 Žiča Monastery | |
  Location within Serbia | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Манастир - Жича |
| Order | Serbian Orthodox |
| Established | 1207-1217 |
| Dedicated to | Christ the Pantocrator |
| Diocese | Eparchy of Žiča |
| People | |
| Founder | Stefan Prvovenčani |
| Important associated figures | Stefan Milutin |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance |
| Designated date | 1947 |
| Site | |
| Location | Trg Jovana Sarića 1,Kraljevo,Serbia |
| Coordinates | 43°41′46.68″N20°38′44.66″E / 43.6963000°N 20.6457389°E /43.6963000; 20.6457389 |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | www |
TheŽiča Monastery (Serbian:Манастир Жича,romanized: Manastir Žiča,pronounced[ʒîtʃa] or[ʒîːtʃa])[1] is an early 13th-centurySerbian Orthodoxmonastery nearKraljevo,Serbia. The monastery, together with the Church of the HolyDormition, was built by the firstKing of Serbia,Stefan the First-Crowned and the first Head of theSerbian Church,Saint Sava.
Žiča was the seat of the Archbishop (1219–1253), and by tradition the coronational church of the Serbian kings, although a king could be crowned in any Serbian church, he was never considered a true king until he was anointed in Žiča. Žiča was declared aCultural Monument of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by Serbia.[2] In 2008, Žiča celebrated 800 years of existence.
TheSerbs were initially under the jurisdiction of theArchbishopric of Ohrid, under the tutelage of theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.Rastko Nemanjić, the son ofStefan Nemanja, ruled as Grand Prince of Hum 1190-1192,[3] previously held byGrand Prince Miroslav,[4] in the autumn of 1192 (or shortly thereafter).[5]
Rastko joined Russian monks and traveled toMount Athos where he took monastic vows and spent several years. In 1195, his father joined him, and together they founded theChilandar, as the base of Serbian religion.[6] Rastko's father died inHilandar on 13 February 1199; he was later canonised, asSaint Simeon.[6] Rastko built a church and cell atKaryes, where he stayed for some years, becoming aHieromonk, then anArchimandrite in 1201. He wrote theKaryes Typicon during his stay there.[6]
He returned to Serbia in 1207, taking the remains of his father with him, which he relocates to theStudenica monastery, after reconciling Stefan Nemanja II with Vukan, who had earlier been in a succession feud. Stefan Nemanja II asked him to remain in Serbia with his clerics. He founded several churches and monasteries, including theŽiča monastery.[6]
The monastery was founded by KingStefan Prvovenčani andSaint Sava,[6] in theRascian architectural style, between 1208 and 1230, with the help ofGreek masters.[7]
Stefan the First-Crowned аlsо ordered that the future Serbian kings аrе tо be crowned at Žičа.[8]
In 1219, the Serbian Church gains autocephaly, by EmperorTheodore I Laskaris andPatriarch Manuel I of Constantinople, and Archimandrite Sava becomes the first Serbian Archbishop.[9] The monastery acts as the seat of theArchbishop of all Serbian lands.Saint Sava crowning his older brother Stefan Prvovenčani as "King of All Serbia" in the Žiča monastery.[9] In 1221, a synod was held in the Monastery of Žiča, condemningBogomilism.[5]
When Serbia was invaded by Hungary, Saint Sava sentArsenije I Sremac to find a safer place in the south to establish a new episcopal See. In 1253 the see was transferred to theArchbishopric of Peć (future Patriarchate) by Arsenije.[10] The Serbian primates had since moved between the two.[11]
In 1289-90, the chief treasures of the ruined monastery, including the remains ofSaint Jevstatije I, were transferred to Peć.[12]
In 1219, Žiča became the first seat of the Serbian Archbishopic. The church, dedicated to the Ascension of Our Lord, displays the features of the Raska school. The ground plan is shaped as a spacious nave with a large apse at its eastern end. The central space is domed. The church was built of stone and brick. Architecturally, the Byzantine spirit prevails. There are three layers of painting, each being a separate entity. The earliest frescoes were painted immediately after the first archbishop Sava's return from Nicaea (1219), but only in the choir portions of these have been preserved. Sometime between 1276-92 theCumans burned the monastery, and KingStefan Milutin renovated it in 1292-1309, during the office ofJevstatije II.[10]Patriarch Nikon joined DespotĐurađ Branković when the capital was moved toSmederevo, following Turkish-Hungarian wars in the territory of Serbia in the 1430s.[11]
Renovation was carried out during the time of Archbishops Jevstatije II (1292-1309), and Nikodim (1317-37), when the refectory was adorned with frescoes, the church covered with a leaden roof, and a tower erected. The new frescoes were painted during the reign of King Milutin, but they have since suffered serious damage. Fragments have survived to the present day on the east wall of the passage beneath the tower (composition of King Stefan Nemanja II and his firstborn son Radoslav), in the narthex, nave and side-chapels.[13]
During the Uprising in Serbia in 1941, the first skirmishes within theSiege of Kraljevo began in the early afternoon on 9 October 1941 near Monastery of Žiča when theChetnik unit commanded by Milutin Janković attacked German unit which retreated to Kraljevo after a whole day battle in which Germans used canons to shell the monastery.[14] On 10 October German air forces bombarded theMonastery of Žiča using five airplanes and significantly damaged its church. The battle near monastery lasted until early morning of 11 October when Germans broke the rebel lines and put the monastery to fire.[14]
Frescoes depicting Pantocrator.[15][16]
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