Biserica Sf. Nicolae

The wooden church dedicated to "Saint Nicholas" in the village of Colacu, Fundu Moldovei commune, Suceava county, is an Orthodox place of worship built in 1800. It is located on the left bank of the Moldova River, near county road 175, and celebrates its patron saint on December 6, a day dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

The ensemble of the "Saint Nicholas" church in Colacu was included in 2015 on the List of Historical Monuments in Suceava county, under the code SV-II-a-A-05522. This ensemble comprises three distinct components: the wooden church itself, the parish house and the bell tower, all dating from 1800. The church bears the code SV-II-m-A-05522.01.

The church was built around 1800, on the site of an older church, from which the iconostasis was preserved. The founder of the building was the archpriest Gavril Ciupercovici (also known as Ciupercă), buried in the churchyard. His cross states that he passed away in 1815, and his wife, Elena, in 1824. Both are recognized as founders of the church, as is also recorded on the funeral cross.

Several sources attest to the year 1800 as the time of construction, among them the "Yearbook of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Bukovina for the year 1925" and Nicolae Stoicescu's work from 1974, entitled "Bibliographic Directory of Medieval Towns and Monuments in Moldova". The craftsmen who worked on the building were Ioniță and Gheorghe Șalvariu.

There is other evidence of the church's age. A bell donated in 1810 by the villagers of Colacu bears an inscription mentioning both the archpriest Gavril Ciupercovici and the contributors to the purchase of the bell. The iconostasis was painted in 1818, a fact confirmed by an inscription on the icon of the Virgin Mary. Also, the cross of the craftsman Ioniță Șalvari is found in the churchyard, with an inscription in Cyrillic characters that highlights his contributions to several places of worship in the region, including new churches in Câmpulung and Cârlibaba.

In 1910, a local named Simion Mândrilă donated a two-ton bell to the church, which was melted down by the Austrian military authorities in 1918 to obtain bronze for cannons.

Over time, the church has been restored several times. Between 1972 and 1974, the roof was re-roofed with decorative dranica, cut in a two-flower pattern. Another series of works took place in 1997, when the roof was replaced again with one with a three-flower pattern, and the guardhouse was transformed into a museum. In the same year, the church was reconsecrated by Archbishop Pimen Zainea of ​​Suceava and Rădăuți.

The churchyard houses several 19th-century tombstones, some with Cyrillic inscriptions. There is also the tomb of Traian Popovici, former mayor of Chernivtsi during World War II, known for saving about 20,000 Jews from deportation.

The church's fence is made of wood, typical of the Bukovina style, and access to the church's courtyard is through the bell tower located on the south side.

The church's construction is made entirely of fir beams, joined using the "dovetail" technique, placed on a river stone foundation. On the roof there are three spires along the main axis: the largest above the nave and two false spires. The walls are clad with planks, and the spires are covered with shingles.

The dimensions of the church are 17 meters long, 9.5 meters wide (including the side apses) and 12 meters high. The main entrance is from the west, through a 4x4 meter porch. The eaves are wide and supported by "horse head" shaped brackets, and the boards are joined with the help of ties. The bell tower retains the same architectural features as the church. The interior and exterior of the church were not plastered.

The plan of the building is in the shape of a Greek cross, with pentagonal apses. The church has two doors: one in the eastern part of the porch and the other in the southern wall of the altar, as well as four windows with grilles: one in the axis of the altar, two in the side apses and one in the western wall of the narthex.

Inside, the church is divided into four rooms: porch, narthex, nave and altar. The porch, with a square shape and a side of 3.80 meters, has a roof at the same level as the central one of the church. Initially open, it was later closed with boards. The narthex is accessible through a 0.90x1.90 meter door located in the southern wall.

The narthex is rectangular in shape, measuring 4.80x6.10 meters, and has a three-sided polygonal western side, where a window is located. Its roof consists of an octagonal dome, supported by consoles that mark a polygonal outline. Between the narthex and the nave there is a wall of beams with a decorative opening measuring 2.15x2.30 meters.

The nave has a rectangular shape (6.10x7.25 meters), with two pentagonal apses, placed symmetrically. Two windows are placed in the axes of the lateral apses. Above the nave rises an octagonal tower, provided with four windows ending in angles.

The altar has a pentagonal apse, and the iconostasis is advanced by 1.10 meters from the line of the apse, creating two niches: the diaconicon in the south and the proscomidyar in the north. In the altar there is a window located in the axis of the apse, with dimensions of 0.40x0.95 meters, and an access door on the southern side, measuring 0.80x1.85 meters. Above the altar there is an octagonal vault, supported on a polygonal outline inscribed in a square.

Sursa: ro.wikipedia.org