The Veselinje Monastery ( sr, Манастир Веселиње, Manastir Veseljenje) is a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

dedicated to

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and located at the village of Vrba south-east of the town of

Glamoč Glamoč ( sr-cyrl, Гламоч) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the foothills of Stareti ...

, in western

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. The monastery's church, consecrated on 10 August 1975, was built without intention to found a monastery around it. The

ktitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

of the church was Veselin Nearlović, a businessman from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, who was born in Vrba. After the ktitor agreed with the idea to establish a monastery at the church, monastic buildings were constructed, and the Veselinje Monastery was consecrated on 8 April 1985. The church was built at the site of an earlier, wooden church, which was erected in 1865. It was burned down during World War II, in 1941, by the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

, Croatian fascists. The Ustaše also brutally tortured and murdered the parish priest of Vrba, Simo Banjac, whom the Serbian Orthodox Church canonised as a martyr in 2003. In 1995, at the end of the Bosnian War, the Croatian Army took control of the Municipality of Glamoč. The monastery was subsequently devastated and its valuables were stolen, but it was restored in 1998. The Veselinje Monastery owns three bells made in 1879, 1933, and 1936, respectively. Two of them belonged to the old Serbian Orthodox church in Glamoč, destroyed by the Ustaše, while the third bell belonged to the earlier wooden church. A memorial chapel, dedicated to the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

who were murdered by the Ustaše in the Municipality of Glamoč, was built at the monastery and consecrated in 2012 by

Serbian Patriarch This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ortho ...

Irinej. , remains of 806 murdered Serbs, exhumed from mass graves, have been buried in the crypt at the chapel. Around 300 metres from the monastery lie the ruins of a church dated to the 5th century. Ancient tombstones found at that church are displayed in the monastery's yard. The village of Vrba is situated on the site of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...

'' Salvium, which was last mentioned as an extant town in 533.

References

External links

Monastery of Veselinje on the site of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Bihać and Petrovac
{{coord, 44.015430, N, 16.898372, E, type:landmark, display=title Churches completed in 1865 Buildings and structures demolished in 1941 1985 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Churches completed in 1985 20th-century Christian monasteries Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina 20th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Glamoč Attacks on religious buildings and structures during the Bosnian War Attacks on churches in Europe Attacks on religious buildings and structures during World War II Anti-Christian sentiment in Europe