Toaca şi clopotele - Mănăstirea Putna

" Toaca " and the bells at Putna monastery:
" Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum; defunctos plango, fulmina fugo, festa decoro. - I praise the true God, I call the people, I assemble the clergy; I bewail the dead, I dispense storm clouds, I do honour to feasts."
" Toaca " is a percussion instrument made of a long, thick and well-planed piece of timber which is hit in different rhythms by 1 or 2 wooden hammers, with a technique requiring special skills. It is used chiefly in monasteries to summon the brethren to prayer, or to lead processions. From Holy Thursday until the Resurrection service at first hour of Easter Sunday it is forbidden to toll the bells, as a sign of mourning and grief for Our Lord's sufferings and death, so only the "toaca" will be heard. The bells tolling will announce the Resurrection !
The Putna monastery, situated in North of Romania, is an Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia. It was built between 1466-1470 and dedicated to Virgin Mary by glorious Prince Stephen the Great (1457-1504) named " Athleta Christi " by Pope Sixtus IV. Stephen is famous for building and influencing the building of dozens of churches and monasteries all over Moldavia (allegedly, he founded a religious edifice after each important military victory). The Putna Monastery houses the tombs of Stephen -nowadays, a place of pilgrimage - and several of his family members. The icon veils and tombstones are held as fine examples of Moldavian art in Stephen the Greats time.