Rila Monastery
Rila Monastery
The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery (Bulgarian: Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km (73 mi) south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 - 946 AD).
Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's
most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a key
tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe. The monastery is
depicted on the reverse of the 1 lev banknote, issued in 1999.
entrance
It is traditionally thought that the monastery was founded by the hermit St. Ivan of Rila, whose name it bears, during the rule of Tsar Peter I (927-968). The hermit actually lived in a cave without any material possessions not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education.
Ever since its creation, the Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by
the Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of the
Second Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman Conquest, making the monastery a
cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached
its apogee from the 12th to the 14th century.
The Rila Monastery was reerected at its present place by a local feudal lord
named Hrelyu Dragovola during the 14th century. The oldest buildings in the
complex date from this period were—the Tower of Hrelyu (1334–1335) and a small
church just next to it (1343). The bishop's throne and the rich-engraved gates
of the monastery also belong to the time. However, the arrival of the Ottomans
in the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction
of the monastery in the middle of the 15th century.
Thanks to donations by the Russian Orthodox Church and more precisely the
Rossikon monastery of Mount Athos, the Rila Monastery was rebuilt in the end of
the 15th century by three brothers from the region of Kyustendil, who moved Ivan
of Rila's relics into the complex.
The complex acted as a depository of Bulgarian language and culture in the ages
of foreign rule. During the time of the Bulgarian National Revival (18th-19th
century), it was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834
and 1862 with the help of wealthy Bulgarians from the whole country, under the
famous architect Alexi Rilets. The erection of the residential buildings began
in 1816, while a belfry was added to the Tower of Hrelyu in 1844. Neofit Rilski
founded a school in the monastery during the period.
The monastery complex, regarded as one of the foremost masterpieces of Bulgarian
National Revival architecture, was declared a national historical monument in
1976 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since 1991 it has been
entirely subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
On 25 May 2002, Pope John Paul II visited Rila monastery during his pilgrimage
to Bulgaria. He was greeted by the Monastery's igumen, Bishop Ioan, who had been
an observer at the Second Vatican Council.
The whole complex occupies an area of 8,800 m˛ and is rectangular in form,
centred around the inner yard (3,200 m˛), where the tower and the main church
are situated.
The main church of the monastery was erected in the middle of the 19th century. Its architect is Pavel Ioanov, who worked on it from 1834 to 1837. The church has five domes, three altars and two side chapels, while one of the most precious items inside is the gold-plated iconostasis, famous for its wood-carving, the creation of which took five years to four handicraftsmen. The frescoes, finished in 1846, are the work of many masters from Bansko, Samokov and Razlog, including the famous brothers Zahari Zograf and Dimitar Zograf. The church is also home to many valuable icons, dating from the 14th to the 19th century.
The four-storey (not counting the basement) residential part of the complex
consists of 300 chambers, four chapels, an abbot's room, a kitchen (noted for
its uncommonly large vessels), a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old
printed matters, and a donor's room. The exterior of the complex, with its high
walls of stone and little windows, resembles a fortress more than a monastery.
Text from Wikipedia
Rila Mountain Country
stork's nest
water channel for irrigation
hay for the cattle
