Praskvica Monastery
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The Praskvica Monastery () is a
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in Čelobrdo, a village in the
Budva Budva (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Будва, or ) is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It had 27,445 inhabitants as of 2023, and is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budv ...
municipality in modern-day
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
. It was a spiritual and political center of the
Paštrovići The Paštrovići ( sh-Cyrl, Паштровићи, ; or ) is a historical tribe and region in the Montenegrin Littoral. Paštrovići stretches from the southernmost part of the Bay of Kotor, from the cape of Zavala to Spič. Its historical ca ...
clan. The name of the monastery is taken from the peach-scented water of the nearby spring (''praskva'', diminutive ''praskvica,'' meaning a "peach").


Establishment

According to the legend, the monastery was founded in 1050, but the first document that mentions it was composed in 1307. The document is a charter that
Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as List of Serbian saints, Saint King, was the List of Serbian monarchs, King of Kingdom o ...
issued during his visit to
Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...
, in which he confirmed to the Church of the Holy Trinity the ownership over villages granted to the church by his mother,
Saint Helen of Serbia Saint Helen of Serbia (; – 8 February 1314) was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval), Serbian Kingdom, as the spouse of King Stefan Uroš I, who ruled from 1243 to 1276. Their sons were later Serbian kings Stefan Dragutin (12 ...
.


Churches

Six churches belong to Praskvica Monastery. Two churches are within the complex of the monastery. The older church is dedicated to the
Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...
while the other, built by
Balša III Balša III ( sr-cyr, Балша III; ) or Balsha III (1387 – 28 April 1421, in Belgrade) was the fifth and last ruler of Zeta from the Balšić noble family, from April 1403 to April 1421. He was the son of Đurađ II and Jelena Lazarević. ...
and his mother
Jelena Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. The name is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helena, and it signifies the word ‘Greek’ (Ελληνικά) meaning bright, light. Helena comes from Helios meaning shining and s ...
in 1413, is dedicated to
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
. The church was built in the
Raška architectural school Raška architectural school (), also known as the Raška style (Рашки стил, ''Raški stil''), or simply as the Raška school, is an ecclesiastical architectural style that flourished in the Serbian Middle Ages (ca. 1170–1300), during t ...
style. In the same year, a small house was built near the church. After the church was reconstructed in 1847, only a part of one wall of the original church building remained. There are four churches on the
Sveti Stefan Sveti Stefan ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Свети Стефан, ; lit. "Saint Stephen") is a town in Budva Municipality, on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro, approximately southeast of Budva. The town is known for the Aman Sveti Stefan resort ...
island that also belong to Praskvica Monastery. One of them was destroyed by the communists during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and was later turned into a casino. The Church of
Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...
() is one of the remaining churches on Sveti Stefan that belongs to Praskvica Monastery. Serbian tennis star
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
married Jelena Ristić on 12 July 2014 in this church. Some of the monastery icons were painted in 1681 by a painter named Radul. According to some stories, the cross of Emperor Dušan is kept in this monastery. In 1813, when Montenegrin Littoral became part of the
Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...
, the monastery was plundered by Napoleonic forces.


Jegor Stroganov

There is a popular story about Jegor Stroganov, a one-armed Russian military officer who lived in the monastery as a monk from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. According to this story he came to Budva at the end of the 18th century and became a monk in Praskvica and pledged for silence. At the beginning of the 19th century, he took ten years to build a 3-kilometer stone road from Sveti Stefan to the monastery. This road is
eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
ously called "Jegor's Road" after him. A drama by the same name, written by Serbian playwright
Vida Ognjenović Vida Ognjenović ( sr-cyr, Вида Огњеновић, ; born 14 August 1941) is a Serbian theater director, playwright, writer, drama professor and diplomat. Biography Ognjenović completed primary education in the town of Vrbas, before going ...
, was inspired by the story about Stroganov.


See also

* List of Serbian Orthodox monasteries


Notes


Further reading

*
Živopis manastira Praskvice, Dejan Vorgić
{{DEFAULTSORT:Praskvica monastery 14th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Montenegro Budva Municipality 15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Medieval history of Montenegro Medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries Nemanjić dynasty endowments