Perhaps the most peaceful place hides in plain sight here. This is Biserica Sfantul Lazar. It is a Brancovenesc jewel near Bucharest. You will find it in Cernica Monastery’s cemetery. This small church brings joy to anyone walking among the cemetery’s stone crosses. The cemetery is quiet and peaceful.
Cernica Monastery is only 12 kilometers from Bucharest. It stands on an island in a lake surrounded by old forests. Cernica Monastery is special. It is the only monastery on the Colentina banks that has lasted. It has grown in importance over time. Other monasteries like Tanganu disappeared. Some like Ghica became regular churches.
Cernica Monastery started shortly after Mihai Viteazul. Documents show it existed in 1608. Radu Voda Serban’s decree mentions it. Vornicul Cernica Stirbei built a wooden church. It honored Saint Nicholas. He rebuilt an old hermitage. He gave it land forests and villages. This was to remember his name and family forever.
The small community of monks on Saint Nicholas Island grew. It became the monastery complex we see today. It now includes Saint George Island. Recent archaeological digs show that he built on an older monastic site. This site was lost in the thick Colentina forests.
Two grand churches and some chapels honor famous saints. There is also a museum of old books and church art. These items have survived hardships. These buildings make up the monastery’s treasures. The cells are protected by a wide wall. Its architecture is typical of plains areas. It is not too tall to be easily seen. But it is strong enough to defend its people.
Biserica Sfantul Lazar is in Cernica Monastery’s cemetery. Saint Abbot Gheorghe of Cernica built it in 1804. It is small with rich stone carvings outside. I Keber and Frujinescu painted the inside including the iconostasis. Biserica Sfantul Lazar is a true gem. It is asymmetrical and slender. It has a trefoil plan two columns at the entrance and a staircase on the left. This is a cemetery church. The tomb chamber is in the lower part.
Saint Abbot Gheorghe of Cernica died on December 3 1806. His two large communities of students mourned him. He was buried at Cernica Monastery. He lies in front of Biserica Sfantul Lazar which he built in 1804. His tomb was later the site of Metropolitan Nifon’s vault starting in 1875.
Many notable people wanted to rest in the cemetery’s angelic peace. They lie under flowers and picturesque monuments. Father Dumitru Staniloae the greatest Romanian theologian is here. So is Iorga Cosma a hero of the Independence War. Ion Tuculescu a painter and Teodor Vacarescu a diplomat are also here. Gurie Gosu Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Nifon a Metropolitan Primate rest here too. Ion Lupas and Pan Halipa are also buried here. Lastly Father Gala Galaction a writer is here. He wrote a poem inspired by Lucian Blaga’s Gorunul. It was dedicated to the old oaks near his future resting place.
Galaction wrote that on the day of his death the old oak would stand tall. He said it had been dear to him since he knew it. He said his thoughts rested in its branches like birds. He knew that one day the oak would die too by lightning storm or saw. He believed that they would meet where mirrors would be changed. That’s the beauty of Biserica Sfantul Lazar.