Speaking about the foundation of the Rafaila Monastery, the living remember with emotion the legend of voivode Stephen the Great and the Holy. After the battle at the High Bridge (1475), Ștefan meets two children, Radu and Irina, survivors of a decimated family. Moved by their suffering, he gives them lands: to Irina the Oșești, Cosmești, Chetrești and Delești estates, and to Radu the lands in the villages of Buda and Rafaila. Radu becomes the monk Rafail and founds a hermitage in Valea Stemnicului.
The first documentary attestation of the Rafaila Monastery dates from December 4, 1599, when Porcea aprod sells part of the Todirești village, mentioning "the clearing from the so-called Rafail monastery".
Until the beginning of the 19th century, there are multiple testimonies attesting to the existence of the Rafaila Monastery, mentioned in deeds of sale and purchase and litigation, but the information about the spiritual life of the community is limited.
Historian Costin Clit demonstrates the relocation of the monastery from the Stremnići valley to the current location, in the period 1637-1660. The reasons for this move are not known, but it is assumed to have been related to structural problems or the monks' desire for isolation. Since 1660, the monastery was protected by the Mother of God.
On May 1, 1837, Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi consecrated the Rafaila Hermitage of the Socola Monastery Seminary, for the support of the theological school. In 1859, a village school is established in the monastery cells, functioning until 1915. In 1877, the school receives land for "student recreation and small plantations". After the Law of Secularization of Church Assets from 1863, the Rafaila Monastery goes through a period of regression and instability due to the lack of staff and the precarious economic situation.
In the interwar period, the monastery goes through a reorganization under Bishops Iacov Antonovici and Nifon Criveanu. After 1930, attempts were made to form a stable community and repair the buildings, including the main church. Protosinghel Theofil S. Niculescu, abbot between 1938-1939, is noted for his cultural contribution, leaving in manuscript a work on the monasteries in Romania.
Between 1940-1949, under the leadership of the proto-Singhel Modest Vintilescu, the monastery experienced a period of spiritual stability, despite the war. During the communist period, after Decree 410 from 1959, the monastery is closed, the monks being forced to leave, and the buildings being used for profane purposes.
After 1989, the inhabitants of the village of Rafaila demand the reopening of the monastery. On December 11, 1993, Bishop Eftimie Luca approved the re-establishment of the monastery with a community of monks. In 1994, Vichentie Lupu became abbot, reviving the monastic tradition started by the monk Rafail four centuries ago.
The main church, built in 1834 by the hieromonk Iorest, is of a ship type with mountain architectural influences, having a bell tower above the pronaos. The interior is specifically Orthodox, with a massive pediment and neo-Byzantine icons from the 19th century.
Sursa: episcopiahusilor.ro
