Sretenje monastery

The Sretenje Monastery was raised on a plateau beneath the hilltop of Mount Ovčar.

It is not known exactly when the Monastery was built. According to tradition and researh work done so far, it is believed that the Monastery was raised in the 16th century when it was first mentioned. However, the first mention of the monastery moves the time of its errection back by a few decades, even a century.

The preserved architectural shapes of the church show the signs of the style in architecture at the end of the 16th century.

The monastery was burnt down and ruined on several ocassions in the past. It was not restored until the 19th century, thanks to a monk named Nikifor Maksimović, who later became the Bishop of Ziča.

The iconostasis of the church, made of stone, and remains of the frescoes under the layer of the wall built in 1844 also raise a question of how old the church really is. The reason more, this is the only iconostasis built of stone of all Ovčar – Kablar monasteries. The following manuscripts were the only preserved at Sretenje Monastery: Gospel manuscript, the Canons of Mother of God, a Menaion for the month of June which is of great importance because it contains the service to Prince Lazar and an important work of our ecclesiastical literature.

The only preserved antiquities and forged objects kept as valuables at Sretenje Monastery are a marble baptismal font dating from the 17th century, a rosette from the 17th century and the icon of Holy Mother of God from the 18th century.