The Densuș Church (also known as St Nicholas' Church) in the village of Densuș,

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak ...

is the oldest stone church in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. It was built in its present form in the 13th century on the site of a 2nd-century

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...

, with some materials from Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa fortress, the capital of Roman Dacia, also known as Dacia Traiana or Dacia Felix. It has a stone tower above the naos. Inside the church there are 15th century mural paintings that show

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

wearing Romanian traditional clothes. These paintings were made by artist Ștefan. In the 18th century more paintings were added by Simion de Pitești. From 1566 to the end of the 19th century the building functioned as a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

church, too. Because of this, the paintings were lime-whited in the 16th century and its belltower has a Hungarian inscription from 1782. According to Romanian historians, on the setting of the present-day church there was once a

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

n temple dedicated to Zamolxis, upon which the conquering

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

built a temple dedicated to the god

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. Its present form dates from the beginning of the 12th century. Considering its antecedents, though, Densuș Church dates from the 4th century AD, and is considered the oldest church in Romania and

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

Hypothesis about Densuș

One of the hypotheses about Densuș is that it was once a pagan temple; to sustain this argument, it is noted that the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

of the church is closer to the South than to the East, which would suggest that it was once a pagan temple, since all early Christian houses of worship have the altar pointing towards the East. Other clues are the form of the roof, which, seen from a lateral perspective, has the form of a bird, to be exact a dove, and above the altar there are two stone lions, united by their tails. Another hypothesis, based on inscriptions found inside the church, holds that it was originally built as a mausoleum to the Roman general Longinus Maximus. But it is also possible that the stones with the inscriptions were moved from their original place and were built into the temple later. The most widespread opinion among Romanian historians is that the present Densuș church was once a

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

, which is to say a Paleo-Christian church from the 4th to 6th centuries AD, and it is also the first church on

n territory.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Densus Church Romanian Orthodox churches in Hunedoara County Buildings and structures in Hunedoara County Historic monuments in Hunedoara County 13th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings