Spiritual Cultural Center Varatic: The Monastery of Văratic - home of history
On the Piatra Neamț - Tg. Neamț route, after passing the resort of Balțătești, a road branches off to the left, crossing the village of Valea Seacă, past the Silver Forest - to the north - and the Filiorul Ridge - with its fir and deciduous forests - where hikers and pilgrims can reach the Văratic Monastery - a settlement open to the world, a monastic village like an extension of the Romanian village. Wandering through the lanes and paths where the white, peasant houses, laden with flowers and fruit-bearing trees, of the nuns who have chosen to live in chastity and love of God, we reach Văratic Monastery. The settlement was established in the years 1781-1785 by Mother Olimpiada, at the spiritual urging of Abbot Paisie, from the Monastery of Neamț, with the blessing of Metropolitan Gavriil Calimache. Thus, Mother Olimpiada bought, with her own money, from an old foresterˮ a house which she placed in a glen, next to which she built a "small wooden church, very small and poorˮ - a ski, which will be called Văratic, after the name of the glen chosen by Mother Olimpiada and the hermit Joseph. Next to this hermitage, several dormitories will be built, where the servant nuns who lived and worked at the hermitage will live.
The life and tranquility of Văratic Monastery was disturbed by many events: the invasion of the Turks in 1821, who plundered and desolated the monastery, and the fires of 10-11 July 1900 and 24 May 1916, which "frightened and demoralized the monastery's abbot".
The material patrimony of the Văratic Monastery began to be slowly rebuilt with the help of the Moldavian Metropolitanate and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, through donations of estates and goods of benefactors and founders who wanted to help this monastic settlement. Fifty years after the foundation of this settlement, there were 628 monks, nuns and sisters living in Văratic. Very many nuns in this monastery, came from families of chosen lineage, among them being Safta Brâncoveanu - who will enter monastic life in 1838, founding this place. The years have passed, new generations have risen in the monastery, the culture of the monks has acquired new horizons.
Now, in 2018, more than 400 nuns are living here and the Văratic monastery is taking on a new cloak. Holy places: The Assumption - known as the Great Church - then the churches of St. John and the Transfiguration are spiritual, artistic and historical values that each of us should know.
The foundation of the Văratic Spiritual Cultural Center
This spiritual cultural center has at its foundation a covenant of love, which speaks to those who cross its threshold about remembrance, the power of love, endurance and dedication. In the fall of 2015, in memory of his wife, Sheila Margaret Richardson, Mr. Dianu Sfrijan decided to invest financially, but especially soulfully, in a project initiated and coordinated by the poet Emilia Țuțuianu: the construction of a Văratic Spiritual Cultural Center near the Văratic Monastery. The Monastery, with the consent of the Monastery Council and Mother Abbess Iosefina Giosanu, donates the land for the future construction, the work being completed in July 2017.
The Spiritual Cultural Center bears the architectural emblem of the place and was erected "out of love, enthusiasm and generosity, with the intention to illuminate, to set and to pronounce the things of community life, to preserve the local cultural identity and traditions and for the joy of the soul. A building of the soul, made with sacrifices, which is intended to be a place of convergence of love and a useful and active landmark in the life of the community. "Dianu Sfrijan.
Sheila Sfrijan has worked as a senior librarian, coordinating 17 libraries in the Manchester area, furthering her studies in library science, which has given her a thorough grounding in the cultural sphere. Marriage with Dianu Sfrijan was the matching of two souls coming from far away and linked by the beauty of their experiences and humanism.
The interest and love for the Romanian way of life, customs, traditions and clean and serene living brought her closer to her husband's homeland, making her love and cherish the Romanian landscape and people. For the unearthly love that bound them beyond their physical existence, in her memory, Dianu Sfrijan will erect a "worthy creative use" facility at the Văratic Monastery, dedicated to the community and visitors interested in preserving cultural values.
The Sheila Room is enriched with objects received from the founder, a bronze bust made by the sculptor Lucian Tudorache, a painting signed by the plastic artist Mihai Olteanu and handmade walnut furniture.
Emilia Țuțuianu
a tribute to the founder of the CCSV Dianu Sfrijan
Narrator Ben TODICĂ, Australia