Naos, northern wall: The Resurrection of Lazarus, with the 19th century over-painting	Naos, northern wall: The Resurrection of Lazarus, the original 16th century painting

The mural paintings of the Orthodox church are not merely for decoration. Their purpose is also liturgical. Historically, Masses were conducted in Slavonic, a language peasant Moldavians could neither read nor comprehend. The pictures inside and outside the church educated the illiterate about the central stories of Bible such as Christ's life. These pictures follow a strict program and therefore do not vary much thematically from church to church.

In the naos, Christ Pantocrator dominates the vault of the lantern tower. The pendants feature painted Evangelists. The chancel behind the iconostasis is dedicated to the idea of Christ's Incarnation. The scenes represented here picture the Virgin with the Child, seated on the throne and adored by the Archangels; the Eucharistic Offering in two separate scenes, the Communion with Bread and Wine and the Holy Fathers of the Oriental Church. The arches that communicate with the vault of the naos show cherubs and seraphs, symbolic images of the Holy Trinity and, finally, the Ascension.

Naos: the Virgin and the Child adored by the Archangels

In the naos, as well as in the other parts of the church, paintings are divided into registers. These registers guide the beholder's eye. Representations of the Military Saints, martyrs from the first centuries of Christianity, compose the first lower register of the naos.

They are interrupted on the western wall by the votive painting of the founders, Petru Rares, his wife Elena, and their children. On the other side of the entrance, the image of the Byzantine Emperor St. Constantine and his mother, the Empress Helena, have been painted.

Archangels adore the Virgin and the Child on the southern wall. Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of the church, graces the southern apse. The rest of the room is dedicated to the Cycle of the Passions of Christ, starting with Palm Sunday, followed by the Prayer in the Garden, and ending with the Resurrection, represented in its Oriental version as the Descent into Limbo. The vaults of the apses show the Crucifixion and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Most of the western wall displays a vast composition of the Assumption of the Virgin.

The burial chamber, a space characteristic to the princely monasteries of the 15^th and 16^th century, is reserved for a unique theme: the Synaxar or the Church calendar. Each day of the church year is illustrated with one independent scene, representing the main saint(s) celebrated on that day.

All fixed celebrations are presented in chronological order, from September until February, covering the entire barrel-vault of the room and most of the walls. The funeral portrait of Ioan, a son of Petru Rares, interrupts the register of the holy monks.

Burial chamber: southern wall with the Synaxar

The other 6 months, from March until August, are represented on the perimeter walls of the pronaos. The room is well illuminated by the four Gothic windows with tracery and mullions. Arches support two cupolas, the base of each one being decorated with an eight-pointed star.

The eastern cupola bears a variant of the Virgin with the Child. The Christ Child is depicted in a medallion worn on the bosom of the Virgin. Saint Anne with the Virgin as a child graces the western cupola. Each halfmoon-shaped lunette under the vaults depicts Ecumenic Councils. The archangels Michael and Gabriel are painted on either side of the door to the burial chamber. The first register from the floor is dedicated to holy monks.

Pronaos: the western cupola with St. Anne and the Virgin as a child

The most spectacular compositions reside in the exonarthex. The entire vault, a barrel-vault with penetration arches, is dedicated to the Zodiac. Groups of cherubs and seraphs, surround the image of God the Father in His Oriental version, the Ancient of the Days, which dominates the centre. The eastern wall of the room presents the Last Judgement, which also surrounds the portal. Holy Women fill the narrow spaces between the large Gothic windows.

The vault of the exonarthex with the Zodiac

The exterior paintings of the church belong to the "Petru Rares epoch." Before his reign murals did not commonly adorn the outside walls of churches. In Probota, the three apses, marked by tall masonry niches, are decorated with registers of saints, oriented towards the axis of the sanctuary.

The southern façade, the best preserved, has two main themes: Tree of Jesse, the genealogical tree of the Old Testament ascendants of Christ, and "Akhatistos" Hymn. This Byzantine hymn is dedicated to the Virgin as Mother of God’s son. Twenty-four seperately illustrated scenes cover the southern façade.

The Akhatistos Hymn and the Tree of Jesse on the southern façade

In Probota, the Hymn concludes with a composition characteristic to Moldavian paintings during the first reign of Petru Rares (1527-1538). It ends with the Siege of Constantinople. Perhaps a reminder to the subjects of the Prince that he would best the infidels of the Ottoman empire.

The cycles of St. Nicholas, St. George and St. Anthony the Hermit remain preserved on the upper part of the exonarthex exteriors. The scenes, unfortunately, are quite damaged, especially towards north. The northern façade has little exterior painting remaining. This prevents the specialists from ever identifying the complete iconographic programme of the exterior paintings.

Where the eaves of the roof offered shelter, a register of angels has endured. Some cherubs and seraphs escaped erasure in the row of small niches that surround the church. Much of the complex mediaeval painting message, with its glorious art, was claimed by something so small and irresistible as rain.