The monastery of St. John the Forerunner comprises one of the many monuments that reflect the economic, social and political development of Voskopoja (Moscopole), in a time when the settlement was experiencing the changing of its physiognomy and its transformation to a flourishing merchant and crafts center. Built in a picturesque position, in the middle of a pine forest, the monument appears dominant over the surrounding landscape. Relevant documentary sources reveal the circumstances of the erection and decoration of the monastery, as the inscription above the marble on the inner door of the church and the Codex of the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner, copied with the contribution of Mihal Gora, setting out details of the events and history of the building of the monastery. Generally, the extant and derived sources inform that the church of the monastery was built between 1632 and 1634, while its decoration was completed in 1659. According to the tradition, the monastery arose on an older structure, a shrine founded by the contribution of the monks of Voskopoja, Boboshtica and Mborja, which can be asserted by the ruins of old buildings around the church. Other documents also show that this monumental ensemble grew from a small private chapel. Today, the catholicon of the monastery is presented as a three absidal, central domed building, with a nave, an altar and a later narthex. The interior of the church is decorated with fresco paintings attributed to monks Andon and Shipcka. The frescographer shows a great knowledge on his mastery and on the thematic cycles of its time, which is mainly based on the features inherited from the tradition. Through its long existence, the monastery was subject to numerous repairs and suffered the consequences of the Second World War, when a large part of liturgical objects, manuscripts, etc were lost. Furthermore, the function of the monastery complex as a military base and as a hospital for the partisan forces as well as its shot with artillery from the warring parties caused further ruin on its structures and as a result of the whole monastery, from which only the church is preserved in an intact condition. Beside the loss of the icons and the other liturgical objects and manuscripts, many old Codices with an immense and irreplaceable historical value were burnt including the Codex of Mihal Gora.

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Monastery of St John the Forerunner - Public Info

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Inserted: 06-05-2023 06:05:34