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The Wooden Church of Saint Nicholas, Zăpodeni village, Commune Zăpodeni, Vaslui County
(code LMI 2004: VS-II-a-A-06898. 01)
Built in the 1770 by Carp Bălăuţă, who hired Ioan Muştiuc from Zăpodeni as master, in the forest at the village’s north-eastern side and sheltered by centennial trees. He built the church from the foundations up to the window level. After his death, the founder hired two masters from Iasi to finish the works, i.e. Pavel Stoleru and Rusu Zaharia. Master Zaharia received a place for a house in payment and settled here.
Of impressing proportions, the church is built of oak girders, fixed in “right hasp” and “dovetailed” joints, on stone foundation and wood beams. It has a triple apse plan, with pentagonal apses and west-side entry. Porch supported on dentate pillars. The roof framing has long eaves and “threshold” dentate cantilevers. The “twisted” median girdle on the facades is visible only on the porch. The church maintained its interior unaltered, which highlights the mastery of the folk craftsman. The walls are of faced beams. The oak door at the narthex entry is enclosed by the same “rope-like” decorative motif. The passage between the narthex and the nave is marked by four separation pillars, with accolade openings. The octagonal-section vaults above the nave, narthex and altar, with simple ribs and circular apexes, are supported on retracting cantilevers. The facades were lined with boards more recently.
The iconostasis, richly ornamented with vegetal motifs and “clusters”, was painted in 1796, using the tempera technique on wood, by three painters from Băleşti-Vaslui: Ioan, Enachi and Axenti, according to the Cyrillic inscription below the central icons. Part of the church’s old dower is stored at the Diocesan Museum in Huşi.
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