Lepenac Monastery, Protected monastery in Brus, Serbia

Lepenac Monastery is a religious complex located on the right bank of the Rasina River, featuring multi-sided external apses and semicircular interior architectural elements. The structure extends over a considerable length and displays the characteristic building style of the Morava period.

An unknown founder laid the foundations in the 14th century, but the church walls rose only three metres before his death halted work. Construction resumed later with modest means, and the monastery is recorded as a 15th-century foundation of the Eparchy of Kruševac. In 1944 the communists killed its abbot, Ignjatije Marković, at Đerakare; his body was thrown into a ravine and never found.

The monastery is dedicated to Saint Stephen and belongs to the Eparchy of Kruševac of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Its name comes from the nearby village of Lepenac on the right bank of the Rasina. In 1944 the communists killed the abbot Ignjatije Marković at Đerakare and threw his body into a ravine; it was never found.

The complex is located roughly 700 meters from the main road connecting the municipalities of Brus and Krusevac. Visitors should note that the setting in central Serbia requires travel through rural surroundings to reach the site.

The church is over 20 m long, making it one of the largest buildings of the Morava school. Its older masonry, modelled on Morava monuments, survives to a height of about 2 m, so two building phases are visible in the same wall.