Ciocănăi: Church, Frescoes and Transitional Alphabet

Culture and History

In Ciocănăi, the Church of Saint Nicholas is listed as cultural heritage under monument designation AG-II-m-A-13595.

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas and the Dormition of the Mother of God and was built between 1837 and 1840.

An exterior mural added in 1863 is located on its south wall.

It depicts a demonic figure; because of this mural, the church is also popularly known as Biserica cu Moartea.

The church inscription is written in a transitional alphabet consisting of Latin and Cyrillic characters.

A votive fresco depicting the founders is located on the west wall of the pronaos.

The founders’ clothing in this fresco recalls the general styles of dress of the Phanariot 18th century.

These include anteria, giubele and garments with “Naturele”.

Above the entrance on the east wall, another exterior fresco is located beneath a small projecting shelter roof.

It depicts the Dormition of the Mother of God.

The spatial distribution of the artworks leads from the pronaos on the west wall, across the south wall, to the entrance on the east wall. In this way, the depiction of the founders, the demonic figure and the Dormition of the Mother of God can each be associated with its own location on the church building.

The spelling of the inscription also complements this picture: the transitional alphabet connects two writing systems, while the clothing in the votive fresco, with anteria, giubele and “Naturele”, introduces another historical layer.

The construction of the parish church and the later addition of the mural on the south wall mark two chronologically separate details concerning the appearance of the building. The dates thus place the construction history and the exterior decoration in sequence without dating the other artworks.

The church thus combines the dedications to Saint Nicholas and the Dormition of the Mother of God with an inscription, a founders’ fresco and two exterior images. The south wall, the west wall of the pronaos and the eastern entrance identify three different locations on the church building.

Valley and Plateau

The Church of Saint Nicholas and the Dormition of the Mother of God is located in the valley of the Teleorman River.

It is situated at the entrance to Ciocănăi.

The commune of Moşoaia lies on the Cotmeana Plateau at the eastern edge of this landscape.

The plateau belongs to the interfluve between the Argeş and Olt rivers.

It covers more than 3,000 km².

Churches in the Nearby Area

The Biserica Cuvioasa Parascheva church is located in the vicinity of Ciocănăi.

The Biserica Cimitir Moşoaia church is also located nearby.

The Biserica Lăzăreşti church is likewise located in the vicinity of Ciocănăi.

The Biserica Hinţeşti church is also located in the vicinity of Ciocănăi.

Nearby Hills

The Dealul Viilor hill is located in the vicinity of Ciocănăi.

The La Poieniţe hill is also located nearby.

The Dealul Siru hill is likewise located in the vicinity of Ciocănăi.

The Dealul Lunga hill is located in the surroundings of Ciocănăi.

Transport

The official transport page of the commune of Moşoaia lists bus route M10 between Piteşti Cap linie Trivale and Moşoaia.

For the higher-level travel overview: Comuna Moșoaia.