"Stephen the Great - 500 years of legacy" project

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Strategic program of the project
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Strategic program of the project (2004-2005)

1) Scholarly studies:
• attribution and research of the sites of material culture of medieval Moldavia on Athos;
• distinction and study of the Moldavian documents from the monastic libraries on the Holy Mount

2) Conferences and publications:
• holding an international conference "Stephan the Great - 500 Years of Heritage" in Kishinev
• publication of monographs and articles under the title "Stephan the Great - 500 Years of Heritage" making clear the role of Medieval Moldavia in preservation of the Orthodox world, as well as the cultural heritage of the time

3) Popularisation:
• Shooting a film about Stephan the Great as a gospodar (ruler) who played a decisive role not only in the history of his own state, but also in saving the Orthodox world during the Ottoman invasion.
• A series of TV programs unveiling history of the Medieval Moldavia in an absolutely new perspective, a glorious history one can be proud of.
• Publication of a series of articles in print media and on Internet.

Short term objectives for 2004

1. Organisation of a special expedition to Athos to visit the sites of direct relation to the history of the Medieval Moldavia (you may see the itinerary below).

2. Shooting a popular science film "Unknown Stephan". Shootings will be done in Greece (Holy Mount Athos), Ukraine (Mangoup Plateau, fortresses Cetatea Alba and Chilia) and Romania (monasteries Putna and Voronet).

3. Preparation and publication of calendar dedicated to the year of Stephan the Great – a textbook of its kind that offers a brief biography of the ruler.

4. The book "Stephan's Heritage". It will present little known facts from the ruler's time, full biography of Stephan from authentic historical records, supplied with scientific comments of the book's authors, as well as a short historical overview of Moldova's statehood.

5. International scientific conference "Stephan the Great - 500 Years of Heritage". The conference will involve scholars from the following countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and Moldova.

6. Preparation of a series of articles in print media and on Internet under the title "Stephan the Great - 500 Years of Heritage".

7. Preparation of a series of TV programs "Stephan the Great - 500 Years of Heritage" or "Unknown Stephan".

Itinerary of the expedition to the Holy Mount Athos in Greece

Monastery Zographou. This monastery can be rightly considered the "lavra" of Moldavian rulers. The Moldavian rulers made large donations here. It preserves the documents relating to Moldova. It has a lot of objects pointing to close relationships between the medieval Athos and Moldova: Stephan's personal banner with the image of the ruler's protector, the icon donated by Stephan, church objects, a lot of inscriptions inside the monastery. The wharf in the monastery was built by Stephan's son, Bogdan III. Moreover, according to the recent scientific data (Nicholas A. Merdzimekis), Stephan rebuilt this monastery after it had been subjected to serious destructions by pirates. Besides, during the Ottoman invasion Stephan granted lands to this monastery in his country. Particularly, these were the possessions of Chipriana and Dobrovet monasteries.

Holy Mount Athos (click to enlarge image)

Gregoriou Monastery. Here Stephan was titled the second ktitor (curator) after the founder of the monastery. According to some data, after the destruction almost all buildings were entirely rebuilt by the Moldavian ruler. Numerous inscriptions and objects are still preserved, pointing to considerable help from the Moldavian rulers at the time of the Ottoman invasion.

Vatopedi Monastery. Stephan builds an arsana here, its bas-relief depicts the ruler holding a model of the temple before the Mother of God. Besides, he built a defence tower here.

Bas-relief of Vatopedi monastery with the image of Stephan and Mother of God

Chelandari Monastery. Documents preserved in this monastery mention Stephan as a first ktitor after the Serbian kings. Besides, the libraries there still keep numerous documents pointing to Moldavian presence here.

Saint-Paul Monastery. Documents mention a number of donations to this monastery, and besides, it is known that Stephan cared for development of this monastery. A number of other buildings connected with the church on the territory of the monastery are also linked to Stephan's name.