Ostrog Monastery
Often, the monastery on the coast of Mount Ostrog is categorized as one of the most visited Orthodox monasteries in the world and the most important pilgrimage site in the entire Balkan Peninsula.
Thus, thousands of pilgrims cross its threshold, for a blessing and worship of Saint Basil of Ostrog. Both Orthodox and Catholic Christians, as well as Muslims, come to the reliquary with the relics of Saint Basil of Ostrog, all believing that miracles are performed here. Certainly, many non-Christians will have been baptized following the veneration of the Saint's Relics.
Ostrog Monastery – brief history
Ostrog Monastery is an Orthodox monastery belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church. Located on the steep wall of the Ostroška Greda rock in Montenegro, the monastery is dedicated to the Saint whose Holy Relics are located in the cave inside – Saint Basil of Ostrog. From the mouth of the cave, a wonderful view stretches before the eyes of the faithful: the Bjelopavlići valley.
The monastery was founded by Hierarch Basil, Metropolitan of Zahumlje and Herzegovina, in the 17th century. He died at the monastery in 1671, and a few years later he was canonized by the Church and called a Wonderworker. His body is kept in a beautifully decorated reliquary in the Cave Church, dedicated to the Entry of the Mother of God into the Church.
On the plateau at the top of the mountain there are only three small chapels, carved into the rock, on the site of former caves, and a few rooms that can accommodate a few pilgrims. In the tiny chapel where the body of Saint Basil of Ostrog is housed, services are held only on the great holidays of the year and on the anniversaries of his birth and death.
The frescoes in the Church of the Entry into the Church of the Virgin Mary were made towards the end of the 17th century. The other Church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is located at a higher level than the first, it was built in 1655 and painted later by Radul. He painted the walls of the cave directly on the rock, with wonderful frescoes, as well as the southern wall of the room. Among the museum objects of the monastery is also a Minaret from 1732, as well as a wonderfully crafted candlestick, dating from 1779.
The monastery's current appearance was given to it between 1923-1926, after a fire had almost completely destroyed the monastic complex on the rock. By the mercy of God and thanks to the prayers of the Fathers here, the two small Churches in the cave remained untouched by the flames, and today they are the spiritual center of the monastery. Around the two Churches, scattered, rise the cells and other monastic dependencies.
Around the 1950s-1960s, the road was not arranged so that cars could approach the hermitage of the caves in Ostrog. The faithful walked easily on the stone path beaten by the footsteps of so many thousands of pilgrims. Those who did not have sufficient physical strength to face the weight of the road could rent a donkey from the villages at the foot of the cliffs.
Saint Vasilie of Ostrog – April 29 / May 12
Saint Vasilie of Ostrog is one of the most beloved saints of the Serbs. Saint Vasilie was born in Herzegovina, in the village of Mrkonjić, in the Popov region, on December 28, 1610. In order to live a Christian life and be protected from the sins of young people like him, his parents took him to the Zavala Monastery as a child.
Later, he would become a monk at the Tvrdoš Monastery, receiving the name of monk Vasilie. Before he turned 30, the monk Vasilie was made a bishop, as a crowning achievement of his holy life, with strong prayer and corresponding asceticism.
Saint Vasilie of Ostrog proved to be a true defender of Orthodoxy, especially because he opposed with all his might the papal attempts to expand towards the East, but also the Turks, who had conquered almost the entire Balkan Peninsula.
The ascetic hierarch Vasilie often withdrew into solitude, prayed and sought to live a life as full as possible of reconciliation with God and with those around him. In order to find peace and to no longer see the misunderstandings between the people of the Church, who wanted a rapprochement with Catholicism, he withdrew to Ostrog, where he was appointed Elder in 1651. According to local tradition, in Ostrog, Saint Vasilie met the hermit Isaiah, in whose cave the Saint built the first Church on Mount Ostrog. The Saint carried many stones and wood, at first, for the construction of the necessary things.
Saint Vasilie of Ostrog died on April 29, 1671, in his cell in the Ostrog Monastery. The body of the Saint ascetic was buried in the Church dedicated to the Mother of God. Just seven years after his death, he appeared in the dream of the then Abbot, asking him to dig up his body. Beware of this discovery, so as not to be deceived, only after three appearances in a row did the Abbot understand the will of God. After seven days of services and prayers, the body of the Saint was dug up and was found intact.
Prayer to Saint Vasilie of Ostrog
Saint Vasilie, great keeper of the laws of Christ, help all as you help me.
Defender of Orthodoxy, protect us who follow your faith and stand by you.
Great keeper of Christ, pray to Him for all your people and for me, the unworthy.
Great warrior and leader of Ostrog, protect us from the seen and the unseen.
Raised from the land of Serbia, to be a light before God, be our light and illuminate our path, making the darkness disappear. With prayers and tears you warmed the cold rocks of Ostrog; let us pray, warm our hearts with the Spirit of God, so that we may be delivered. From all corners of the world the weak and the sick came to your tomb, and you helped them, drove away demons from them and healed their souls and bodies. We pray that you will not cease to help the baptized and the unbaptized, everyone, as well as me, the unworthy. You brought peace between the divided brothers, we pray that you will always be a peacemaker, help those who quarrel, make the bitter and sad happy, pacify the stubborn, heal the sick. Saint Vasilie, miracle worker, hear us, who come to you as to a Father and pray to you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
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