The Secu Monastery was founded in 1602 by Nestor Ureche, the father of the famous Moldavian chronicler Grigore Ureche. His tomb is in the church crypt. The monastery has five defence towers. During the 17th century this monastery played an important role in the dissemination of religious manuscripts throughout Moldavia. Metropolitan Varlaam, another famous Moldavian chronicler, was buried in the churchyard in 1653.
The north-western tower of the edifice bears the name of Mitrofana, chronicler Nestor UrecheÆs wife; the tower has three levels and a ground floor, whose ceiling is a semi-cylindrical vault. The faτade of the south-eastern tower displays the Moldavian coat of arms carved in stone.
As a result of the damages caused by the PolesÆ attacks at the end of the 17th century and the Turkish raid of 1821, the church was completely restored in mid-19th century. The church porch, with its arcades, low pillars, and mural paintings in the Renaissance style, date from that period. The oldest buildings are situated on the southern side; these are the treasure hall, the kitchen, and the two-storey-buildings adjoined to Metropolitan GhedeonÆs tower. The faτade of the church is in the Wallachian style; it is divided by two saw-toothed rows of bricks.
The inside houses two objects of exceptional artistic value, i.e. the epitaph in the narthex, a donation from the church founders, and the Baroque iconostasis covered in gold leaf and made up of old icons.
