Crișan - Vaca Monastery ( Cow Monastery)

With a history of almost two centuries, Crișan Monastery, also known as Vaca Monastery, is an Orthodox monastery located in the village of Crișan, in the commune of Ribița. Salvation is gradually revealed to the faithful as soon as you pass under the wooden gate at the entrance.

It is a place that invites you to silence and introspection. The monastery with a community of monks, founded in the 16th century, is located at a distance of about 7 kilometers north of Brad and 46 kilometers north of Deva. To the north of the monastery the forested hill continues.

The monastic ensemble is located on the hill, with a difference in level, and therefore it was necessary for the construction of the buildings excavate and level the hillside. The monastery is dedicated to the "Birth of the Mother of God" and "The Healing Spring". Inside the monastery there is also an artificial lake, where, in summer, you can admire dozens of water lilies of different colors.

The land of the Moţi is known throughout the country, as a land where people have very well grounded patriotism and love for their country. Even in the church here, the three leaders of the 1784 Uprising were painted, Horea, Cloșca and Crișan, and also Crăișorul Muntilor, Avram Iancu.

History of Crișan - Vaca Monastery

The monastery was named over time, "Vaca", after the nearby village where Captain Gheorghe Crișan was born, one of the three heroes of the peasant uprising of 1784, led by Horea, Cloșca and Crișan

This monastic orthodox settlement was founded in the second half of the 16th century by the love and sacrifices of the Orthodox Romanians from the “Vaca” villages, called Crișan village, starting with 1930, and Ribița. The beginning of the monastic life in Ţara Zarandului can be traced to the existence next to the church from Ribița of a monastic center since the 15th century, fact proven by the content of the inscription of the church from Ribița, where “a monastery” is mentioned.

Crișan Monastery was built at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, with the support and desire of the locals, and also with the financial help received from some lords of Wallachia, including Mihai Viteazul, founder of several churches and monasteries in Transylvania and, through the care of the Prislop Monastery, in Tara Hațegului ( Hategului Realm).

Crișan Monastery dates from 1450, being the only monastery in Ţara Zarandului ( Zarandului Realm) with documentary attestation and which lasted the longest in time.

Crișan - Vaca Monastery, destroyed, bombed and set on fire

The church was built of stone and brick, going through several phases of destruction, fire and bombing over time. In 1759, the Crișan Monastery is mentioned as being in ruins. The church was rebuilt after this year with the support of the abbot Varlaam of Prislop and the archpriest Ghiura of Ilia.

According to other sources, the monastery was restored in 1759 by Bishop Petru Pavel Aron, founder here and of a school. After the "Rednic Conscription", from 1765, the Crișan Monastery was dispersed during the "anti-united revolution" of the Holy Pious Confessor Sofronie from Cioara and left from 1772 until the "Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan" – 1784-1785.

The last mention of the monastery, from 1772, stipulates it only as an object of real estate. The archeological researches led by Professor Adrian Rusu from Cluj attested the existence of the monastery on the place where it was later rebuilt, with many objects with historical value found, with these being exhibited at the Museum in Cluj.

The Crișan Monastery has a history of almost two centuries, arguments of its permanence in this period being from handwritten notes from different Romanian religious books that belonged to the monastic settlement and the archaeological research carried out here.

Re-established in 1992

After 1989, the bishop Visarion Neag, former monk at the Sihăstria de Neamț Monastery, native of these lands, took the initiative to re-establish the monastery which was accomplished by the the Diocese of Arad and the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approval.

Before the beginning of the constructions, in this place it was necessary to buy the land of the former monastery, which, in the meantime, had become private property. The construction of the new monastery began in 1992, resuming - after an interruption of over two centuries - the monastic life of the ancient monastery.

It did not last long and a wall was built to the "Birth of the Mother of God", the summer altar dedicated to the "Healing Spring", the set of cells for staff and other household annexes. For the first time, a building with a wall floor for cells, a refectory and a kitchen was built, after which the church was built, to the northwest of this building, and a summer altar, to the north of the church.

The church of the Crișan monastery is a wall construction, in the shape of a cross, divided into an altar, a nave and a narthex. It also has a small closed porch on the sides. The entrance door to the narthex is made of oak, beautifully carved. The iconostasis is made of carved wood, with a wall frame at the top. The church has a large octagonal tower, open on the nave, with eight painted windows, and a tower on the narthex, which, until the construction of a bell tower, also served as a bell tower.

Artificial lake with water lilies, inside the monastery

Another corner that invites you to peace and quiet is the artificial lake inside the monastery, where in summer you can admire dozens of water lilies, of different colors, bloom. It is arranged in the central area of the monastery courtyard, being surrounded by an alley with flowers, fir trees of different sizes that rise towering next to the alley.

The view is one in which you can loose tens of minutes, without realizing that time has passed so quickly. The tranquility and gentleness of the place make you forget the hustle and bustle of the 21st century, charging you with a positive and pure energy.

Numerous pilgrims from all over the country attend religious services that are held here. Those who want to spend the night here should know that at the monastery there are accommodation possibilities for 50-60 people.

The monastery can be visited daily.

More info www.crestinortodox.ro