CIOLANU MONASTERY


One of the oldest abodes of Romanian spirituality and culture is to be found in the district of Buzau, some 34 kms to the west of its residence. It is Ciolanu Monastery. It is placed in the Tisau Commune in a beautiful meadow surrounded by woods. Its name comes after the hill on which it was set up.
One can reach this place by coming from Buzau either through Vernesti along Niscov and Hales Valleys, or along Buzau Vallery on the road to Brasov up to the Ciuta- Fântâna lui Mihai, and from there 6 kms to the left.
The monastery is inhabited by monks. It furthers in time the tradition of some old monastic settlements in our country which go back in time to the 4tehnologie Century A.D.,namely, the cavemonastic settlements in the Buzau Mountains at Bozioru, where one can still see the cryptic symbols of the Early Christendom.
In addition to these we recall the Martyrical Act of St. Savva’s drowned in the Buzau River on 12th April 372.
It was built by Dumitru and Maria Ciolan in 1568-1577. They put up a small church dedicated to St. George. This church was enlarged in 1855-1857, when the building underwent structural changes. The painting in the church was done by Monk Elisei and it was restored by Painter G. Georgescu during the 19th Century.
In 1828 a monumental church was built dedicated to the Holy Apostle Peter and Paul. It is the first church of this kind around Buzau. The painting of the church was done by N. Teodorescu, head of the Painting School in the Diocese of Buzau.
The church was damaged by the fire in 1855. Its roof and three spires were redone, and it was painted by the same painter in 1862.
Another painting was done on top of the old one in 1937 by Painter N. Solescu. The iconostasis was left with its original painting. Following the damages by the 1977 earthquake the building was reinforced and consolidated in 1983-1984, and the painting was restored in 1984 by a group of painters headed by Octavian Teodorescu and under the supervis