Programul iconografic al bisericii Sf. Nicolae din Rădăuți. Menologul în vremea Sf. Ștefan cel Mare
The Iconographic Program of the “St. Nicholas” Church in Rădăuți. The Painted Menologium in the Time of St. Stephen the Great

Summary/Abstract: The painted Menologium in the narthex of the Diocesan Church in Rădăuți (cca. 1488/89) is the most extensive produced in late-15th-century Moldavia. However, this Menologium is not complete, but selective, like those in the narthexes of the Lujeni and Voroneț churches, dating back to the same century. In general, it is a representative Menologium, illustrating on average 7–9 days of each month, but giving priority to September – the beginning of the liturgical year, to March – the beginning of the second half of the year, and to August – the last month of the liturgical year, by illustrating 14, 18 and 27 days respectively. The first day of the illustrated Menologium, September 1st, is preceded by the introduction to the versified Hagiography (Prologue) of Middle-Bulgarian, Tarnovian redaction. A study of the composition of the Rădăuți Menologium indicates that its primary textual source was this redaction of the versified Prologue. For the most part, this Menologium follows a known repertoire, especially for post-Byzantine art in the Romanian and Greek area, but it also contains some rare or unique representations. Establishing the content of the Rădăuți Menologium disproves its supposed evolution in Moldavia from selective to complete. Like the Lujeni Menologium, it shows that the painters were equipped with all the possibilities to represent a Menologium of any extent, the only limit being the available painting surface.

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