Žiča

Coordinates: 43°41′46.68″N 20°38′44.66″E / 43.6963000°N 20.6457389°E / 43.6963000; 20.6457389
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Žiča Monastery
Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance
Designated date1947
Site
LocationTrg Jovana Sarića 1, Kraljevo, Serbia
Coordinates43°41′46.68″N 20°38′44.66″E / 43.6963000°N 20.6457389°E / 43.6963000; 20.6457389
Public accessYes
Websitewww.zica.org.rs/english

The Žiča Monastery (

Serbian 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 a

Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by Serbia.[2]
In 2008, Žiča celebrated 800 years of existence.

Background

Founding of Serbian Church

Žiča Monastery entrance

The

Rastko Nemanjić, the son of Stefan Nemanja, ruled as Grand Prince of Hum 1190-1192,[3] previously held by Grand Prince Miroslav.[4] In the autumn of 1192 (or shortly thereafter)[5]

Rastko joined Russian monks and traveled to

Karyes Typicon during his stay there.[6]

He returned to Serbia in 1207, taking the remains of his father with him, which he relocates to the

Foundation

The monastery was founded by King

Stefan the First-Crowned аlsо ordered that the future Serbian kings аrе tо be crowned at Žičа.[8]

History

Church of the Holy Dormition in the monastery
Žiča in 1889

In 1219, the Serbian Church gains autocephaly, by Emperor

Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople, and Archimandrite Sava becomes the first Serbian Archbishop.[9] The monastery acts as the seat of the Archbishop 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, condemning Bogomilism.[7]

When Serbia was invaded by Hungary, Saint Sava sent

Arsenije I Sremac to find a safer place in the south to establish a new episcopal See. In 1253 the see was transferred to the Archbishopric 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 of

Saint 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 the

Patriarch Nikon joined Despot Đurađ Branković when the capital was moved to Smederevo, 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 the

Monastery of Žiča using five airplanes and significantly damaged its church.[15] The battle near monastery lasted until early morning of 11 October when Germans broke the rebel lines and put the monastery to fire.[16]

Frescoes

Frescoes depicting Pantocrator.[17][18]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Pravopisna komisija, ed. (1960). "Žiča". Pravopis srpskohrvatskoga književnog jezika (Fototipsko izdanje 1988 ed.). Novi Sad, Zagreb: Matica srpska, Matica hrvatska. p. 288.
  2. ^ "Споменици културе у Србији". Spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs. 1947-10-25. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  3. ^ The Late Medieval Balkans, pp. 19–20.
  4. ^ The Late Medieval Balkans, p. 52
  5. . Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  6. ^ a b c d e Đuro Šurmin (1808). "Povjest književnosti hrvatske i srpske". Books.google.com. p. 229. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  7. ^ . Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  8. ^ Kalić, Jovanka (2017). "The First Coronation Churches of Medieval Serbia". Balcanica (XLVIII). Belgrade.
  9. ^
  10. ^ a b [1][dead link]
  11. ^ . Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  12. ^ Radivoje Ljubinković (1975). "The Church of the Apostles in the Patriarchate of Peć". Books.google.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Monasteries and churches". Serbia Visit. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  14. ^ Nikolić, Kosta (2003). Dragan Drašković, Radomir Ristić (ed.). Kraljevo in October 1941. Kraljevo: National Museum Kraljevo, Historical Archive Kraljevo. p. 32.
  15. ^ Nikolić, Kosta (2003). Dragan Drašković, Radomir Ristić (ed.). Kraljevo in October 1941. Kraljevo: National Museum Kraljevo, Historical Archive Kraljevo. p. 32.
  16. ^ Nikolić, Kosta (2003). Dragan Drašković, Radomir Ristić (ed.). Kraljevo in October 1941. Kraljevo: National Museum Kraljevo, Historical Archive Kraljevo. p. 33.
  17. . Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  18. . Retrieved 22 April 2013.

Bibliography

External links

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