The social cause

Running in order to raise funds for the Children’s Settlement “St. Hierarch Leontie ”

https://www.sfantulleontie.ro/

For them, a little is enough

Seeing from afar the tower of the Church of the “Shroud of the Mother of God”, at the entrance to Radauti, you would say that it is on a deserted stretch, then, advancing, you are greeted by the icon of the Holy Shroud of the Mother of God (a crucifix) guarding the Romanian space map of Romania), after which you are presented with a multitude of variously colored buildings.

The gate is always wide open and the variety of constructions urges you to at least look closely, if you do not have the opportunity to stop. Walking down the spacious alley to the heart of the enclosure – from where other possibilities of orientation of the steps are reflected – and noticing the silence “at her home”, you would say that you are in a place broken from reality or on a piece of Heaven.

All this took place in the autumn of 2001, when the project for the construction of the Children’s Settlement “St. Hierarch Leontie ”at the initiative of Father Arhim. Iustin Dragomir Ioan, Abbot of the Bogdana Monastery in Rădăuţi, under the impulse of the noble feeling of philanthropy and mercy – the fruit of a qualitative Christian education – made with tact and boundless love by those ordained for it, as well as by those whose structure does not allow them to sit with his hands on his chest in the face of the suffering of his neighbor.

In other words, we are talking about the Church’s involvement in the social-philanthropic part, given the difficulty of our day, the predominantly poor standard of living and the weak hope of better, those in vulnerable situations turning their hope only to the most “well fed” spiritual. In this sense, the help intended for the neighbor, depending on the existing means, is, first of all, a debt, and if it is offered with love, the results do not delay to appear.

The Children’s Settlement “St. Hierarch Leontie ”is a social service that ensures a stable environment (Residential Center transposed into 11 family-type houses) and integrated quality services offered to children within the institution, in order to reintegrate into the family or, as for independent living.

The space offered to the child tries to be a place of safety, tranquility, a place where life experiences are accumulated; therefore, it strives to be a protective space, to develop creativity and the feeling of “feeling at home”.

Putna Monastery

Nicknamed the Jerusalem of the Romanian Nation by Mihai Eminescu, the Putna Monastery, founded by Prince Stephen the Great, is one of the architectural, religious and cultural pearls of Bukovina.

Putna Monastery is located in the commune of the same name and 72 km from the Citadel of Suceava, 97 kilometers from Gura Humorului and 127 kilometers from Vatra Dornei.

Stephen the Great, the ruler who fought 42 wars during his 47 years on the throne of Moldavia (1457 – 1504), built 26 churches and monasteries if we follow the stone or painted inscriptions preserved over time.

Putna Monastery was one of the most important religious and architectural foundations built by Stephen the Great. Below are some things that many may not know about this monastery.

Stephen the Great chose the place after shooting with the bow

The construction of the Putna Monastery began in the summer of 1466 and lasted three years, the sanctification of the place took place on September 3, 1469. The chronicler Ion Neculce would write about almost 300 years about choosing the place of building in “A word. The Chronicle of the Country of Moldova ”:

„Ştefan-vodă cel Bun, when they started to make the Putna monastery, they shot with the bow Ştefan-voda from a mountain peak that is next to the monastery. And where they got the arrow, they made the prestol in the pottery. And there is a lot of place from where they fired up to the monastery. They also put the three boyars to shoot, for the children and for two children in the house. So where they dropped the arrow of the children’s vault, they made the gate, and where the arrow of a child in the house fell, they made the bell tower “.

The purpose of Stephen the Great was to bury him and his family at the Putna Monastery. After his death on July 2, 1504, at the age of 65, as a result of the infection of an older wound, Stephen the Great will be buried in Putna. Also here were buried Maria de Mangop (second wife), Maria Voichiţa (last wife), one of the ruler’s sons, Bogdan III the Blind, but also his other descendants.

Putna Monastery withstood fires and encroachments

Almost 15 years after its inauguration, the cells were destroyed and the church was partially damaged in a fire that broke out inside the Putna Monastery on March 15, 1484. At the ruler’s command, the cells were rebuilt and the church was restored and painted. , both inside and out.

Another turning point in the history of the monastery was the year 1653, when the church was destroyed following landslides, but also the passage of Cossack troops led by Timus Khmelnitsky, the son-in-law of Prince Vasile Lupu. The latter soon began to rebuild the church. The works were continued by the next ruler, Gheorghe Ştefan, and completed in 1662 during the reign of Istrate Dabija (Eustratie Dabija).

Putna Monastery was set on fire and looted in the summer of 1691 by soldiers of Polish King John Sobieski, who hoped to enter the Treasury Tower. In this place, which is currently the only building left of the ensemble erected by Stephen the Great at Putna, the precious objects of the monastery were brought in troubled times. Today, there are church books and manuscripts of great value

Against the background of the fighting in the first part of the 18th century between the Russians, Turks and Tartars, which took place on the territory of Moldova, the Russians looted the monastery. Also during this period there was an earthquake that caused significant damage. Thus, between 1756 and 1760, in the monastery complex of Putna, extensive restoration works were carried out, financed by some boyars from Moldavia and Wallachia.

After the annexation of Bukovina by the Habsburg Empire in 1774, Putna is one of the three monasteries in the area (along with Sucevita and Dragomirna) that are not closed by order of the new authorities. During the Habsburg occupation, the place of worship was modified several times, reconstruction and expansion works were carried out. At the same time, the current bell tower was built. The Austrian architect Karl Adolf Romstorfer restored the Putna Monastery between 1901 and 1902.

Porumbescu’s song in front of “the whole of Dacia”, in Putna

In addition to the Treasure Tower and the Bell Tower, in Putna there is also the Eminescu Tower. Built in 1757 during the reign of Constantin Racoviţă, this tower hosted for a few days Mihai Eminescu and Ioan Slavici, who participated in the First Celebration of Romanians Everywhere, organized in August 1871 in Putna.

This celebration was attended by Romanian students from Transylvania, Bucovina, Banat, but also from the Old Kingdom, the vast majority of them studying in Vienna.

From that event, a silver urn is kept in which the organizers put earth brought from all the Romanian lands. The urn was placed on the tomb of Stephen the Great, as a sign of appreciation, many of the participants noticing that, one day, all Romanians everywhere will unite in one state.

Present at the events, Ciprian Porumbescu, who was only 17 years old, performed for the first time “The Ballad”, and then confessed to his father: “Father, I sang to the whole of Dacia!”.

Responsibilities

The settlement aims at the temporary replacement or as much as necessary – when the situation does not allow the reintegration of the child in the natural or extended family – of the parental responsibilities, namely:

The need for survival (food, rest, hygiene, pleasant environment)
The need for security (protection, affection, empathy, encouragement, support)
The need to socialize (belonging to a family, to an environment, to a set of beliefs)
The need for recognition and participation (involvement, cooperation, responsibility, creativity)
The need for differentiation (uniqueness)
The need to evolve (to learn and discover)
The need for updating (individualization – removing painful memories or feelings of fear)
The need for harmonization (reunification – gaining joy for the simple fact of existing, despite the negative circumstances)

The target group of the social service consists of:

orphan children
children deprived of means of subsistence
children from disorganized families

… aged between 3 and 18 years, from Suceava county, with a decision of placement from the Commission for Child Protection, Suceava or a court sentence of the Suceava Court.

When detecting cases, we collaborate with the local authorities, with DGASPC Suceava and with the religious parishes, the selection of the beneficiaries being made according to the first stage of the case management, through our own initial evaluation or through DGASPC Suceava.

Objectives

The settlement carries out its activity in the social, educational and medical fields, proposing the following objectives:

Ensuring educational and communication-socialization activities
Ensuring food, rest, hygiene and creating a pleasant environment
Offering protection, affection, empathy, encouragement and support, through permanent socialization
Instilling belonging to an environment, to a set of beliefs, by ensuring a stable environment (the 11 family-type houses)
Facilitating involvement, cooperation, responsibility, manifestation of creativity, by getting involved in organizing daily activities (care and maintenance of living space and self-management activities) and participating in the continuous improvement of the quality of social service they receive, trying to train and strengthen their skills. autonomous and independent life, depending on age and degree of maturity
Offering various opportunities to learn and discover their talent, as well as to spend their free time, through the Painting and Quilling Workshop and the Singing Exercise Room inside the institution
Offering counseling to remove painful memories or feelings of fear
Support for gaining joy for the simple fact of existing, despite negative circumstances, by organizing open individual and / or group meetings