ASPECTS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE ROMANIAN MONASTERIES: THE PRESENCE OF PRISONS IN THE MODERN PERIOD
ASPECTS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE ROMANIAN MONASTERIES: THE PRESENCE OF PRISONS IN THE MODERN PERIOD

Summary/Abstract: Monastic detention has existed since the 6tth century, but the transformation ofmonasteries into prisons and other institution of confinement such as houses ofcorrection, psychiatric hospitals, sanatoriums, asylums etc., arose at a time when theideas of the Enlightenment were embodied in the society. This was a point ofinflection of the pre-modern and modern world. The paradigm shift gradually began,in the 17th century in Western Europe, until the 19th century in the RomanianPrincipalities. With the secularization of monastic property in 1863, and delayedconstruction of new prisons, a number of monasteries changed their full function,becoming prisons. The consequences were disastrous: monastic ensembles, most ofthem of a priceless spiritual, architectural and historical value were in many casesirreversible destroyed and their mission altered.

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