 |
|
| Religion Forum Index » Christian Orthodox Forum » Serbia Travel Club on Chelije Monastery... |
|
Page 1 of 1 |
|
| Author |
Message |
| ++... |
 Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:31 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
Galina Note: English theirs, learned from tv and movies.
http://www.serbiatravelers.org/en/destinations/45-western-serbia/459-celije
Celije Monastery, dedicated to St. Archangel Michael is tucked in the
untouched nature between mountain slopes on the left bank of Gradac
river, near the city of Valjevo. It probably owes its name to numerous
monks’ cells (kelije) that can be seen in the rocky caves of the
nearby cliffs. Apart from the main church, in the monastery yard
there is also a charnel. It holds the bones of numerous anonymous
people, found in the monastery grounds by nuns who, with their bare
hands, rebuilt the destroyed monastery after WWII. The monastery has a
beautiful yard, with a lot of fir trees, flower beds and lawns.
Dormitories are made of red brick and white stone in a very unusual
architectural style. Gradac river, one of the cleanest rivers in
Serbia, runs just behind the monastery. Its cold waters are excellent
for drinking.
King Dragutin, who reigned this area from 1282 to 1316. An other story
says that three brothers of the Nemanjic royal dynasty built three
monasteries in this area: Celije, Jovanje and Pustinja.
It is likely that the monastery was founded during the reign of Despot
Stefan Lazarevic (1389-1427) in the time of social and religious bloom
of the Western Serbia, especially this region. At the time, Valjevo
was the residence of the metropolitan bishop, while the main church
was in the Celije monastery.
In the Ottoman days, the monastery was demolished and burned down a
couple of times, but every time it was rebuilt at the same place. The
most famous priests of that times were Danilo Vukasinovic, who took
part in the meeting of Serbian leaders in Belgrade in 1733, famous
Hadzi-Ruvim and others.
In the first half of the 18th century, Serbs lined with Austrians who
were defeated by the Turks. Serbian people migrated North, led by
Archbishop Arsenije IV Jovanovic. In 1739, near the Celije monastery,
a few thousand Serbian families were massacred by the Turks. Since
then the nearby village is known under the name “Lelici”
or”Leleci” (“lelek” meaning lament, mourning).
In the second half of the 18th century, the monks of the Celije
monastery took part in the uprising led by Koca Kapetan, which was the
reason why the Turks burned the monastery to the ground in 1791. Soon
after that, the monastery was rebuilt by the Serbs. In that time the
prior of the monastery was Hadzi – Ruvim.
In 1804 the clergy of the Celije monastery took part in organizing the
First Serbian Uprising led by Karadjordje. In the monastery you can
see the grave of Duke Ilija Bircanin, killed by the Turks in 1804
along with other prominent Serbian leaders. In 1810 the Turks burned
the monastery down once again, but the Serbs rebuilt it in 1811, with
the help of rich Armenian people from Valjevo. The main dome was built
in the Armenian style after the wish of one of the Armenian
benefactors.
From 1804 to 1813 the Celije monastery housed Karadjordje’s military
hospital. Later, in Milos Obrenovic’s liberated Serbia, the elementary
boarding school operated in the monastery. The school was also
attended by Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic, a famous Serbian religious
thinker and writer of the 20th century.
During WWI the Austrians pulled the monastery down, but it was soon
rebuilt just to be demolished again in WWII. After the war the
monastery was rebuilt by nuns, who found a large number of old bones
in the ground, dating from different times. They washed them in wine
and placed them into a little charnel just next to the main church
building. The charnel has the shape of a big white cube with a wooden
bell-tower.
Famous priest and theologian Dr. Justin Popovic lived in the Celije
monastery from 1948 until his death in the 70’s. Nicknamed Ave Justin,
he was the author of a number of theological works and one of the
founders of the Serbian Philosophical Society.
Celije monastery is located about 6 km southwest of Valjevo, on the
left bank of the Gradac River. Gradac is a sinking river, springing
from the foot of Povlen Mountain. After a few kilometers it goes
underground, to appear again near the village of Bogatici, above the
Celije Monastery. From Bogatici, the river runs through a winding
gorge all the way down to the monastery.
There are two daily busses connecting the city of Valjevo and the
monastery. Valjevo can easily be reached on a bus from Belgrade.
The monastery itself is near the village of Lelic, in a green valley
between the hills called Vrane, Markovac, Presadi, Kaludjersko Brdo
and Celijske Urvine.
Concealed by the hills, the monastery complex can't be seen until you
come out of the forest and into the valley. There is a winding dirt
road branching off from the main asphalt road to Valjevo and going all
the way to the monastery.
The monastery church, devoted to the archangels Michael and Gabriel,
has a basis in form of a byzantine basilica. The ceiling is 11 meters
high, and the nine-sided dome symbolizes nine archbishop ranks. The
last restauration of the dome took place in 1936 when it got its
present look.
The monastery is located in a beautiful landscape, in the Gradac river
valley, surrounded by hills covered in thick forest, which creates an
atmoshpere of tranquility and isolation. About 5 minutes walk down
from the monastery is the Gradac River basin. The Gradac is one of the
cleanest rivers in Serbia and offers excellent drinking water.
The vast monastery yard is surrounded by a wooden fence. Beside the
church there is a dormitory and a charnel house. There is also a bell
tower and a couple of old graves, including the Duke Ilija Bircanin’s
grave on the north side and the grave of Saint Father Justin in the
south. The dormitory building is a mixture of the Serbian and
Byzantine styles, and one part of it is a chapel dedicated to the
Orthodox saint Jovan Zlatoust. In the dormitory complex there is a
dining room as well as other additional chambers.
The interior of the church is whitewashed, without any frescoes. A
number of old and new wooden icons can be seen on the walls. An old
copy of the Holy Bible, which once belonged to Serbian religious
leader Prota Mateja Nenadovic, is kept in the monastery.
Every year there is a group christening ceremony in the nearby Gradac
River. Few hundred persons are christened at the same time, in the way
Jesus Christ was christened in the river Jordan. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:19 am
|
|