The Cetinje Monastery (Serbian Cyrillic: Цетињски манастир; also known as the New Cetinje Monastery) is the most famous Serb Orthodox monastery in Montenegro. It is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and its name derives from Saint Peter of Cetinje. A center of historical and cultural importance, it was founded between 1701 and 1704 by Prince-Bishop Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš|Danilo I on the site of the former court of Ivan Crnojević|Ivan the Black.
In the New Cetinje Monastery there are several relics:
- Remains of Saint Peter of Cetinje
- Right hand of Saint John the Baptist
- Remains of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš were moved here.
Medieval Cetinje Monastery
The medieval Cetinje Monastery (Srednjovjekovni Cetinjski manastir); also known as the Old Cetinje Monastery (Stari Cetinjski manastir) was a Serb Orthodox monastery built by Ivan Crnojević|Ivan the Black in 1484, and founded on the 4 January 1485. located in Ćipur, and dedicated to the birth of the Virgin Mary (Hram Roždestva presvete Bogorodice). During the 1692 Morean War the Venetian forces demolished the medieval monastery.
It is believed that the monastery was about twenty metres long and about six metres wide based upon the monastery's original designs by the Venetian engineer, Barbieri. In an etching in the book Oktoih, it seems the medieval Cetinje Monastery was a three-naved basilica, with a cupola on the center nave with elements of renaissance architecture. Around the monastery was a 1,400m2 complex with two smaller churches and an inn.
Sources and References
- Istorijski Leksikon Crne Gore Book 1, A-Crn ISBN 86-7706-165-7