Lying in a picturesque scenery, 5 km
away from the town of Gura-Humorului, the church of
Voronet is, through its proportions, one of the best-known
foundations of Voivode Stephen the Great, and at the
same time the monument which best represents the group
of Moldavian churches with outer painting. The church
was initially built of wood by Hermit Daniil after
he left his cave in Putna. In 1488, between the 26th
of May and the 14th of September, Stephen the Great
erected here a stone church of trefoil plan, which,
together with the foundations built almost at the
same time in Patrauti, Milisauti and Sf. Ilie, constitute
the basis for the original Moldavian architectural
style. In 1547 the bishop scholar Grigorie Rosca,
the cousin of Voivode Petru Rares, added the porch
and ordered the painting of the outside of the church.
The height of the edifice is supported by buttresses,
which are placed outside the nave. Voronet has an
original play of volumes, which is underlined by the
fact that each chamber has its own separate roof.
The ensemble is dominated by the nave tower, which
has 16 sides. The church walls are made in false materials,
while the decoration is completed by enameled plates.
Nowadays, the entrance to the church is through the
semi-cylindrical vaulted porch. Here lies the grave
of bishop Grigorie Rosca. The porch walls are covered
with small pictorial scenes, which illustrate the
Christian calendar. The narthex portal, surrounded
by magnificent small columns in pointed arches allowed
entrance to the church until 1547. The narthex, vaulted
in the shape of a calotte, was repainted in 1550,
at the initiative of bishop Teofan. In the narthex
are the tombstones of Daniil and the great chancellor
Grigorcea. The wall between the narthex and the nave
is pierced by a doorway with a rectangular framing
of intertwined baguettes. The nave, which is almost
square in shape, is covered by a dome in Moldavian
style with diagonal arches. A beautiful altar screen
separates the nave from the altar, which is vaulted
in a semi-calotte. The pieces of furniture in the
nave were made in the 16th century. Remarkable is
the princely chair. The painting in the nave and the
altar is the most valuable among the inner paintings
of Voronet and it is largely the original one, painted
during the time of Stephen the Great. Special attention
should be paid to the votive picture, with the figure
of the great voivode in the foreground. The voivode
holds the model of his foundation. Next to him is
Princess Maria Voichita and to her right is a little
girl, while to her left is Bogdan, the future voivode,
who reigned between 1504 and 1517. Voronet though
has become famous all over the world first and foremost
by its outside paintings that cover the walls like
a polychrome carpet. The most plausible explanation
for this unique artistic phenomenon is to be found
in the social and political situation of Moldavia
in the first half of the 16th century. Thus, one can
look upon the whole ensemble of the outer paintings
of the Moldavian churches during the time of Petru
Rares as a unique and supreme action of invocation
of the divine help in order to save the country from
the danger of foreign invasion. The mural paintings
were meant to give the people the necessary courage
and faith in the final victory. Even if at Voronet,
taking into consideration that the painting was achieved
after the Ottoman rule was settled in Moldavia, the
anti-Ottoman message is no longer so powerful, so
direct as at Humor or Moldovita, yet the painter presented
it here too, though in more veiled forms. One of the
important characteristics of the painting at Voronet
is the large number of local and folklore elements,
which are depicted, in the great majority of the scenes.
This proves that the artist creatively adapted the
Byzantine patterns, bringing in new models from the
surrounding environment. This reveals the strong power
of suggestion of the social and political message
of the work of art. Another outstanding characteristic
of Voronet is the use of a special hue of blue, which
came to be called "the Blue of Voronet". Near the
entrance doorway are painted the other two founders
of the church, Hermit Daniil and bishop Grigorie Rosca.
Near the bishop one can see an inscription that reminds
of Marcu, the person who probably led the painting
works of the outside of the church. The major composition
of Voronet can be seen on the western wall. Here the
architecture goes hand in hand with the paintings,
by obliquely placing the two buttresses, which created
an extra space integrated to the façade in an organic
way. In this space the talent and the imagination
of the painter took full swing in painting Doomsday.
The painters at Voronet were local masters who knew
extremely well the places and the people around, thus
finding the most appropriate manner of addressing
them through the means of the painting. The belfry-tower
is from the time of Stephen the Great, as well the
bells that are in the tower.
