The Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja (Serbian: Манастир Преподобног Прохора Пчињског, romanized: Manastir Prepodobnog Prohora Pčinjskog), commonly known as Prohor Pčinjski (Serbian: Прохор Пчињски, romanized: Prohor Pčinjski) is an 11th-century Serbian Orthodoxmonastery in the deep south in Serbia, located in the village of Klenike, 30 km (19 mi) south of Vranje, near the border with North Macedonia. It is situated at the slopes of Mount Kozjak at the left side of the Pčinja River.[1] The monastery was founded in the 11th century and is the second largest Serbian Orthodox monastery complex after Hilandar.[2]
History
According to tradition, the monastery was founded 1067–1071 by the Byzantine emperorRomanus IV in honor of Saint Prohor of Pčinja, who prophesied that Romanus would become the emperor.[2] The relics of Saint Prohor are located in the monastery.[2] A major renovation of the monastery was undertaken in the early 14th century under King Milutin of Serbia when the frescoes were painted.[2] After the Battle of Kosovo (1389) the monastery was destroyed by the Ottomans but was rebuilt later in the 14th century, and new frescoes were painted.[2] There are reports of the monastery in the 17th and 18th centuries, but in 1817 it was plundered by Albanians and Turks and was abandoned.[citation needed] In the following years, the monastery was run by priests and prominent citizens of the nearby town of Vranje.[citation needed] In 1841, the monastery was burned with fire, along with a relic kept in it, the hand of St. Prohor Pčinjski. In the middle of the 19th century, new monastery buildings were built, in 1870 the famous icon painter Dičo Zograf reworked some of the murals in the church, and in 1899 it was expanded and painted.[citation needed] During the same period, only a few monks permanently resided here. [citation needed]
In 1913, King Peter I of Serbia financed construction of a new residential building for monastery monks (so called "King's residence").[1] The last renovation of the monastery happened in the 1990s.[2] Two now residential buildings, a watermill and a mini hydro power plant were added since.[2] The renovation of the King's residence started in 2013.[1]
In 2010, an underground room from the Early Middle Ages was found in the yard near the monastery.[4] Detailed archaeological examination has not been undertaken yet, because of lack of funds.[5]
In 2014, part of the roof of the monastery was completely burnt down. In 2015 the state of Serbia, local community and voluntary contributions funds are gathered to rebuild it.[7]
^Group of authors (2007). Spomeničko nasleđe Srbije: nepokretna kulturna dobra od izuzetnog i od velikog značaja (2 ed.). Belgrade. ISBN9788680879604.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^(www.wheretoserbia.com), Where TO Serbia. "Where to Serbia". Where TO Serbia. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
