| Mileševa Monastery Милешева Манастир Mileševa Manastir | |
|---|---|
| Црква св. Благовјештења Crkva sv. Blagovještenja | |
 Exterior of the monastery | |
 Mileševa Monastery Милешева Манастир Mileševa Manastir | |
| 43°23′24″N19°39′41″E / 43.39°N 19.6614°E /43.39; 19.6614 | |
| Location | Prijepolje |
| Country | Serbia |
| Denomination | Serbian Orthodox |
| History | |
| Dedication | Annunciation |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Raška school Byzantine |
| Years built | 1234 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Eparchy of Mileševa |
TheMileševa Monastery (Serbian Cyrillic:Манастир Милешева,romanized: Manastir Mileševa,pronounced[mîlɛʃɛʋa] or[milɛ̌ʃɛʋa]) is aSerbian Orthodoxmonastery located nearPrijepolje, in southwestSerbia. It was founded by KingStefan Vladislav I,[1] in the years between 1234 and 1236.
The church hasfrescoes by the most skillful artists of that time, including one of the most famous in Serbian culture, the "White Angel", which depicts an angel at Christ's tomb.
The Mileševa monastery was founded between 1234 and 1236 by Serbian King Vladislav. The monastery is situated in a valley of theMileševa River, nearPrijepolje. Mileševa is one of the most important Serbian sanctuaries and spiritual centers. In 1236, Vladislav moved the relics of his uncleSaint Sava fromTrnovo inBulgaria, where he died, to Mileševa. Some historians believe that the coronation ofTvrtko I asKing of the Serbs and Bosnia in 1377,[2] took place in Mileševa.[3] In the 15th century, the monastery was the seat of theMetropolitanate of Dabar-Bosnia. In 1459, theOttomans set the monastery on fire,[citation needed] but it was soon restored. In the first half of the 16th century, the first service books were illuminated in theMileševa printing house.[4] One of the oldest schools also existed in the monastery. In the middle of the century, during the time ofPatriarch Makarije (theSerbian Patriarchate was restored in 1557), the monastery was thoroughly renovated. Its external narthex was built and painted and probably cut through the wall between the narthex and the nave. In later times, after several Ottoman military engagements,[5] a new restoration was undertaken in 1863 when the church considerably changed in appearance.
The Mileševa monastery has been frequently visited by pilgrims and various travellers, includingCornelis de Schepper,[6] some of them leaving records of their visits.[7] The monastery also received donations byRussian Emperors (Ivan IV Vasilyevich) andWallachian andMoldavian rulers. In 1594, the Ottomans removed the relics ofSaint Sava from the monastery and publicly burned them onVračar hill inBelgrade, making him thus a posthumousmartyr. On 27 October 1941, the Communist forces broke into the monastery and killed its hegumen Nestor Trkulja.[8]
Mileševa was declaredMonument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected byRepublic of Serbia.
The Church, dedicated to theAscension of Our Lord, architecturally belongs to theRaška school. Its ground plan is unique. Its single nave widens from the west eastward, so that the eastern bay is omitted completely, which results in the three altar apses leaning directly on the domed east wall. Inside, the dome is raised on several arches in a stairway-like arrangement. The narthex was added in 1236 upon which, during a 19th-century restoration, a dome was constructed on top.[9]
The first group of frescoes was produced in the 1230s. The other groups include works from theOttoman period, to be found in the exonarthex. These thirteenth-century frescoes may be considered to be the supreme achievement of all the paintings inEurope of that time. The portraiture deals withbishops (altar space),warrior saints and martyrs (nave), as well asmonks (narthex).[9] The upper registers in the narthex representChrist's earthly life. Below the resurrection composition on the south wall of the west bay, King Vladislav is depicted as being led to Christ by theMother of God. TheNemanjić family is portrayed in the northeastern part of the narthex:Stefan Nemanja as the monk Simeon,Sava as the firstarchbishop,Stefan the First-Crowned as king, and his sonsRadoslav and Vladislav. The frescoes in the narthex and the adjacent chapel were presumably painted in the 1230s and 1240s. They illustrate thelast Judgment and the lives of some saints. In the second half of the sixteenth century, the church was repainted with a new layer of frescoes of which only fragments of theLast Supper under the dome and theForty Martyrs in the north choir have survived. These frescoes were damaged in a fire, but they happened to save (acting like a protective layer) the earlier and more valuable paintings from the 13th century.[9]
Koji razlog je među navedenima ključan možda najbolje govori podatak da su komunističke likvidacije u Starom Rasu počele još u oktobru 1941. godine. Pripadnici Mileševske partizanske čete su, na primer, 27. oktobra upali u manastir Mileševu i zarobili tamošnjeg igumana Nestora Trkulju. Potom su ga streljali bez jasno utvrđene krivice.
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