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Ardenica Monastery

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The Monastery of Ardenica is located at the highest point of a range of hills stretching across the great plain of Myzeqea (Myzeqe). Over the centuries this monastery has been an important historical, cultural, and spiritual center of the Orthodox Church. The monastery was situated close to the important road, Via Egnatia, which joined Western and Eastern Europe and continued all the way to Constantinople. In the monastery itself, several mile-marker stones from the Via Egnatia can be found. Because it was located on this major artery, the monastery drew many people to its gates. The monastery is dedicated to the Nativity of the All-Holy Theotokos and celebrates its feast-day on September 8th, when a great number of the faithful gather from all over Albania. Some scholars say that the initial core of the monastery, The Church of the Holy Trinity, has its beginnings in the 10th century. According to tradition, the monastery itself was founded in the 13th or 14th century during the time of the Epirius Despotism. The central Church of the Nativity of Theotokos was built in 1743, with funds from merchants of Voskopoja, who were scattered across Europe. It is said that this church replaced an older church, which was destroyed together with the entire monastery at the end of the 17th century, perhaps from a fire or earthquake. Its restoration was due in large part to the abbot of the monastery Nektar Terpo from Voskopoja, a renowned personality and preacher of the Church at that time. Two years after the building of the church, Abbot Andoni wrote a letter to the donors requesting their continued economic help in order to rebuild the monastery. The funds gathered from these efforts made possible the gradual completion of the monastery's buildings. Now, though they have been repaired several times, most of the buildings at the monastery - the cellars, kitchen, bakery, cells, welcoming rooms, and especially the oil mill - are in their original form and rank among the best preserved buildings for monasteries of the 18th century. The inside walls of the monastery church are completely covered with frescoes. The murals are the work of Konstandin and Athanas Zografi, who were brothers from Korca; they date back to the year 1744. All of the words, including those on the frescoes, are written in old Greek. Some of the more notable frescoes can be found on the northern part of the western-facing wall, where visitors will find icons of the seven saints who evangelized the Slavs as well as St. John Kukuzeli of Durres, a notable Byzantine musician of the 12th century. It is also worth noticing the group of frescoes devoted to the sufferings of Christ on the fourth level of the murals. A majority of the icons on the iconostasis were made in 1744 by another famous iconographer of the 18th century, Konstandin Shpataraku (from the regions of Shpati near Elbasan). He signed his name Hierodeacon Konstandin. Among the icons on the iconostasis was also an icon of St. John Vladimir; the Albanian Prince, Karl Topia, is also pictured there in miniature. This icon is now housed in the Medieval Art Museum in Korca. The iconostasis structure itself was also carved around the year 1744 and repaired in 1804. The Episcopal throne, the amvon, and the icon stand were also carved during the same period. All the wood carvings are painted with gold. Flora and fauna are a significant element found carved in these pieces and each has symbolic meaning. They rank among the most beautiful carved pieces of these regions. Inside the church are also a number of silver adornments with floral motifs, such as the lampadas of the iconostasis which date back to the years 1725 and 1745. Many of the liturgical and historical artistic objects of the Monastery - icons, silver pieces, the holy stole, and various documents - are preserved in archival and private museum collections, both local and foreign, in at least five other European countries: Greece, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Poland.

Inserted: 28-03-2023 16:03:59

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