Idiciu (Jövedics, Belleschdorf) – Mureș County
Whether you come on the old country road from Șmig or approach on the narrow asphalt from Daia, the village of Idiciu, located on the border of Mureș and Sibiu counties, seems like a final destination. The peace that settles over the area is amplified on the hill on which rises the tower of the former evangelical church, with a history dating back to the 15th century.
The evangelical church in Idiciu has a history spanning over six centuries
There are few details known about the history of the evangelical church in Idiciu, a village founded by Saxon settlers, first mentioned in the year 1301 under the name Ivedeech, belonging to a certain noble named Belus. Sometime in the 15th century, a small hall church was built on the hill in the western part of the village, whose vault collapsed following a violent storm in 1690. Between 1825-1827, the medieval choir was rebuilt and expanded under the guidance of master Conrad from Mediaș, according to Kirchenburgen. Later, in 1904, extensive renovation works were carried out, during which the roof structure was rebuilt.
Separated from the rest of the church, the old wooden belfry was demolished in 1927, and the current bell tower was built in the western part. According to experts, the most valuable object of the church was the Renaissance coffered ceiling from 1690, with its 98 panels decorated with geometric and vegetal motifs, installed after the unfortunate event of that year. Unfortunately, in the spring of 2016, the ceiling collapsed, causing havoc to the entire nave of the church.
The evangelical church in Idiciu „breathes” hundreds of kilometers away!
The shock caused by the irreversible destruction in 2016 mobilized the Stiftung Kirchenburgen Foundation, which engaged in an emergency measure within a roof refurbishment program. With the support of donors, including an organized group from Germany, a series of interventions were successfully completed that saved the bell tower’s roof. What few people know is that a part of the evangelical church in Idiciu continues to delight parishioners, in one of the most famous churches in the entire country.
In 1870, when the old church in Senereuș (Szénaverős, Zendersch) was demolished, the local community sold the organ made in Sibiu, in 1753, to the more modest evangelical community in Idiciu. The organ, sold then at a much lower price than its real value, eventually ended up in Cluj-Napoca in the early 1990s, where it was reused to expand the organ with nearly 3.000 pipes of the Saint Michael Roman Catholic Church in the heart of the city. Additionally, a panel from the old altar of the evangelical church in Idiciu was exhibited in the chapel of the senior citizens’ home in Drabenderhöhe, Wiehl (Germany).
Abandoned, neglected by the villagers, and almost forgotten by the world, the access to the evangelical church in Idiciu is open and unrestricted. Aside from the efforts of the Stiftung Kirchenburgen Foundation and generous donors, the chances of the building surviving, unfortunately, are extremely slim…