St. Elijah Church
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Year built: 1488
Build By: Stephen the Great
Location: Suceava, Suceava County
Summary: The church of St. Elijah was originally built for a small monastery outside the town of Suceava. Now there is no monastery left, and the town has grown around the church.
The church of St. Elijah is similar to the contemporary church of Patrauti. The architecture is characteristic of the early centuries of the reign of Stephen the Great: a small church with only a pronaos, a naos and a chancel, crowned by a tower.
In the middle of the west façade is the entrance to the church. The doorway is, as in all churches of this period, purely Gothic, with multiple, pointed lance-shaped arches.
The church still preserves the interior painting dated from the reign of Stephen the Great, probably from the 1490s. In spite of the dark surfaces in the whole church, the high artistic quality of the painting can be observed.
In the naos, there is a beautiful iconostasis, dated from the 18th century. The wooden supporting parts are carved and gilded. The four large imperial icons are especially worth noting.
The south façade was painted at the beginning of the 17th century, very late compared with the other painted churches. The Ladder of St. John of Sinai covers the largest part of the wall. Apart from its presence here, this theme is only found on the walls of the churches of Rasca and Sucevita monasteries.
Contact:
Address: Sfantu Ilie village, Scheia, 727525, Suceava County
Phone: + 40 (230) 513817; + 40 (230) 514031
