Cocoș Monastery

Cocoş Monastery is a monastery in Romania, located in a forest clearing 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the town Niculițel.

The place name is due to the cocoș de mesteacăn, the Romanian name for birch cock or black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), a wild bird frequently sighted in the woods.

The first religious building on the site was a hermitage, first referred in 1679. The monastery was founded in 1833 by three Moldovan monks from Neamț, on the way to Mount Athos.

The monastery includes an abbot's house, a number of monks' dwellings, a bell tower, a chapel and a church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, all of which are on the list of historical monuments in Romania, being built between 1883 and 1913.^[1]

In 1971, nearby, heavy rains exposed the dome of a old hidden crypt with the remains of four 3C martyrs (Zotikos, Attalos, Kamasis and Phillipos); their relics were later placed in caskets and brought to the monastery, and started attracting many pilgrims.