The Monastery of Rachitoasa in the Prefecture of Bacau

In 1677 the Great Kloutsiaris Enake built a small wooden church in the region of St Parasceva, which later became the cemetery church.

In 1697 the son of the Kloutsiaris, the Great Spatharis Ilias Enake, together with his wife, Tofana, constructed a church of stone, as indicated by the Romanian inscription and by a reference in his will²⁹. In that year the church (he calls it a monastery) was ready, but not the courtyard or the cells. These the ailing founder left to be completed by Tofana. In 1729 the assets of the monastery were administered by a committee which was made up of relatives of the founders: Iordaki Kantekouzenos and Theodoros Paladis. They dedicated the monastery to the Monastery of Vatopaidi³⁰. In 1738 the monastery suffered great damage because of an earthquake and one year later it was reconstructed by its Abbot Danil. In 1742, Michael Rakovitza, the brother-in-law of Enake, ratified its dedication to the Monastery of Vatopaidi³¹.

Around 1842, an outstanding figure was the Abbot, Archimandrite Iakovos Vatopaidinos. He not only repaired the church but also donated to it four icon stands and the ambo, as stated in the relevant inscriptions. From the same period there survives an icon known as the ‘Vematarissa of Vatopaidi and Protectress of Rachitoasa’ which again bears the name of the archimandrite from Vatopaidi.

As to the property of the monastery, according to the listings in the Romanian sources, it appears that in 1851 this was impressive: 17 properties in the Prefectures of Tekotsi, Putna and Tutova³².

In 1885 the monastery was transformed into a prison and an asylum. It was renovated once more, but today it is in very poor condition compared with the original wooden church building.

Notes:

29. Melchisedec, 1885.
30. Op. cit., pp. 301-302.
31. Op. cit., pp. 302-303.
32. Zimbrul, dated 2 July 1851.