The legend reads that in the middle or XVII century,monk Iezechil together with some men or faitharrived to the rock Japca from a Moldova sketeDelen and they carved a cave onto the very summitor the rock, by the foot or which Japca Conventis located at present.

   The rock skete has beenpreserved either: it hosts a church.The first references or the cloister appearedin the year 1770, upon arrival or a wanderer-monk Theodosius to the place. He founded a dilapidatedabandoned skete and settled there. Yet, little bylittle the skete was inhabited by other monks andit grew crowded. Then Theodosius agreed withthe owner or Japca settlement to allot a land plotby the mount foot: together with the monk heconstructed a wooden church and wicker cells.

   Little by little the skete was developed: onto thelands purchased by Theodosius they constructed amill, laid orchards and gardens, bred cattle. In theyear 1818 Theodosius was awarded by the exarchGabriel, while the skete was bestowed with thestatus or a monastery.The cloister saw the first stone church builtin 1825, while the winter temple was constructedin 1849.

   The funds for both sacred temples werecherished by well-being people who desired tospend their means for godly deeds. The monasterysaw auxiliary premises constructed.The unique feature or the cloister is thatdespite severe oppression and closure or allmonasteries and most churches by the sovietgovernment in Moldova, Japca has surviveduntouched. In addition, the place is surroundedby divine natural landscapes so beautiful that bythe close or XIX—turn to ХХ centuries the placewas frequently visited by the most famous noble families or Bessarabia and Russia.

   CONVENT “ASCENSIO CHRISTI”,

• Japca Village or  Floresti region.Tel.: (+373 250) 66-259