Walls That Remember: Graffiti and Commemorative Practice in Post-Byzantine Moldavian Churches

This paper explores commemorative graffiti—unofficial carved inscriptions and drawings—in Moldavian Orthodox churches of the post-Byzantine period, situating them within broader memorial traditions across the Ottoman Balkans. Focusing on two key case studies—the Church of St. Nicholas in Bălinești and the catholicon of Moldovița Monastery—the study examines differing commemorative strategies in boyar residences and monastic foundations. In Bălinești, structured inscription groups near the prosthesis niche list ecclesiastical and lay figures, reflecting familial memory practices. By contrast, the Moldovița catholicon contains dispersed graffiti in varied locations and styles, ranging from priestly lists for liturgical commemoration to informal lay appeals for remembrance. Building on the concept of Lived Religion, the research investigates these graffiti not as marginalia but as integral expressions of devotional life, shaped by liturgical space and social dynamics. It compares Moldavian graffiti with other forms of post-Byzantine commemorative media, including painted memorial lists (e.g., St. Nicholas in Manastir), wooden icon-diptychs (e.g., Poganovo and Pološko), and ecclesiastical memorial books from Meteora, Dousikos, and Athens. These comparisons highlight diverse commemorative strategies emerging from shifting devotional, social, and economic landscapes in the post-Byzantine Ottoman Balkans. Through this comparative lens, the study explores regional interconnections in devotional practices and traces the presence of Moldavian elites in Greek memorial contexts, suggesting cross-regional ritual influence. Ultimately, this research sheds light on the interaction between local memory practices and transregional Orthodox identities, contributing to a broader understanding of religious culture, manuscript tradition, and commemorative space in the post-Byzantine world.