In the valley of the Zeta River, even today can be found remains of the Roman road that led from the seacoast and Zeta areas to Herzegovina and further to the north. In the Middle Ages, the Bjelopavlić Valley was the border region towards Zahumlje (Herzegovina), and that’s why it was the target of numerous military campaigns. Conquering it meant gaining control of the strategic road to Zeta, Scutari and Coastal area. Both the geographic position of the region and the constant threats of the invaders made the building of towns-castles were necessary – of which Ostrog was an example. Although neither the exact date when its building started nor the way of its creation are known, it is assumed that it could be around 1441, when the Zeta was ruled by despot Đurađ Branković. However, during the last quarter of the 15th century, by the arrival of the Turks to these regions, Ostrog and many smaller cities fall under their authority.
According to legend, Saint Basil was born in 1610 in Popovo polje (Herzegovina). As a young man he entered the monastic order in the Monastery of Trebinje, and soon became archimandrite and then the metropolitan of western Herzegovina. The exact dates of these events are not mentioned in historical sources, but they all took place during the time of Patriarch Pajsije Janjevac (1614-1647).
The situation in Herzegovina at the time of Metropolitan Basil was a very difficult one. The Cretan War, during which Venice invested special efforts in winning over the Serbian people in Turkey for its interests, was a long one. However, legends about Metropolitan Basil as a fiery protector of Orthodoxy were preserved. According to the long-established testimonies, even as a young man, Metropolitan Basil aspired strove to lead a reclusive life. Seeking for a tranquil retreat, he chose a cave in the cliffs of Ostrog, where an ascetic monk had previously resided and had built a small place of worship. Saint Basil himself wrote in his legacy that he had restored and not established the Monastery of Ostrog.
The Monastery of Ostrog consists of two main parts: the Upper and the Lower Monasteries. The Upper Monastery is located on the face of vertical, picturesque rock that stands 900 meters above sea level. It is composed of two cave churches: the upper one, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, and the lower one, dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin. The upper church was built with the blessing of Metropolitan Basil (1665). However, it is not known since when is the cave of the lower one used as a hermitage, but it is certain that it is older than the upper church. The space in front of the Upper Monastery was so narrow, that no more than several dozen people could assemble there. Therefore, during his visit in 1894, Prince Nikola ordered the expansion of the plateau and the erection of new building for pilgrims, as well as the construction of pavement route from the Lower monastery to the road that leads to Nikšić.
The site where the Lower Monastery stands today was once the village, which had a church. When Saint Basil bought the church, he also acquired the estate, where he erected a house for younger monks and a barn for the storage of contributions made to the monastery. The church, the house and the barn later constituted the Lower Monastery of Ostrog. The church that stands today in the Lower Monastery was built in 1824, with the blessing of Metropolitan Peter I.
The great reverence for the saint and the miracle worker Saint Basil has made Ostrog one of the most important and most visited shrines of the Serbian people. During certain holy days, a river of people flows to the church of the Presentation of the Virgin, in order to bow in reverence to the miraculous relics of Saint Basil there – on the rock of heavens heights.
Source: New Review JAT Airways, 2003/6
Text: Kristina Džoković
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