Last modified: 2021-06-12 by rob raeside
Keywords: moldovan orthodox church | moldova |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
image located by Valentin Poposki, 18 May 2021
See also:
The Moldovan Orthodox Church - Metropoly of Chisinau and All of Moldova
adopted its symbols in 2018
https://sputnik.md/religion/20180221/17424547/oficial-stema-drapel-stindard-mitropolia-moldovei-inregistrate.html
This is a copy of the primary source, whose report is translated below.
The coat of arms, flag and banner of the Metropolitan Church of Chisinau and
All Moldova were registered on 20 February 2018 in the General Armorial of the
Republic of Moldova by the National Heraldry Commission under the President of
the Republic of Moldova.
Theologians, historians and specialists in the
field of heraldry were involved in the elaboration of the metropolitan insignia;
the work lasted more than three years.
The coat of arms is composed of a
shield argent with a fess gules, superimposed with the icon of the Nativity of
the Savior Jesus Christ. The shield is superimposed to a hierarch's staff and a
gold cross crossed in saltire. The shield is surmounted with a gilded miter
featuring in the center the icon of the Savior Jesus Christ, left the Hârbovăț
icon of the Mother of God, and right the icon of the Holy Blessed Voivode
Stephen the Great.
Designed by Radu Voina, the emblem was inspired by the
coat of arms used in the interwar period by the Diocese of Chisinau and Moldova,
which was elevated in 1995 by the Russian Patriarchate to the rank of
Metropolitan (Metropolitan Church of Chisinau and All Moldova). This is the
legal successor of Orthodox ecclesiastical entities on the territory of the
Republic of Moldova.
The project was developed at the initiative of the
Primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir,
for the distinctive church symbolism to represent the majority of citizens of
the Republic of Moldova who identify as Orthodox Christians.
The
chromatic range of the flag is similar to that of the metropolitan bishop's
mantle. The canvas is predominantly blue, with a white line and a red ribbon.
https://mitropolia.md/comisia-nationala-de-heraldica-a-decis-inregistrarea-in-armorialul-general-al-republicii-moldova-a-stemei-drapelului-si-a-stindardului-mitropoliei-chisinaului-si-a-intregii-moldove/
Press release by the Church PR Department, 20 February 2018
The icon
of the Mother of God, of unknown origin, is kept in the Monastery of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin of Hârbovăț and celebrated on 1 October.
On
14 December 1790, Colonel Alabduev intended to visit his old friend, Hârbovăț
abbot Pahomie; he was killed by a rogue horse that threw him to the ground and
buried on 17 December. For the funeral, the colonel's relatives offered to the
monastery an icon kept in the family for generations.
The Hârbovăț icon,
painted on canvas, is of the Hodighitria (Guide) style. Seated on the Virgin's
left hand, Baby Jesus holds a roll of paper in the left hand and blesses with
the right hand.
The monastery was burned to ashes three times by the Turks;
every time, the icon remained intact except the edges of the canvas that
blackened.
Since the monastery was reopened in May 1995, the icon has been
kept in the church in winter and spring until Easter, and then carried in
procession through the neighboring villages and Chisinau.
https://doxologia.ro/viata-bisericii/documentar/icoana-maicii-domnului-din-harbovat
Doxologia - Orthodox Portal
Ivan Sache, 19 May 2021
The Moldovan Orthodox Church - Metropoly of Chisinau and All of Moldova
adopted its symbols in 2018
https://sputnik.md/religion/20180221/17424547/oficial-stema-drapel-stindard-mitropolia-moldovei-inregistrate.html
They are registered by the Moldovan Heraldry Commission, too.
Official
website of MOC https://mitropolia.md/
The flag is blue with a horizontal white-red-white near the bottom and the
shield centred.
Valentin Poposki, 18 May 2021
image by Valentin Poposki, 18 May 2021