The Klisura Monastery "Sts. Cyril and Methodius"

The Klisura Monastery "Sts. Cyril and Methodius"

Rating

The neatly built Klisura Monastery is nestled at the foot of Todorini kukli Peak amidst the enchanting scenery of the Balkan Mountains, 9 km away from the town of Berkovitza. For the greater part of the year, its white front stands out against the spectacularly colored background of the forest, while in winter the building easily blends into the snowdrifts.

 

"Sts .Cyril and Methodius" is an active convent and the fourth largest in Bulgaria. The monastery is always bustling and apart from religious ceremonies and other clerical matters, it maintains a famous icon-painting studio where the sisterhood creates icons in the tradition of the ancient Ohrid School of Painting. The nuns take care of a monastery farm with organic agricultural products as well. The cloister often accommodates adolescents groups and School-camps here are organized on a regular basis.

 

The Klisura Monastery was founded in the first half of the13th century, but it became an important spiritual center for a very short period of time. Sharing the fate of most Bulgarian monasteries, the cloister was destroyed when Bulgaria fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The building was repeatedly rebuilt after the numerous raids. The main church was restored in 1937 and it was then that the wood-carving masters from the Samokov School of Painting created the iconostasis. There’s a wellhead with healing waters in the courtyard of the monastery complex. Apart from medicinal qualities, it has a very enchanting story that’s worth listening to. 

icon-1_35x35_crop_2377586b89

Added by:

Екип на НТК
Topic