STARO HOPOVO MONASTERY

Also belonging to the Morava architectural group, this monastery is distinguished by its size and location. Embedded in a narrow basin and surrounded by forests, Hopovo inspires respect.

Damaged by the Turks in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Hopovo has maintained close ties with monks from Russia. Thus, the relics of Teodor Tiron, a Russian monk of the 4th century, or those of St. Anastasius of Constantinople are kept there in inlaid wooden chests. From 1920 to 1943, the monastery also housed many Russian nuns who had fled the October Revolution; at the entrance to the church is the coffin of Mother Catherine, a close relative of the Romanov family. In 1941, the Ustasha burned 42 of the 61 icons in the church and took away all the valuable liturgical objects. The monastery of Staro Hopovo has been occupied only very recently. It was revived in 2008 and opened its doors to the first monks and visitors in 2014, although it had been abandoned for seventy years. Built on a classical cross plan, the monastery church has interesting wall paintings. The frescoes in the naos were executed by artists who probably stayed in Mount Athos, which explains the compositions similar to those of the Great Lavra in Crete. On the narthex, several scenes from the life of Christ but also representations of holy warriors, hierarchs and hermits.