Marko's Monastery (

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...

and sr, Марков Манастир) is a monastery located in the village of Markova Sušica, from central

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. The monastery bears the name of

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

Prince Marko who reigned at the time of its completion. Marko's Monastery has been active since its establishment.

Description

Marko's Monastery contains a single cross-shaped church dedicated to

Saint Demetrius Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessalonica ( el, Ἅγιος Δημήτριος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, (); bg, Димитър Солунски (); mk, Свети Димитрија Солунски (); ro, Sfântul Dumitru; sr ...

. The monastery grounds also consist of lodgings, a belfry, a well, warehouses, a bakery, and a mill. The monastery still operates a special oven used to make rakija.

The church has a narthex, a central dome and a smaller dome on the western side. It was built of bricks and stone. The iconstasis is made of stone pillars. The

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es inside the church were done by a number of painters from the region. The Holy Mother of God, the twelve great feasts, Jesus Christ, and Saint Nicholas are some of the subjects depicted in the frescoes.

History

Construction of the Church of Saint Demetrius began under King Vukašin in 1346. The church, including the interior paintings, were completed 30 years later. Before Ottoman rule, the monastery had a school and many monks and priests would write manuscripts. In 1392, Skopje fell under Ottoman rule, which led to the destruction of many churches and monasteries in the area. Marko's Monastery, however, suffered almost no damage. During the Ottoman era, in 1467/8 the monastery is recorded as having 20 monks. Kiril Peychinovich was the hegumen of Marko's Monastery from 1801 to 1818. In 1830, Ottoman aristocrat Hamzi Paşa added an exonarthex to the church. Frescoes showing the

ktetor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox c ...

King Vukašin and his son Prince Marko were the most defaced by overpainting with a fat-based paint in 1894, an act of national fanaticism ordered by the Bulgarian

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of Skopje. In the 1920s, attempts were made to restore the damaged frescoes.

References

External links

Marko's Monastery on travel2macedoniaLegends about Marko's Monastery
{{Authority control Eastern Orthodox monasteries in North Macedonia Macedonian Orthodox monasteries Medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries Studeničani Municipality