Kalenić monastery, Byzantine monastery in Kalenićki Prnjavor, Serbia
Kalenić monastery is a Byzantine structure in Kalenićki Prnjavor distinguished by alternating gray stone blocks and red brick on its exterior walls and dome. The complex forms a self-contained compound with a church building and auxiliary rooms typical of Serbian monastery architecture from this period.
Kalenić was the endowment of protovestiarios Bogdan, a nobleman at the court of despot Stefan Lazarević. The church was built and painted between 1407 and 1413. The monastery was abandoned at the end of the 17th century and revived in the mid-18th century by monks from Morača. A major restoration was carried out between 1928 and 1930.
The monastery is dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin, and its name comes from the nearby village of Kalenićki Prnjavor. Each year it hosts the "Prođoh Levač, prođoh Šumadiju" gathering, held under the patronage of Serbia's Ministry of Culture and the municipality of Rekovac. The painter Radoslav came from Kalenić.
The monastery lies near Rekovac, about 12 km from the village of Oparic, in Kalenicki Prnjavor. The church has a single dome and a narthex with a blind dome; the main entrance is framed by a recessed arch. Visitors should dress modestly, as it is an active women's monastery headed by Abbess Nektarija since 2000.
The ktitor composition in the narthex shows protovestiarios Bogdan with his wife Milica and brother Petar approaching Despot Stefan Lazarević. The monastery was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979. Painter Radoslav came from Kalenić.
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