The consecration of the “St. Elisabeta” Monastery in Cluj-Napoca and the laying of the foundation stone for the church of the monastic settlement

On the feast day of St. Pious Elizabeth, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, His Eminence Father Andrei, Archbishop of Vad, Feleac and Cluj and Metropolitan of Cluj, Maramureş and Sălaj, was in the middle of the monastic community from the “St. Pious Elizabeth” Monastery in the municipality of Cluj -Napoca, on the occasion of the consecration and laying of the foundation stone for the church of the monastic settlement.

From 10:00 a.m., on a specially arranged stage in the courtyard of the monastery, His Holiness Father Andrei officiated the Liturgy of the previously sanctified Gifts, surrounded by a council of clerics, in the presence of civil and military officials and numerous Cluj believers.

The council was attended by: the diocesan councilor on mission and protocol issues – archdeacon Claudiu Grama, archdeacon of Cluj II – priest Alexandru Constantin Ciui, director of the Orthodox College “Metropolitan Nicolae Colan” from Cluj-Napoca – Fr. lect. university Dr. Liviu Vidican-Manci, priest of the Orthodox College – archim. Prof. Samuel Cristea, the priest of the monastery – Hieromonk Paisie Borza and other invited priests.

After reading the evangelical pericope, Father Metropolitan Andrei spoke a word of teaching about the missionary vocation of the Christian woman, starting from the model of Saint Pious Elizabeth.

The liturgical answers were given by a group of theologians from Cluj.

At the end of the Liturgy, the hierarch officiated the service of laying the foundation stone for the new church of the monastic settlement and consecrated the place where the future place of worship will be built in honor and memory of Saint Elisabeta. The church will be built in the Byzantine style, in the shape of an inscribed Greek cross, of medium size, with a footprint of 22 meters long and 13 meters wide.

Rev. Paisie Borza thanked the hierarch for his presence and blessing, as well as all those involved in the materialization of the church building project.

Short history

The “Sfânta Cuvioasă Elisabeta” monastery in Cluj-Napoca, located on Arţarului street, in the Bună Ziua district, was founded in 1934, by the worthy Bishop Nicolae Ivan, at the proposal of the Romanian Women’s Orthodox Society.

It worked for a while in the “old theology” building on Avram Iancu street, no. 6, thus laying the foundations of an Institute of the Sisters of Charity.

Abolished during the communist regime, the monastic settlement was re-established in 2011, at the initiative of His Eminence Archbishop and Metropolitan Andrei.

The monastery is in the process of rectification, work is being done on the monastic complex. Until the wall church was built, services were held in a chapel. On April 24, 2023, on the feast day of Saint Elizabeth, Metropolitan Andrei blessed the new monastic house, which includes the abbot, the refectory, the cells and other administrative rooms.

As a precious fragrance, the monastery has a copy of the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God “Prodromitsa”, the one “not made by human hands”. The icon was brought in 2015, from the Romanian Hermitage Prodromu, from Holy Mount Athos, where the original icon is located.

The community of the monastery counts eight nuns, the abbess being the stavrophora Maria Asaftei, and the priest the hieromonk Paisie Borza. In addition to the spiritual program of prayer, the nuns carry out administrative activities and are busy making priestly vestments and painting icons.

Saint Elisabeta, the one who protects the Cluj monastery, is commemorated annually in the Orthodox calendar on April 24. She was born in the city of Heraclea in Thrace. From an early age, he learned by heart the lives of the Saints, so that he could always follow their example of living according to the commandments of the Gospel. After she became an orphan, at the age of 12, she shared her wealth with the poor, freed the servants and entered the community of the Monastery of Saint George – Dealul Mic, in Constantinople, where her father’s sister was abbess. More about the saint’s life HERE.

More photos HERE

Text and photo: Darius Echim / Mitropolia Clujului