Church & monasteryWallachia & Oltenia

Lainici Monastery: an Orthodox retreat in the Jiu Gorge

Lainici Monastery (Mănăstirea Lainici) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery for monks in the Jiu Gorge, in Gorj County, about 32 km from Târgu Jiu and 25 km from Petroșani. Its old church dates from the early 19th century, and beside it rises a large new cathedral church, one of the most unusual in the country.

Until the 1880s Lainici was almost cut off from the world, reached only by paths along the Jiu; legend says that Tudor Vladimirescu once hid here dressed as a monk.

WhereJiu Gorge, Gorj County, about 32 km from Târgu Jiu and 25 km from Petroșani

TypeRomanian Orthodox monastery for monks, old church of the early 19th century

Best forMonastic life in the mountains, a church with two levels and the scenery of the Jiu Gorge

Getting thereBy the road through the Jiu Gorge; Bănița Fortress is about 23 km away and Horezu Monastery about 49 km

The history of Lainici Monastery

The beginnings of Lainici are lost in time, and historians do not know exactly when it was founded. Tradition says that in the 14th century Saint Nicodemus of Tismana, sent to strengthen Orthodoxy in Wallachia, settled in a cave near the monastery. Another tradition holds that the old church was destroyed in the period 1750–1765, when the Habsburg authorities persecuted Orthodox houses in Transylvania, although Lainici lay a few kilometres beyond the border. Written documents about the monastery appear only from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

In the late 18th century the monk Atanasie came from Tismana and gathered a community of about thirty monks from the mountain valleys. After his death, between 1810 and 1817, a group of Oltenian boyars rebuilt the hermitage in stone, with walls up to one metre thick. The church standing today occupies the site of the earlier ones. Its inscription gives the year 1817, but the restoration of the paintings in 2008 showed older foundations and three building stages: first the altar and nave, then the narthex, and finally the porch, used as a burial place for the founders. According to the chronicles, the boyar woman Stanca Măldărescu was among them, and the inscription records her monastic name, Kalistracta. Tradition adds that Tudor Vladimirescu, pursued by the Ottomans, hid here in a monk’s habit, and that in 1817 the Turks devastated the monastery and beheaded the monk Maxim.

Isolation ended slowly. The present road through the gorge was begun in the 1880s by stonemasons brought from Italy. Between 1854 and 1900, with interruptions, abbot Irodion Ionescu led the community for about forty years. The First World War then brought heavy damage. In 1916–1918 German troops were quartered in the monastery and later burned it; the names of soldiers and officers who slept there are still scratched into the walls of the altar. Valuables, including the bells, were taken and the archive was burned. In 1929 six monks from Frăsinei Monastery, led by abbot Visarion Toia, began to rebuild it and restored a strict community life.

Communism brought new trials. After 1947 the building of the railway and the modernised road occupied monastery land, and in 1961 Lainici lost its status as an independent monastery and became a guest house. The church stayed mostly closed until 1970. A gradual recovery began in 1975 under abbot Caliopie Georgescu, and after 1989 the community grew. In 1990 Metropolitan Nestor Vornicescu laid the foundation stone of the new cathedral church, built on two superposed levels, and it was consecrated in 2011.

Curiosities about Lainici Monastery

The origin of the name “Lainici” is unclear. One suggested explanation derives it from ancient Greek lainos, “of stone”, meaning a pass through stone mountains, but the question remains open.
The names of German soldiers and officers who stayed here during the First World War are still scratched into the walls of the altar.
The new cathedral church has two superposed churches. The lower one is meant to show the life of Christians from the year 1 to 313, the period of the Catacombs, and the upper one the later history of the Church.
In 2006 a copy of the miracle-working icon “Gorgoepikoos” (the Quick to Hear) was brought from Dohiariou Monastery on Mount Athos. It was made specially for Lainici and is said to be the fifth copy made in the last hundred years.
The inscription of the old church does not name the founder Stanca Măldărescu, but her monastic name, Kalistracta.
In 2009 the relics of abbot Irodion Ionescu, nicknamed the “Morning Star of Lainici”, were found after 109 years.

Tours near Lainici Monastery

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Exclusive Tour: Corvin Castle, Alba Iulia and traditional villages from Sibiu

★ 4.8 (34 reviews) · 6 h

See details ›

Private Walking Tour of Sibiu

★ 5 (29 reviews) · 1.5 h

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Sighisoara and Biertan: UNESCO in Transylvania

★ 5 (29 reviews) · 11 h

See details ›

Sambata de Sus: E-Bike Guided Tours

★ 5 (16 reviews) · 4 h

See details ›

Visiting Lainici Monastery: what to see

The old church of the early 19th century, listed as a historic monument, preserves paintings from 1860 and an iconostasis with Byzantine-style icons.
The new cathedral church beside it is unusual for its plan of two superposed churches and its planned icon programme.
The monastery lies in the Jiu Gorge, which also carries the railway line with 38 tunnels, so the road and the setting are part of the visit.
Bănița Fortress is about 23 km away, Sarmizegetusa Regia about 40 km and Horezu Monastery about 49 km, so Lainici fits into a longer route in the region.
It is a working monastery, so dress and behave respectfully and check the current opening hours before you go.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Lainici Monastery is

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Photos of Lainici Monastery

Monks’ cells at Lainici Monastery — Photo: Ionutp, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Row of monks’ cells at Lainici Monastery — Photo: Ionutp, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is Lainici Monastery?

It lies in the Jiu Gorge in Gorj County, about 32 km from Târgu Jiu and 25 km from Petroșani.

When was Lainici Monastery founded?

The exact date is unknown. Tradition links it to Saint Nicodemus of Tismana in the 14th century, documents appear from the late 17th century, and the present old church was rebuilt in stone in the 1810s.

What is special about the new church at Lainici?

It consists of two superposed churches, the lower one intended for the theme of the Church of the Catacombs and the upper one for the later history of Christianity. Its foundation stone was laid in 1990.

What happened to Lainici Monastery in the First World War?

It was severely damaged in 1916–1918. German troops were quartered there and later burned it, the bells were taken and the archive was burned.

Is Lainici Monastery a working monastery?

Yes, it is a Romanian Orthodox monastery for monks. Visitors should dress and behave respectfully and check the current opening hours.

What can you see near Lainici Monastery?

Bănița Fortress is about 23 km away, Sarmizegetusa Regia about 40 km and Horezu Monastery about 49 km.