Rakovica monastery

History

Although the origin of the monastery, according to the folk tradition, is associated with the epoch of Serbian kings Dragutin and Мilutin, the contemporary documents question that. The earliest written mention of the monastery was found in the travel accounts of Feliks Petančić from 1502, under the title of "Ranauicence monasterium" and later on it is also mentioned in the Turkish sources, in the register from 1560, among other churches and monasteries around Belgrade. On the website of the Orthodox magazine "Orthodoxy" you can read that this monastery was also mentioned in the charter of the Vlach Duke Konstantin Brankovean Besaraba, from 1701, which says that the monastery was erected and built from the scratch by a good Christian, the late Radula duke, who was the lord of this country (Wallachia). It is assumed that it was the Vlach duke Radulo I Crni, knez Lazar's son-in-law. During the 16th century the monastery was moved from the location around the village of Rakovica, where the remains of the old building (the traces of the walls, the column of the honourable table...) were found, to its present site. In 2007 at the old building location, the archaeological researches were done, and then again from 16 July till 16 August 2008, with the aim of confirming the assumption that the building in question is actually the old monastery building. The report states that the required results "were missing", and that the "existence of medieval necropolis in this area, as well as the remains of the honourable table...indicate the existence of the sacral object in that area, although its material remains have not been asserted so far." Being of the unfavourable position, in the vicinity of the major crossroad and the settlement, the monastery was destroyed during the Turkish invasion of Vienna 1592 and the national riots in 1594. Due to constant robbing, the monastery gradually moved to its present location, deeper into the forest. Once again, the monastery was destroyed during the Аustro-Turkish war (1737–1739), аnd again in 1788–1790. Due to cooperation of the abbots and Аustrians, аnd against the Тurks, the monastery was burnt in retaliation, and the abbot of the monastery of that time Sofronije was hanged to the elm tree in front of the monastery. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, this monastery, that is, its front wall was damaged again. Таdej Štrubulović was sent to the school of iconography in the monastery right after he became a monk. He was ordained into the rank of hieromonk on 3 February 1938 in the monastery.

Architecture

Nowadays within the monastery complex are located facilities made in different historical periods, from the 15th to the 20th century. Certainly the most important facility is the Church of Holy Archangels Мihailo and Gavrilo. The period of the construction of the monastery church cannot be precisely dated, but it is placed in a wider interval between the reconstruction of Patriarchate of Peć in 1557. and the Great Migration of Serbs in 1690. It was designed as a one-nave building in three-conched plan, with the visible influence of the Moravska School . The church has two domes, the larger one over the central arcade of the nave, and the smaller over the narthex. Basically, the nave is resolved in the form of a reduced inscribed cross, although this form is not visible in the external treatment. Interventions on the church from the 18th and 19th century altered substantially the authentic look of the upper part of the building. Horizontal division on the facade, was performed using cordoned cornice, separating upper and lower zone into two unequal parts. In 1905 the Monastic school started to work in the monastery, the first of that kind in Serbia, for whose needs in 1925 the new building was erected, so-called "Plato's konak". The building was designed by the Russian architect Valery Staševski in Serbian-Byzantine style. The school was active until 1932, аnd in the period from 1949 till 1958 The Belgrade School of Theology was located in the monastery.

Iconostasis was originally made of the wall partition with two central icons of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary, whereas on other places varies wooden and canvas icons were hanged. However, in 1862, the new iconostasis was set up, of the smaller dimensions, whose construction was financed by Serbian Prince Мihailo Obrenović .

The Monastery Sights

Мiloš Obilić's son Todor was buried in the monastery, which is why Miloš supported its renewal during his reign, and later his son, Мihailo Obrenović did the same.^[1] One of the parts of the monastery was named after Miloš's wife Ljubica, so-called "Ljubica's konak". Apart from some other members of the Obrenović family, Vasa Čarapić, one of the leaders of The First Serbian Uprising was also buried in the monastery. Former Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije was buried in this monastery too, in 1930, and the former Serbian Patriarch Pavle was also buried in this monastery, upon his explicit wish.

Gallery

the grave of Vasa Čarapić

the grave of Patriarch Dimitrije

the grave of Patriarch Pavle

the entrance to the monastery

the fountain in front of the monastery