may pay less if you buy in person. Once in Suceava, you'll find that all of the painted monasteries are about an hour away and within an hour's drive of each other. Icar Tours (Stefan cel Mare 20A, www.icar.ro) rents cars from its Suceava office, starting at $54 a day for up to three days, less for longer rentals.
VISITING THE MONASTERIES: All of the monasteries charge admission, usually about $1.50 per person plus $2.25 to take pictures. Wear proper attire -- no shorts or otherwise revealing clothes. Ciprian Slemco (www.mtour.tk,email at monasterytour@yahoo.com) offers a one-day tour with car, driver and guide for about $105 ($45 for guide services only). He can also negotiate customized tours and make arrangements on the fly. Prices do not include gas or monastery entry fees.
Bucovina is home to several other historic churches and monasteries. The village of Marginea a few miles east of Sucevita is famed for its black pottery, which can be purchased from workshops and roadside sellers. Slemco and Icar include these and other destinations on some of their tours.
WHERE TO STAY: The terrific Web site www.ruraltourism.ro provides detailed information in English on local guesthouses. One of its choices, Casa Venera, in the village of Sucevita about a mile from the monastery, offers homey rooms with breakfast and an outstanding dinner for about $18 per person a night. Slemco can also arrange home stays.
Most guesthouses will take payment in euros as well as Romanian lei. The three-star Best Western Bucovina in Gura Humorului, a few miles from Humor and Voronet monasteries, has doubles from $104; check www.bestwestern.com for Web specials.
INFO: Romanian Tourist Office, 212-545-8484, www.romaniatourism.com. The Romanian Travel Guide, www.rotravel.com, has a solid section of practical and historical information along with recommendations on lodging, car rentals and other services.
