Pr. dr. Pompiliu Nacu
ROMA – Centrul Ortodox de Studii Teologice„Sfântul Cuvios Dionisie Exiguul“.
Composed between the fifth and the seventh century, most probably in the sixth century, the Akathist Hymn to the Holy Mother of God, a prayer with rich dogmatic content, it seems, was recited for the first time during the siege of Constantinople in 626 AD. The Byzantines under the protection of the Holy Mother of God and under the leadership of Patriarch Sergius resisted the attacks of the Avars and Persians. This is the reason why this hymn was taken up in the Moldavian frescoes, during the period when they were facing the Ottoman invasion. The presence of scenes from the Akathist Hymn to the Holy Mother of God in the exterior paintings of monasteries in Northern Moldavia represents an act of theological culture, but also a prayer dedicated to the Holy Mother of God as protector and defender. The great Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga, in making an in-depth analysis of the impact of Byzantine civilisation, spirituality and culture on these provinces, stated that civilisation and religion in the Romanian countries represented the „Byzantium after Byzantium“. Moldavian artists painted the exterior walls of churches without fear that the colours of nature might be obscured. Nowhere else in Europe will we find anything approaching these colours shining on the green meadows, on the shimmering hilly landscape of beautiful Moldavia. The famous Italian painter, architect and writer Giorgi Vasari says: „many of our artists are very good at the other styles of painting, namely oil and tempera, but they are not experts in fresco painting“. Other specialists praised the skilful technique of the Moldavian artists: „The unknown authors of the painted frescoes had discovered a secret that gave their work an extraordinary splendour and endurance, a secret that has not been passed down to us“.
