Preobraženje monastery

Today, the Monastery of Preobraženje is situated on the right bank of the River West Morava, on the north hill – sides of Mount Ovčar.
Opposite the monastery, across the river, there is a railroad station in Ovčar Banja spa where the old monasterty used to be, beneath the high and steep cliffs of Mount Kablar.

The first written records on the monastery date back to 1525. The old Preobraženje Monastery was blown up with dynamite, with the blessing of St. Sava, the Bishop of Ziča, for the purpose of the construction of the railroad leading to the town of Užice.

Numerous written records are the testimony to the subsequent sufferings of the people who allowed and ordered the blowing up of the monastery.

Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović took an initiative to  erect a new Preobraženje Monastery in 1938. Today it is a building with a square ground plan and a low altar apse. The church was not fresco – painted except for the dome and the altar area.

According to the blessing of Bishop Nikolaj, the monastery is not allowed to have any property or a parish, but has a solely missionary role. Monastery Patron’ s Day is Preobraženje Gospodnje ( Transfiguration of Christ ). The monks at this monastery therefore live by the rules of the Holy Mountain of Athos.