In a Bucharest Greek-Catholic church, the Nativity of Jesus scene is beautifully portrayed in the setting of the rural Maramures (the northern region of Romania). Close to the current, new, monumental Orthodox Cathedral, this tiny church was erected in 1934 - 1938 to serve the small community of Romanians from Transylvania living in the interwar period in the capital of Greater Romania, Bucharest. The church was painted in 1940-1941 by an academic painter, Traian Biltiu-Dancus (1899-1975), from the village of Ieud, Maramures.
The Nativity was placed by Biltiu-Dancus in the stable (although the cave is the norm in the Byzantine tradition). The scene depicts the Holy Family, with Saint Joseph as a protector, Saint Mary holding Baby Jesus, the adoration of the Magi and the adoration of the shepherds. This Nativity scene surprises and delights us by its naturalness and simplicity, particularly with the image of the shepherds dressed as peasants of Maramures, playing a tin whistle, bringing flowers, bread and curd to the newborn child.
Rural Maramures & the Saxon heartland of Transylvania - 7-day tour
Ieud – the Wooden Cathedral of Maramures
The beautiful faces of Maramures
Voronet, a medieval witness of piety and glory
Blaj, the sacred place of the national resurgence of Romania
Stavropoleos monastery. The Jewel within the very heart of the city
A life rhythmed by prayers. A touching inscription on a Viscri house
