Ostrog Monastery

Ostrog Monastery (Manastir Ostrog) is an amazing place of healing and miracles. It is an active Orthodox Church, where Basil of Ostrog's relics are keeping. It is located in an hour away from Podgorica in Bogetići village. The Monastery dates the 17th century and got it name after the mountain cliff. Formerly these caves were the place where hermit monks of Ostrog lived. Now it is a complex divided in to two parts: the Lower Monastery and the Upper Monastery with the Church of the Presentation and the Church of the Holy Cross cut out the rock.

Despite of the numerous attacks during the wars and natural disasters, the construction of the Lower Monastery was started at 18th century. Thanks to the monks and church members' faith and efforts, the holy Monastery stays up to now an amazing place. Indeed, one can hardly believe that the Monastery cut out of the rock can be made by humans.

Life of Basil of Ostrog.

Basil of Ostrog is considered to be a founder of Ostrog (28.12.1610 – 29.04.1671). Before he had taken the vows, his name was Stojan Jovanović. He was born in an ordinary family in Herzegovina. He has been paying an interest to spiritual studies since his childhood. First, parents took him to serve in the closest Zavala Monastery, where he has been learning the wisdom of the Holy Bible and Holy Farther as well as public science. After a while he was transferred to Tvrdoš Monastery, where he took the monastic vows under the name of Vasilije and went to Montenegro.  Metropolitan of Montenegro Mardarij left him in Cetinje Monastery. According to the legend, Mardarij commited adultery with the servant, who got pregnant from him. Mardarij shifted the blame to a young, handsome priest. Fisrt, Vasilije should be executed, but after the decision was taken to postpone execution till the baby born. When the baby was born, Vasilije took him and asked who was his farther. The child pronounced the name in a miracle way. So Vasilije was justified and returned to Tvrdoš and became the Archimandrite. Being the Archimandrite he visited Little Russia. There thanks to the help of brothers and friends he got church presents and money, which were used to recover the churches, numerous temples and open schools.

Many people who became Turks and members of the latin union hated Vasilije and tried to kill him, because of his activity. Vasilije went to Athos looking for the hepl. After his return to the Motherland, despite to his life danger, he proceeded with his activity - restoration of temples and churches, the same time miraculous healing of people commenced.  When the Turks killed Metropolitan Paisius Trebeshanin in 1651, who served in Eparchy of Budimlja and Nikšić, the St. Vasilije and Partriarch Duke Raich reunited west and east Eparchies of  Herzegovina into one Zaholmskij metropolitanate. However the Turks forced St. Vasilije left the residence and he went to Ostrog. There he built Vvedenskaya and Holy cross Churches turning Ostrog into a real Monastery. Grape has grown in the cell, where he died. It keeps growing for 300 years. This miracle left unexplained.

Today the incorruptible relics of Basil of Ostrog are still kept in the Upper Monastery of the Vvedenskaya Churche, 900m height above the sea. Hundreds of thousands of people and pilgrims all over the world come every year to bow unto the relics. Besides, there are a prayer book dated 1732 and chandeliers dated 1779. The Montenegrin's consider the Monastery the main relic of the country. People put notes with theirs wishes into the cliff cracks and they always come true. In the Lower Monastery, besides of the relics of Basil of Ostrog, where the cells, grape and the Church of the Holy Trinity, there are relics of St. Stanco, a boy who refused to drop a holy Cross and the Turks cut off his hands. There is no religious destinction, you can see Muslims and Jews, Orthodox christians as well as the representatives of other religions standing in a queue to the relics.