The Church of Saint George, Sopotnica ( sr-cyrl, Црква светог Ђорђа, Сопотница) is a

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 located at the village of Sopotnica in the Municipality of Novo Goražde in eastern

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The church stands at the left bank of the Drina River, 4 kilometres from the town of Goražde. It was built in 1454 by Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, when Goražde was part of a region ruled by him.Lovrenović 2008 The region would later come to be known as Herzegovina, after Kosača's title '' Herceg'' of

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

. Herzegovina was gradually conquered by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

between 1465 and 1481. In the second half of the 16th century, during the office of

Serbian Patriarch This article lists the heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Serbian Ortho ...

Makarije Sokolović Makarije Sokolović ( sr-cyrl, Макарије Соколовић ; died 1574) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1557 to 1571. He was the first head of the restored Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, after its lapse in 1463 that ...

, the church was enlarged on its western side. It was repaired in 1869, when a metal door was installed at its entrance, which was donated by a Serb from Sarajevo. Remains of its old frescoes were then carefully collected and buried beside the church's wall. A bell tower was added at the church's western side in 1894. At the beginning of the Bosnian War, the church was shelled and set on fire in September 1992. It remained roofless until October 1994, when a temporary roof was installed. The church was restored between 2000 and 2002, and in 2008, it was designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1519, at the beginning of the Ottoman rule over Herzegovina, one of the earliest printing houses among the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

was established at the church. Known as the

Goražde printing house The Goražde printing house ( sr, Горажданска штампарија or ) was one of the earliest printing houses among the Serbs,Biggins & Crayne 2000, pp. 85–86 and the first in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina (then ...

, it was the first such facility in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. It produced three books: a hieratikon (priest's service book) in 1519, a psalter in 1521, and a small euchologion in 1523.Barać 2008, pp. 43–44

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{Serbian Orthodox Church Serbian Orthodox church buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Destroyed churches Rebuilt churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina 15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings History of Herzegovina Novo Goražde Buildings and structures in Republika Srpska Attacks on religious buildings and structures during the Bosnian War