Socola Monastery

Socola Monastery or Schimbarea la Față ("Transfiguration") was a Romanian Orthodox establishment located in the eponymous quarter of southern Iaşi, Romania. Founded during Moldavia's existence as a state, it was erected and dedicated by Moldavian Prince Alexandru Lăpuşneanu in 1562, and originally functioned as nunnery. The establishment acquired a significant historical position in Romanian education during the early 19th century, when it functioned as a seminary and the first-ever institution to provide secondary training in the Romanian language.

The seminary ceased to exist later in the same century, and, in 1905, was replaced by a psychiatric hospital. The monastery continued to function until the communist period, when it became a parish church. It has afterward been functioning as a church serving the Socola Psychiatric University Hospital.

Lăpușneanu ordered work to begin on the monastery building in 1551, to replace an older church, the work being completed in 1562. The dedication was made by the monarch, his wife Ruxandra and his daughter Soltana as ktitors, with Soltana also serving as the first head of what was then the Socola nunnery. The institution also housed a school, which offered training for both nuns and laywomen for the surrounding community. The name, which carries no meaning in Romanian, was probably borrowed from a Slavic source, from sokol, or "hawk" (allegedly in connection to the practice of falconry in its immediate vicinity).

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