ST NICHOLAS MONASTERY NEAR MILJKOVAC

ST. NICHOLAS' MONASTERY
NEAR MILJKOVAC

In the vicinity of Niš, in the mythic region of the Toponica River, there is the former Monastery of Železnik with the Church of St. Nicholas. The traces of the old monastic church of St. Nicholas, on the fundaments of which the new one was built at the beginning of the 20th century, may be seen in a clearing northeast from the Serbian medieval fortress of Železnik. The small but well-preserved dormitory also belongs to this period. The monastic complex to the north from the church contains the remnants of the former Church of St. Elias with the still visible holy dining table made of a Roman altar.

ST. NICHOLAS NEAR MILJKOVAC

The Monastery of St. Nicholas is situated in the bottom part of the medieval fortress Zeleznik that it was directly connected to, which may help determining the time of its buildup. The preserved inscription shows us that the monastery name incorporated the name of the nearby fortification of Železnik, by which it was known to its contemporaries. The former Monastery of Železnik started the work on the protection of Serbian spiritual values, literary tradition and cultural institutions immediately upon the Turkish occupation, "when the living were envying the dead". As soon as in 1509, a Menaion was written in the temple of St. Nicholas of the Monastery of Železnik. From the manuscript of "the sinful David" we are informed that:

The oldness and reputation of the monastery is unambiguously certified by the Turkish registers from the 15th and 16th centuries. Its subsequent destiny is unknown to us. The only thing that we can ascertain for sure is that the monastery did not stay aside during the national uprisings against the Turkish oppressor in 1835 and 1841. In this old church Milićević saw well-preserved pictures of saints in 1884, but now only the fundaments of the apsidal arch and the southern wall of the naos can be observed.

The Byzantine citadel Gradište near Miljkovac, the apsidal part of an early-Byzantine church

Gradiste near Miljkovac, the photo of the apsidal part of an early-Byzantine church

Gradište near Miljkovac, the photo of the apsidal part of an early-Byzantine church

The present church was built at the beginning of the 20th century on the fundaments of the previous one. It is a single-nave structure with a semicircular apse in the east part. Its holy dining table is made of a Roman altar.

The medieval fortress Železnik, the early-Byzantine citadel Gradište and the Monastery of St. Nicholas make an indivisible unity.