Holy Monastery “Icon” in Cărpiniș, Romania – A Spiritual Oasis in a Picturesque Setting

Holy Monastery “Icon” is a picturesque monastery located at the foothills of the Parâng Mountains in the Oltean Subcarpathian Depression, in the Crasna commune, Cărpiniș village, Gorj county, Romania. It is approximately 40 km from Tg-Jiu and 10 km from Novaci.

The foundation of the monastic settlement “Icon” (Icoana) in the Archdiocese of Craiova is attributed to the “Icoana” Charity Committee from Bucharest and the generosity of Father Ioan Popescu, the parish priest of the “Icoanei” Church in Bucharest, who donated the land for the construction of the monastery, along with contributions from numerous known and unknown faithful.

In 1996, with the blessing of His Eminence Nestor Vornicescu, Archbishop of Craiova and Metropolitan of Oltenia, and the approval of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the monastic settlement for nuns with communal life was established.

The initial church on the premises was a wooden church dedicated to the “Nativity of St. John the Baptist”, which served as a place of worship until 2011. The church is built of wooden beams on a stone and concrete foundation and has a nave shape divided into altar, nave, and a small porch supported by wooden pillars. The iconostasis is made of planks.

In 2008, due to unfavorable conditions, construction works began for a new stone church dedicated to the “Holy Martyrs Brâncoveni”, which was completed in 2011, with plans for fresco painting. Although relatively young and still undergoing development and completion, the Icon Monastery is a hidden gem for those on pilgrimage, waiting to be discovered for its spiritual significance and beauty.