The Transfiguration Monastery ( bg, Преображенски манастир, ''Preobrazhenski manastir'') or the Monastery of the Holy
Transfiguration of God (манастир "Свето Преображение Господне", ''manastir "Sveto Preobrazhenie Gospodne"'') is an
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
monastery located in the Dervent gorge of the
Yantra River
The Yantra ( bg, Янтра ) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long (the third longest Bulgarian tributary of the Danube, after Iskar and Osam), and has a watershed of . Its average discharge at the mouth ...
. It lies near the village of Samovodene, seven kilometres north of
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
, in central northern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. It is one of the five
stauropegic
A stauropegion, also spelled stavropegion (from el, σταυροπήγιον from σταυρός ''stauros'' "cross" and πήγνυμι ''pegnumi'' "to affirm"), is a monastery or a parish which depends directly on the primate or on the Holy Syn ...
monasteries of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
It is thought that the monastery was founded in the 11th century AD as a cloister of the
Vatopedi monastery
The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...
on
Mount Athos. In 1360, when Tarnovo was the capital of the
Second Bulgarian Empire and the traditions of
hesychasm were popular in Bulgaria, it became an autonomous monastery on the order of Tsar
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander ( bg, Иван Александър, transliterated ''Ivan Aleksandǎr'', ; original spelling: ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАНдРЪ), also sometimes Anglicized as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor (''Tsar'') of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, ...
. This is legendarily tied to the charity of Ivan Alexander's second wife
Sarah-Theodora and their son
Ivan Shishman
Ivan Shishman ( bg, Иван Шишман) ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire.
In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexan ...
, a reason to also call the monastery ''Sarah's'' or ''Shishman's'' monastery.
After the
Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria, the monastery was plundered and burned several times by the Turks and eventually entirely destroyed. It was only reestablished in 1825 by father Zoticus of the
Rila Monastery
The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery "Sveti Ivan Rilski" ( bg, Рилски манастир „Свети Иван Рилски“), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situate ...
by means of donations. In 1832, a
firman of the Ottoman sultan allowed the construction of a new monastery church; the church was designed by the noted
Bulgarian National Revival
The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...
architect
Kolyu Ficheto
Nikola Fichev ( bg, Никола Фичев) (1800 Direnova, Ottoman Empire - 1881 Veliko Tarnovo, Principality of Bulgaria), commonly known as Kolyo Ficheto ( bg, Колю Фичето) or with his Turkish honorific Usta (Master) Kolyo Ficheto, ...
and completed in 1834. The cross-shaped church features three
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
s, a single
dome and a covered
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
. The icons and frescoes of the main church were painted by another famous artist,
Zahari Zograf
Zahariy Hristovich Dimitrov ( bg, Захарий Христович Димитров) (1810–1853), better known as Zahari Zograf (or Zahariy Zograf; Захари(й) Зограф) is a famous Bulgarian painter of the Bulgarian National Revival, ...
, who worked in the monastery between 1849 and 1851, after he finished his decoration of the
Troyan Monastery
The Monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God ( bg, Троянски манастир „Успение Богородично“) or, as it is more commonly called, the Troyan Monastery is the third largest monastery in Bulgaria. ...
. Among the more notable murals are those of the
Last Judgment, the Wheel of Life, the Birth of the
Mother of God
''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations ar ...
, the
Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
. Zograf also painted Saints
Cyril and Methodius
Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
They are credited wit ...
, as well as a self-portrait. In addition, the main church was richly decorated on the outside and a wood-carved and gold-plated
iconostasis was installed.
Between 1858 and 1863 Kolyu Ficheto constructed the seven-bell
belfry, the residential buildings and the main entrance, as well as the underground
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
of
Saint Andrew the First-called and the small Church of the
Annunciation on top of it, with icons by Zahari Zograf's nephew
Stanislav Dospevski
Stanislav Dospevski ( bg, Станислав Доспевски) is the name assumed by Zafir Zograf (Зафир Зограф), the son of Dimitar Zograf and nephew of the famed Bulgarian icon and mural painter, Zahari Zograf. He is a notable repr ...
.
Burials
*
Boris I of Bulgaria
Gallery
Image:CircumcisionofChrist.JPG, Circumcision of Christ
The circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, which states: And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, his name was called Jesus, the name called by the angel befo ...
Image:Preobrajenski manastiri02.jpg, Interior view
Image:Tsvetnitsa.JPG, Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
Image:M.Preobrajenski 01.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 04.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 07.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 12.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 14.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 19.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 21.JPG
Image:M.Preobrajenski 27.JPG
References
*
External links
{{Stauropegic monasteries of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Buildings and structures in Veliko Tarnovo Province
Tourist attractions in Veliko Tarnovo Province
Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings
Christian monasteries in Bulgaria
Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries
Balkan mountains