The Monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

The "Holy Apostles Peter and Paul" Monastery in Țara Năsăudului is an Orthodox monastic settlement for monks, located on a forest-surrounded hill on the boundary between the villages of Rebra and Parva, on the Valea Rebrei, in Bistrița-Năsăud County. Facing the Someș river with its back against the Munții Rodnei, the monastery is considered the northernmost monastery in Transilvania. The hill on which it stands has been known for centuries as "La Mănăstire" ("At the Monastery"). The site has a long monastic history: a place of worship existed here before the year 1500, documented in part by an old inscription in Church Slavonic and Romanian. The original monastery was abandoned following repression during the Habsburg rule, and in 1822 its wooden church was demolished, with the materials donated to the commune of Parva for the construction of its own church. After 1990, local believers sought to revive the ancient settlement, and on 21 July 1993 seven residents of Mănăstirea Turnu received the blessing to establish a monastery on the old site, with the support of Metropolitan Bartolomeu Anania. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1994, and the church was completed and consecrated in 2009. The complex also includes a chapel dedicated to "Saint Porphyrios Kavsokalivitis", built between 2017 and 2019 and adorned with fresco paintings by the artist Sorin Efros, as well as a monastery museum displaying icons and old books from the institution's heritage. The monastery's feast day is celebrated annually on 29 June, on the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, when thousands of believers, many dressed in traditional Năsăud folk costumes, gather for the service held at the outdoor summer altar.