Sretenje Monastery, Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Ovčar, near Lučani, Serbia
Sretenje Monastery stands in Dučalovići, in the Lučani municipality, just below the summit of Mount Ovčar at 800 metres. Its single-nave church has a deep, five-sided altar apse, shallow rectangular side chapels and a near-square narthex topped by a bell tower. The lower walls and the marble pulpit rosette in the form of a six-pointed star bordered with heart-shaped ivy leaves date from the late 16th century.
Sretenje Monastery was founded in the 16th century and first mentioned in written records in 1571; its destruction was noted in 1623. It was rebuilt in 1818 by the monk Nikifor Maksimović, who later became Bishop of Užice and was buried in the monastery church in 1853. The complex was bombed by German forces in 1941 and has been a women's monastery since 1948.
The monastery's slava is the Presentation of the Lord, celebrated on 15 February (2 February by the Orthodox calendar), while the chapel of the Intercession of the Theotokos is celebrated on 14 October (1 October). Since 1948 the monastery has been a women's community; its abbesses include Ana Adžić (1947–1951) and Nina Stokić (2021–present).
The monastery sits within a river gorge, so visitors should expect uneven ground and proximity to water, particularly during wet conditions. Access is primarily on foot from the nearby village of Ovčar Banja, and the approach involves some climbing and walking over rough terrain.
The hill above the monastery is called Koronjsko brdo, after a tradition that a crown was thrown from the summit of Ovčar and the church was built where it landed. The monastery also keeps a Gospel book given as a gift from Russia and a copperplate engraving showing the monastery's old appearance.
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