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The Monastery of Rezevici
The Pastrovic clan live along the most beautiful part of the Adriatic Coast, between Budva and Petrovac. Their oldest tribe is the Rezevici after whom the monastery and the nearby river are named. At a confluence on the river peoples' assemblies were held, judges and representatives of authority were elected, and important decisions were made. It was here also that the prince who ruled over the Pastrovici was elected. The last prince was Stefan Stiljanovic - St. Stefan - whose relics rest in the Cathedral of Belgrade.
The Pastrovici have four monasteries: Praskvica, Gradiste, Rezevici, and Duljevo, as well as thirty six parish churches.
The Monastery of Rezevici is situated on a picturesque hillside, not far from the sea, near Petrovac, and in the immediate vicinity of the famous tourist complex Sveti Stefan. According to tradition, pagan temples and ancient graves existed here, some of which can still be seen. The Serbian king Stefan the First-Crowned spent some time in the Rezevici. He built the church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, consecrated in 1223. Emperor Dusan erected the Church of the Archdeacon Stefan, consecrated in 1351, and on that occasion he presented the Pastrovici with his famous Law Codex, which they used at the councils at Drobni Pijesak, and when they made decisions upon the Sudino Brdo (The Hill of Judgment). The monastery of Rezevici was also mentioned in an inscription on an icon from 1423, painted by Hieromonk Nikodim. In one document from 1612, in which the farmers of the Soljaga Brotherhood offered some cultivated land to the monastery, the church of the Dormition and the Monastery are referred to. Until the first half of the 19th century there used to be here, by the road, a stone column with a hollow recess where citizens of the nearby villages used to put a bowl of wine as a sign of hospitality towards the passers-by. It is said that Raymond of Toulouse, with his crusaders, drank wine from this bowl.
The monastery of Rezevici has throughout its long history often been robbed and destroyed, especially by the Turkish army in 1705 and 1785. The French plundered it in 1812 because of the covenant of the Pastrovici with the Prince Bishop of Montenegro Petar I Petrovic Njegos, who launched a campaign for the liberation of the Gulf of Kotor and the Montenegrin Coastland from French occupation.
According to some inscriptions, the refectory already existed in the 18th C. It was demolished, together with other church buildings, but renovated in the middle of the last century. It was again burnt down by the Italians in 1941. Today's refectory has been renovated, and it fulfills its purpose completely.
Although there is no monastery treasury (it was burnt down in 1941), cultural and historical objects have been collected and plans for its re-establishment are being made, We list some of the valuable objects preserved here; an icon of the Mother of God from 1693, a Four Gospel Book from 1835, a big processional cross from 1850, a tabernacle from the middle of the 19th century, etc.
Because of its treasures and its historical value, the monastery complex of Rezevici has been listed as a cultural-historical monument of Montenegro, and is under legal protection.
(Source: www.njegos.org)
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