The Piva Monastery ( sr, Манастир Пивски, Manastir Pivski), also known as the Church of Sv. Bogorodica or the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, is located in

Piva, Montenegro Piva (Serbian Cyrillic: Пива, ) is a historical region in Montenegro, which existed as a tribe also known as Pivljani (Пивљани, ). It is situated in the northwestern highlands of Montenegro, bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Piva Ri ...

near the source of the

Piva River The Piva (Serbian Cyrillic: Пива, ) is the river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river runs through Montenegro for the most of its course length, and in its last three kilometres represents the border between the two countries. ...

in northern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. Built between 1573 and 1586, it was rebuilt in another location in 1982. It is the largest

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

church constructed during the Ottoman occupation in the 16th and 17th centuries. Noted for its frescoes, the monastery's treasures also include ritual objects, rare

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

books, art, objects of precious metals and a

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

from the Crnojevići printing press (1493–96), which was the first in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. These are displayed in the monastery's museum.

History

Founded in 1573, or 1575, and completed in 1586 through the expenditures of the

Metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

of Zahumlje and Herzegovina

Savatije Sokolović Savatije Sokolović ( sr-cyr, Саватије Соколовић; 1573 – d. 1586), was Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1585 to 1586. Before that, he served as Metropolitan of Herzegovina from 1573 to 1585. He was a member of the ...

, who later became the Serbian Orthodox patriarch, the monastery is dedicated to the

Dormition of the Theotokos The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

. The construction workers were brothers named Gavrilo and Vukašin. Piva Monastery is included within the Eparchy of Budimlja-Nikšić. In 1982, a new reservoir, created by the Piva Hydro Electric Project, required moving the monastery. Stone by stone it was moved to the village of Goransko near Lake Mratinje.

Geography

Piva Monastery is located in the village of

Piva Piva may refer to: * Piva (river), a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina * Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and tribe * Piva River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea * Piva Trail, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea ** Battle for Piv ...

, just south of Goransko in northern Montenegro. It is accessible along the E-762 road, on the way to

Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and a municipality located in Republika Srpska in south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...

. It lies approximately from

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

and is south of

Plužine Plužine (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Плужине, ) is a town in northwestern Montenegro. In 2011 it has a population of 1,341. Location Town is located near the Piva lake (Pivsko) in the northwestern mountainous region of Montenegro, close to th ...

. The monastery was originally located at the source of the Piva River, approximately away from and below the junction of the proposed

Mratinje Dam The Mratinje Dam ( cnr, Брана Мратиње, Brana Mratinje) is a concrete arch dam in the canyon of the Piva River in Montenegro. The dam was completed in 1975 with designs by Energoprojekt. Its construction resulted in the flooding of the ...

, a

hydroelectric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. Begun in 1969 and completed in 1982, the monastery was moved to its current position, which included the removal and replacement of over 1000 fresco fragments, covering .Ambassador's Fund Helps Preserve Frescos of Piva Monastery
U.S. Embassy in Podgorica and Montenegro (2008)

Architecture and fittings

Piva is a small stone structure. Its construction includes three naves with a taller middle nave. There is no cupola. The monastery contains archives, a library, and a treasury with 183 books and nearly 280 other items reported in 1991, including ritual objects, rare

books, art and objects of precious metals. Also featured is a

from the Crnojevići printing press (1493–1496), which was the first printing press in the

. It is dated to 1494 and was discovered by chance among other papers in the library of the monastery. Much of the church was decorated by Greek painters between 1604 and 1606 and contains many frescoes. However, the upper porch area was painted by a local priest Strahinja of Budimlje; this included ''Akathist to the Mother of God''. Other parts of the church, dating from 1626, were painted by Kozma who also painted many of the icons on the iconostasis. The icons of St. George and the Dormition of the Virgin are dated to about 1638–1639. The artist Zograf Longin painted the throne icons of the Mother of God, Christ and Assumption of the Mother of God. Piva, Moraca and Mileseva monasteries have been described as "breathtaking medieval masterpieces that store ancient writings and works of art".

Conservation

The church has been provided with drainage arrangements to prevent seepage of water inside the church so that the frescoes are protected from effects of humidity. In 2008, the U.S. Embassy at

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

provided $22,200 for the reconstruction of the drainage system.

Gallery

File:Manastir Piva 2.jpg, Piva Monastery main church from a distance. File:Manastir Piva 1.jpg, An aerial view of the Piva Monastery File:Piva sastavci u BiH.jpg, Piva River

References