CHAPTER IV

The religion of Roumania--The head of the Church must be a monk, and therefore a celibate--The priests are of the peasant class, unlearned and little respected--A priest’s monthly rounds--Prayers for a girl’s marriage--St Demetre the patron saint of Bucarest--His vocation as a rain-maker--He is brought out when the priests see the rain coming--Roumanian churches--The legend of Curtea d’Argesh--The well of Manole’s wife’s tears--Easter customs--The Roumanian monasteries: dens for lazy people--A wonderful grotto--The convents--Princess Marie as a nun.

Roumanians, as everybody knows, belong to the Greek Church. There are no divisions in the orthodox religion as there are, unhappily, in our own, and complete freedom of worship is allowed to all foreigners in the country. The forms and ceremonies of the Greek Church resemble very closely those of the Roman Catholic. Ikons (or holy pictures) hang in all the churches as well as in private houses, and are kissed by the faithful whenever a prayer is said. The sign of the cross is also universal; it is always made when one passes a church.

It is rather amusing to watch the Olteni (the equivalent of the London coster) with the vegetables crossing himself most devoutly in passing a church, well knowing that he will cheat you immediately afterwards if you give him the chance. However, he does not look upon his little dodges as sins, he simply prides himself upon his cleverness in getting the better of you.

The head of the Greek Church is always chosen from amongst the monks. The monks are vowed to a life of celibacy, and live enclosed in the numerous monasteries scattered throughout the country. The priests, on the contrary, are allowed to marry; that is, they may have one wife, but if she dies they are not allowed to re-marry. The priests are usually of the peasant class; no member of even a middle-class family would dream of entering the Church. They have little education, and are not looked on with any respect. The garb is rather peculiar. Over his ordinary clothes a priest wears a long coat, with wide hanging sleeves, reaching almost to his feet, and on his head a sort of brimless hat made of red, purple or black velvet, according to the wearer’s status in the Church.

As a priest is not allowed to cut his hair after taking orders, he is obliged to wear it plaited like a Chinaman’s pigtail. He seems to be rather ashamed of this distinction, however, as the queue is always stuffed under the collar of the coat.

On the first day of the month every priest goes round his own parish with an acolyte carrying incense. Every house is entered in order to bless it for the coming month, prayers are said and incense waved in every room. Only the room of the English or French governess is left out, as she is a heretic.

Should a young girl find it difficult to meet with a suitable husband, the priest, at the special request of her parents, proceeds to her room and remains there for some time reciting prayers specially arranged for such an occasion, the end in view being marriage for the girl.

The patron saint of Bucarest is St Demetre--his mummy, enclosed in a silver casket, lies in the church named after him. On his “name-day” special services are held. The silver casket containing the holy remains is placed outside the church, and as all Bucarest is present on that day, everyone who passes by, and feels so disposed, may kiss the hand of what was once St Demetre. The saint is supposed to have great influence over the weather. If a drought continues too long, then Demetre is appealed to. He is carried round the town in great state, surrounded by numbers of attendant priests, banners flying and music playing.

It has sometimes happened that the rain has come down like a deluge before St Demetre could be brought under shelter again. Then great is the jubilation, and the gratitude to him for what he has done is unbounded. But from private observations that I have made, my opinion is that the wary priests wait till they see a little cloud like a man’s hand in the sky before they risk disturbing St Demetre.

The Roumanian churches are circular in form, with no seats for the worshippers, save a very few near the altar for some favoured individuals, or for royalty should they favour the church with a visit. Behind the reredos is a room for the priests, from which they sally forth at stated intervals to take their part in the service. No instrumental music is allowed in the church, the vocal music being provided by men and young boys; and very fine it is, as Roumanians are a musical race with a well-developed taste for what is best.

The beautiful church of Curtea d’Argesh, a couple of hours’ journey from Bucarest, is built in the Byzantine style. The exterior appears to be of marble, but in reality it is a kind of limestone, easy to work, which becomes quite hard on exposure to the air. The church is square in shape, and a dome rises from the centre. At each corner of the building is a little tower, and the most curious feature of the structure is that these four towers have such a twisted appearance that they seem about to fall on one another. The truth is that each tower is encircled by spiral bands from top to bottom in such a fashion as to make them appear to be out of the perpendicular, although in reality it is not so.

In the interior of the church the walls are adorned with fresco paintings and carvings. Here is also to be seen a copy of the Gospels done in the style of the illuminated missals of olden times, the work of the late Queen of Roumania. Here and there in this interesting work small sketches have been introduced by way of illustration. Princess Marie, the little daughter of the late Queen, figures there as an angel. This is entirely in consonance with one’s sense of the fitness of things, but when St John is seen represented by the face of Monsieur J. K., it does give one rather a shock.

The windows in the body of the church are very narrow, but are arranged in such a fashion that every corner of the building is well lighted. The ornamentation on the outside is both interesting and beautiful. A large moulding encircles the church, and above this are round shields beautifully decorated with flowers and leaves. Little gilt birds are suspended at intervals, from whose beaks hang tiny bells. When the wind blows from a certain quarter, agitating these little bells, the effect is very pretty.

Just opposite the door of the church there is a most beautiful little building resembling a shrine. It is composed of four pillars which support a series of mouldings, and is crowned with a dome just like the church itself. The _tout ensemble_ is so beautiful that it impresses the visitor with the idea of its being a fairy structure.

At a short distance from the church is a monastery at which Carmen Sylva used to stay for weeks at a time. She was very fond of the old legends of Roumania, and especially of that connected with Curtea d’Argesh.

The architect and builder of the church was one Manole, and according to the legend he was extremely anxious to get the building completed by a certain date. He spurred on his men to their utmost endeavours; but alas! no matter what progress they made during the day, the work which they accomplished was always destroyed in the night following. This continued to happen, and the only conclusion to be arrived at was that evil spirits were at work who were opposed to the building of churches. Manole tried all sorts of plans to circumvent them, but in vain. Finally he made a vow that, in order to appease their wrath, he would build into the church wall the first person to come this way on a certain day, if the evil spirits would, on their part, refrain from interfering with his work. The day arrived, and Manole eagerly looked for a victim. For hours no one passed that way, and the day dragged slowly along. At length a figure appeared in the distance, and Manole eagerly awaited its approach. What was his horror, when the figure drew nearer, to discover that it was his young wife coming to see how the work was progressing. She was the idol of his life, but the vow must be kept. There was no alternative. With a heavy heart he asked his wife to stand in a niche in the wall. She, poor thing, taking it as a joke, willingly consented. The workmen began to build her in, she talking and laughing meanwhile with her husband. However, as the bricks and mortar slowly but surely began to enclose her she became frightened. She begged Manole to stop jesting and take her out. Despairingly he turned his eyes away and spurred the men on to fresh endeavours.

Now the wall reaches her knees, her chest, her eyes. She becomes desperate, and screams and implores her husband to free her. His only answer is to urge the men to greater haste. Her cries become fainter and fainter, till, some minutes after the completion of the wall, her voice ceases for ever.

From this day forward the work on the church went on splendidly, no interference whatever taking place during the night. Evidently the evil spirits were propitiated. The legend continues that Manole kept up till the church was quite finished, then threw himself from the roof and was killed.

Three minutes’ walk from the church there is a well of beautifully cold clear water of which every visitor must have a draught. This well is supposed to have originated from the tears of Manole’s wife as she was being built into the wall of the church.

Roumanians are not very diligent churchgoers, but twice a year at least they do turn out--that is at Easter and at Christmas. In the Greek Church Easter is _the_ great festival. The churches are crowded, people kneeling on the steps and along the pavement when it is impossible to get standing room inside. Service begins at 10.30 on Easter Eve, and on the stroke of midnight all the gaily decorated candles with which the people have provided themselves are lighted, and a procession is formed, headed by the priests, the chief priest walking under a canopy borne by four others. The procession wends its way three times round the church, then the blessing is pronounced and the congregation disperses. Whoever succeeds in reaching home with his or her candle still alight will be happy through the coming year, but woe to the unhappy one if an unlucky blast should extinguish it. All sorts of misfortunes may then be looked for.

It is a very pretty sight, as the different groups are seen returning home, carefully shading the twinkling little lights, which appear to dance hither and thither. The churches are profusely decorated with flowers at such times.

There are many curious ceremonies performed at Easter, of which the following is an example. A table is placed at the upper end of the nave and upon it an image or picture of our Saviour. As each person reaches the table he drops down and proceeds on hands and knees under it. This is done three times, and is supposed to be typical of the great humility of the worshipper. This part of the service delights the children, who sprawl under the table with great goodwill but not apparently with any appreciation of the significance of the ceremony. Reverence on the part of the congregation is not one of the features of the Greek Church services. A good deal of talking and laughing goes on, so much so that it is no unusual thing for a priest to stop in the middle of the service and request the people to be silent. Even at weddings the same thing may be seen. The bride and groom appear to be holding a reception rather than having a service celebrated which is to unite them for life--or rather till such time as they think fit to dissolve the union.

The monasteries are a great feature of social life in Roumania. At a time when there were no hotels, hospitality was always shown to travellers by the monks. One could remain there for a week or two without being under an obligation to pay anything. At each monastery there are from twenty to thirty monks. Each one has a tiny apartment that he can call his own, to which is attached a small plot of ground. In this plot the monk grows his vegetables, or keeps a couple of fowls. He is allowed about forty bani a day (4d.) from Government, and to eke out his living he has recourse to all sorts of devices. The favourite one is the making of certain liqueurs which are offered for sale to any traveller who may happen to pass. It is a great pity that these monasteries should be allowed by Government, as they are simply dens for lazy people. One may imagine that with twenty monks attached to one church the services required from each are not very arduous, especially when the church is in a remote district. They are expected to officiate at stated intervals day and night, and recite prayers. That done, the time is their own to use as they think fit.

In olden times, and more especially during the rule of the Turk, the monasteries were often used as places of refuge by the oppressed, or as storehouses for their valuables. They are generally built on very high eminences, and command a good view of the surrounding country. One monastery in particular which I have visited is situated at such a height in the Carpathians that in winter communication with the outside world is absolutely impossible; the monks are completely snowed up.

But in summer what a difference! The monastery is surrounded by lovely meadows, where one walks knee-deep in grasses and most beautiful wildflowers. Through these meadows a babbling brook winds its way under overhanging willow branches to the river further down.

Close to the chapel of the monastery there is a natural grotto which is always shown to visitors.

I remember exploring it once with a party of friends, and the uncanny sensation it gave me. Each member of the party was provided with a candle, and a monk acted as guide. As we passed further and further into the grotto, we appeared to be accompanied by a rushing river, but no river was to be seen. The effect was weird. The thick darkness, seeming to be rendered only more opaque by the feeble light of the candles, surrounded us like a pall, and we scarcely ventured to speak above a whisper. The monks assert that there is an underground river, but whence it starts and whither it goes no one seems to know. The cave itself is vast, and extends for miles under the mountains. It is thought that it communicates with the natural grotto at Campulung, which is very similar, and may really be a part of it; but this has never been proved. No one seems to have had either the time or the inclination to undertake such an expedition. A Royal Geographical Society for research has not yet been formed in Roumania.

There are numerous convents for women scattered all over the country. The costume of the nuns is not at all pretty. Over the dress, which is of ordinary stuff, a long cloak is worn, and a band of black cloth is bound round the forehead, the ends falling in pleats at the back, completely covering the hair. To crown all and complete the picture, a round flat cap or hat, also black, is perched on the top of the head.

The system of Roumanian convents differs somewhat from that of the Roman Catholic convents. Roumanian nuns are quite free to go about and visit friends and relatives. They are only vowed to celibacy, and they live together in communities, working for the poor and visiting the sick. No branch of education is, however, undertaken by them, as they themselves are not sufficiently instructed for that. Before the present Queen of Roumania ascended the throne one of her greatest pleasures was to stay for a few weeks at the convent near Campulung. There she donned the garb of a nun--such a pretty nun had never been seen before in Roumania,--occupied herself with embroidery or painting, and ate the ordinary fare of the inmates. I believe a favourite sweet of hers on these occasions was musca, made of flour, butter, and sugar, which when cooked is completely covered with burnt sugar. It tastes very good indeed. This convent is situated in a very beautiful part of the country, and the chapel belonging to it is a curiosity in its way, having been excavated out of the solid rock.