Sveti Đurađ monastery

Sveti Đurađ or St. George Monastery (Serbian Cyrillic: Манастир Свети Ђурађ; Romanian: Mănăstirea Sfântul Gheorghe) is a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Mânăstire, Timiș County, Romania, 20 km from the Romanian-Serbian border. It was established in 1485 by Serbian despot Jovan Branković; the present buildings date to 1794, built by Iguman Augustin Petrović as a school and monastic church.^[2]

St. George Monastery

Manastir Sveti Đurađ
Monastery information
Denomination	Serbian Orthodox
Established	1485
Dedicated to	Saint George
Diocese	Eparchy of Temišvar[1]
People
Founder(s)	Jovan Branković
Abbot	Nikon Korićanac
Architecture
Style	Serbian Baroque
Completion date	1794
Site
Location	Mânăstire (Birda), Timiș County
Country	Romania
Coordinates	45.4111548°N 21.3358361°E / 45.4111548; 21.3358361

Services are held in Serbian and Old Church Slavonic. The last resident of the monastery, Sister Evgenija, died in 2020.^[3] Among the relics that the monastic church houses is a fragment of the skull of Saint George, brought here in the 15th century by Đorđe Branković, and a piece of the chain with which Saint Peter was bound.^[4]

The monastery is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture. The monastic church and the monks' cells are given as separate entries.^[5]

History

Legend has it that the monastery was founded during the Iconoclastic movement, under Empress Irene and her son Constantine, at the end of the 8th century, but it is much more likely that it was founded much later, in the medieval era.^[6]

In the second half of the 15th century, the Serbian despot Đorđe Branković asked the sovereign pontiff for permission to build 12 monasteries on the territory of the Hungarian kingdom. This monastery was built by Jovan Branković, his son.

After 1944, the monastery became a barracks for a while, then an office building for the agricultural production cooperative in the village. In the 1980s, the workers of Comtim, a local pork producer, were housed here. It was also used as a feed store. It became monastery again only after 1990.^[7]

Architecture

The first church was erected in 1485. It was built of burnt brick in the Serbo-Byzantine style with a cruciform base, a dome and a separate bell tower. It lasted until 1794 when the current church was built, which preserved the foundations of the Serbo-Byzantine style to which Baroque elements were added. The iconostasis is sumptuous, gilded, the interior decoration being representative of the Serbian Baroque. It was painted by Jovan Isailović, and the painting on the walls was executed by a certain Pavle Đurđev, a resident of the monastic estates.

Gallery

• 
  The church of the monastery
• 
  The monks' cells
• 
  The iconostasis

See also

• Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery

References

1. "Episcopia Ortodoxă Sârbă de Timișoara". Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte.
2. Годишњак Библиотеке Матице српске. Novi Sad: Библиотека Матице српске. 1994. p. 179.
3. "A decedat Maica Evghenia, singura viețuitoare a celei vechi mănăstiri sârbești din România". Ziua de Vest. 7 June 2020.
4. Both, Ștefan (22 April 2014). "O bucată din craniul Sfântului Gheorghe, adăpostită de cea mai importantă mănăstire sârbească din România". Adevărul.
5. "Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2015" (PDF). Institutul Național al Patrimoniului. p. 2493.
6. Bălan, Titus (23 January 2021). "Banatul ieri și azi: O călătorie prin sudul județului Timiș". Banatul Azi.
7. Ivașcu, Adrian (4 February 2020). "Mănăstirea sârbilor din Banat. Comuniștii au transformat-o în CAP și locuință pentru angajați". Ghidul Banatului.