Orakhovo Monastery
Description:
In a small Montenegrin village, located 2 km from Virpazar, today you can find the Orthodox monastery of Orakhovo, which is part of the Zeta Holy Mountain and the cultural heritage of the Balsic era, since the first church in this place was built in the XIV century.
Location: Municipality of Bara, Orakhovo village near the town of Virpazar.
Accurate data on the time of construction of the monastery Orakhovo has not been preserved. In historical sources there is a document of the era of King Milutin, dated 1314-1318, in which this monastery is mentioned as a branch of the Vranjin monastery.
The monastery complex consists of a cell building and two one-nave churches erected in honor of one saint. The older church of St. Nicholas, apparently, dates back to the XIV century and was built on the donations of Elena Balsic, now it is in an abandoned state. The second church, also dedicated to St. Nicholas, is somewhat smaller, it was built in the XVII century. Its interior was painted in 1663 by Vasily Njegos, and the iconostasis of 22 icons is the work of Macedonian master Djinowski. In 1909 a bell tower was added to the new church. This temple, in addition to performing monastic functions, serves as a parish church for the nearest district.
Monastic cells are still in ruins and are just beginning to recover.
Orakhovo Monastery is male and belongs to the Montenegrin-Primorsky Metropolis of the Serbian Orthodox Church.