Everything about Rila Monastery totally explained
The
Monastery of Saint John of Rila, better known as the
Rila Monastery (
Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous
Eastern Orthodox monastery in
Bulgaria. It is situated in the northwestern
Rila Mountains, 117
km south of the capital
Sofia in the deep valley of the
Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147
m above sea level.
Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments. It is on account of this also a key tourist attraction in Bulgaria and
Southeastern Europe as a whole.
History
It is traditionally thought that the monastery was founded by the hermit
St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski), whose name it bears, during the rule of
Tsar Peter I (927-968). The hermit actually lived in a cave not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education.
Ever since its creation, the Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by the Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of the
Second Bulgarian Empire up until the
Ottoman Conquest, making the monastery a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached its apogee from the 12th to the 14th century.
The Rila Monastery was reerected at its present place by a local
feudal lord named
Hrelyu Dragovola during the 14th century. The oldest buildings in the complex date from this period were—the Tower of Hrelyu (1334–1335) and a small church just next to it (1343). The bishop's throne and the rich-engraved gates of the monastery also belong to the time. However, the arrival of the
Ottomans in the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction of the monastery in the middle of the 15th century.
Thanks to donations by the
Russian Orthodox Church and more precisely the
Rossikon monastery of
Mount Athos, the Rila Monastery was rebuilt in the end of the 15th century by three brothers from the region of
Kyustendil, who moved John of Rila's relics into the complex.
The complex acted as a depository of
Bulgarian language and
culture in the ages of foreign rule. During the time of the
Bulgarian National Revival (18th-19th century), it was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the help of wealthy
Bulgarians from the whole country, under the famous architect
Alexi Rilets. The erection of the residential buildings began in 1816, while a belfry was added to the Tower of Hrelyu in 1844.
Neofit Rilski founded a school in the monastery during the period.
The monastery complex, regarded as one of the foremost masterpieces of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, was declared a national historical monument in 1976 and became a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since 1991 it has been entirely subordinate to the
Holy Synod of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
On
25 May 2002,
Pope John Paul II, the
Slavic Pope visited Rila monastery during his pilgrimage to
Bulgaria. He was greeted by the Monastery's
igumen, Bishop Ioan, who had been an observer at the
Second Vatican Council.
Gallery
Image:Rilskiy Monastir.jpg|The main church of the Rila Monastery
Image:Rila Monastery AUG 2004.jpg|Domes
Image:Rila 14.jpg|The Tower of Hrelyu
Image:Rilski manastir i planina.jpg|View
Image:Rilamon-gate-1.jpg|One of the outer gates
Image:Rilamon-lazarov-5.JPG|Inside the main church
Image:Affreschi di Rila 2.jpg|The richly decorated ceiling of the main church
Image:Rilamon-lazarov-1.JPG|View
Image:Rilamon-lazarov-3.JPG|The main church
Image:Rila monastery 2- bulgaria.JPG|View
Image:Ivan Rilski - fresco from church in rila monastery-bulgaria.JPG|Saint Ivan Rilski-frescoe from the main church
Image:Rila monastery - bulgaria.JPG|View inside
Further Information
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