Rock Monastery Șinca Veche, Brasov

1. The cave monastery

Rock monastery it is covered by an "umbrella" (a huge tarpaulin) meant to protect it. Compared to the previous visit, the monastery under the rock is better protected. The red sandstone rock is the perfect shelter for this place. We also find a sketch of the site.

After the entrance there is a room high enough to continue the walk unclimbed. We are in the pronaos. On the left side are two "interior" annexes of the cave church, beautifully lit. On the right is first church with nave, iconostasis and then another, the second church, also with nave, iconostasis and altar. It is more spectacular and you can go a little further in.

Through the ceiling of the "stone alcove", where we are, the sun's rays shine through a natural chimney and illuminate the interior. It's turla church. The sunlight thus shines through to the place of prayer and the altar. It's said that positive energies come through this natural window. People sit and pray here, clasping their hands together, looking skyward through the slit of light and making wishes. In fact in the rock walls and on the ground there are many notes left by people with their wishes and prayers, or even icons or other personal items. Some return after a while to take them back home.

It also talks about the emergence of paranormal phenomena. A proof would be the appearance of white spots on the photographic film. It probably depends on everyone's imagination, so I won't comment, but leave it up to each one to believe as he likes. It is, however, certainly one more reason to accept visiting these places. We pray, we admire, we make wishes, we photograph and film, but here our visit to this holy and mysterious place is coming to an end.

2. Annunciation Spring

On the right side we find a church shop built in a mound of earth, very ingenious, and which fits perfectly with the destination of our objective. Unfortunately it is closed this time, but we will find another one, above the hermitage.

Now the road forks, to our left, just to our right is the monastery dug into the rock, another signpost invites us to the right in easy climb to the hermitage, in front of our eyes is a spring captured (rebuilt), called Spring of the Annunciation.

3. Courtyard, woods, church shop, alleys

The courtyard is very neat, the alleys are clearly delimited and paved, a paraias also has a well delimited and beautifully landscaped bed, the green trees border the permiterabil visitabil in which we are, an area at first semi-open, bright, like a glade. What I enjoyed very much here was the quiet and cleanliness that I found despite the influx of tourists present. It can be done! Kudos to those who take care of this! I'm not sure, but it seems that praise is due to Mrs. Maria Bagiu-Marino, a retired doctor, who set up the "Holy Mother - Unexpected Joy" Foundation.

Do not be discouraged by the short ascent of the path through the forest! The path is accessible to all age groups. The climb itself takes about 3 minutes. The path is landscaped, stepped and cobbled, which makes it easy for anyone to access even in the rain or during periods of high humidity. In the forest, the paths branch off and meet up. Very soon you come out at an intersection, passing through some mysteriously placed stones in the forest.

4. Hermitage of St. Nectarios the Wonderworker

We will not go back to the parking lot, but we will go back to the "hermitage" sign, which we will follow towards Hermitage of St. Nectarios the Healer. The Shrine of St. Nectaria is a goal in itself.

In less than 10 minutes in which we walked at will, for pleasure, and admired every "centimeter" of nature, we reach the St. Nectaria Hermitage. It is part of the list of historical monuments in our country. The hermitage is a place cared for by nuns. A lot of flowers surround and adorn the building. The exterior appearance is not that of a church or a hermitage, which makes you wonder, whether we have reached our destination or not.

But when you cross the threshold of the hermitage you recognize the aspect of a monastic settlement.

The hermitage itself, the visitable part, is small and consists basically of one room (or 2 connected but which do not leave the impression of separate rooms). We pray, admire the interior of the hermitage, the icons, the flowers and notice that on the right side of the room people are sitting in civilized rows.

The relics of St. Nectaria are kept in the chapel, where services are also celebrated. It is a place that every visitor wants to pass by, to pray, to worship, to make wishes, to live the moment of silence and recollection that you wish for in such a holy place. The rest of the building belongs to those who live there. There is no lodging in this place.

I also heard a recommendation here .... and that is that ..... you should not consider yourself to have or not to have confidence in a confessor, because you are not meant to judge him. But through him your faith and your prayers go where you want, to the good Lord. I don't know if that's so or not, but I was impressed by the way such parables were explained. Three impressive bells, placed close to the entrance of the hermitage, are also eye-catching. Nearby, there is also a "spring" arranged with holy water, a place where candles are lit and a church shop built similar to the one at the foot of the grotto (cave monastery) in a large mound in the ground with an oval door.

In the shop and on the porch of the hermitage you can buy various ecclesiastical objects, but also books, many of which written by the famous Father Arsenie Boca. We stay to savor the tranquility of the place for a few more good moments, especially as the sun has guided us all day. We retreat to the exit from the parking lot above. From the parking lot near the relay, we admire the mountains.