Monastery Krka

ON CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS
According to the lively folk tradition, which is also confirmed by Church historians
and chroniclers, the monastery Krka was built on the site where Apostle Paul preached
Christianity. A testimony to the apostolic times in Dalmatia are also the words written in the
New Testament (2 Tim 4:10). To these rugged regions, apostle Paul sent his pupil Titus who
was among the first bishops of the Church in Dalmatia in the period between the years of 55
and 61. When he left, Apostle Paul sent to Dalmatia another of his pupils, Hermas, who led
the Church until the year of 68. Bishop Hermas activities are also attested by his Service in
which he was said to be the brightest light of all Dalmatia where, like the radiant sun, he
sent out numerous rays, and by performing his holy service he brought human spirits out of
the dark and into the light.Apostle Paul used to visit Dalmatia while Hermes served here as
a bishop. In his epistle to the Romans, Apostle Paul wrote that from Jerusalem and as far
round Illyricum I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ (Rom 15:19). There exist
preserved historical testimonies of historians and Church teachers, as well as a lively folk
tradition about Apostle Pauls preaching in Illyricum, that is, Dalmatia. Ancient chronicler
Matius, friar G. Vinjalic, and, later on, A. Fortis and C F Bianchi of Zadar said that, travelling
from the East to Rome, Apostle Paul took the road leading by the old Roman town of
Burnum, near todays town of Kistanje, and that he stopped by the river Titus (todays Krka)
where he preached about Christ. Later, on that place a monastery of St. Archangel Michael,
better known as the monastery Krka, was built.
This lively folk tradition and belief was written down in the XVII century by a famous
historian J. Matius who said that he knew of an old epitaph in the Slavic language engraved
in a board, which is being kept in the mentioned monastery and which attests to Apostle
Pauls visit to Dalmatia. Way back in the XVII century, friar Vinjalic of the monastery Visoko,
wrote an extremely extensive treatise on the historical events in Dalmatia saying: A
historical manuscript without the name of the author says that, in the monastery of St.
Archangel, where monks live today, the mentioned verses in the Slavic language in memory
of Apostle Pauls visit to that place are written down. Historians of the Christian church,
Fortis and Engel, also left written testimonies about Pauls preaching in Dalmatia. Writing
about the Church in Dalmatia in 1880, precozit Bianchi of Zadar said that until the ehd of
the XVIII century, in the church of monastery of St. Archangel Michael existed an ancient
picture of Apostle Paul, preaching the Gospel to the Dalmatians. This picture also had
appropriate inscriptions, and it showed the Dalmatians in their folk costumes.
Unfortunately, a large number of these testimonies have disappeared over the centuries or
have been destroyed by enemies. While Bishop Hermas was in Dalmatia, these regions were
visited by Evangelist Luke who preached Christs Gospel there. This is also confirmed by
Epiphanius in his Panarion (Medicine Box) (The History of Heresy). However, it is not
known for sure how long Apostle Luke stayed in Dalmatia.
After Titus and Hermas, Donatus is mentioned as the third bishop of the church in
Dalmatia which he led until the 107 yaer as an archbishop. Afterwards Christians
experienced a period of fierce persecutions by polytheists and hardships that did not cease
until 313, that is, until the Edict of Milan by which the emperor Constantine the Great
proclaimed freedom of the Christian religion.
Strong Christian foundations in Dalmatia were laid by the monkhood, especially with
the arrival of St. Hilarion in the mid IV century. Already in the the first half of the VI century,
at the time of Byzantine emperor Justinian (527-565), Dalmatia became part of the
Byzantine Empire. This contributed to the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith being established
in those regions and continually surviving, through enormous sufferings, until the present
day.
catacomb
Monastery Krka
Monastery Krka was founded in the 14th century and it is dedicated to St. Archangel
Michael. In 1345, this monastery was mentioned for the first time as the endowment of
princess Jelena Subic, the wife of prince of Skradin and Bribir. Under the main
monastery church, there are old Roman catacombs, which represent significant evidence
that St. Apostle Paul preached Christianity in this region.
The church of monastery Krka was built in several stages. The oldest part of the church
is priprata the entrance part.
Monastery Krka was devastated and burned during the wars between Turks and
Venetians.
After these wars, the monastery was renewed and the altar in a present-day form was
built in the eight decade of the 18th century. The iconostasis was made of composite
icons. Main icons are works of an unknown Venetio-Cretian artist; and the upper part of
the iconostasis consists of icons brought from Russia during the 17 th century.
Monastery Krka has always been spiritual and educational centre of Dalmatian Diocese.
Throughout its long history, this monastery gave many archibishops and sheperds of the
Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1615, Theodore, Dabrobosnian Metropolitan, founded the
first organized theological school in the Serbian Church.

Except the main church, there is a small chapel of St, Sava, which was built by
Dalmatian Bishop Stefan Kneevi. In 1890, Bishop Stefan died and he was buried in this
chapel.
Besides that, monastery Krka has a very rich treasury and two libraries.
Also, in 2001 the reconstructed Semminary Holy Three Hierarchs, again started with its
work.
The architecture of monastery Krka

The monastery Krka complex consist of the monastery church, dinning-room,
refectories, the new building of the Seminary of the Holy Three Hieararchs and subsidiary
buildings.
Throughout its centuries-long history, the monastery church of St. Archangel Michael
has undergone considerable changes and adaptation. Essentially, the church is divided into
two parts: the eastern and western. The eastern part consists of the central part of the
church above which is a dome and a big altar space. The western part is quite narrow, it is
longer than the eastern one and aslant towards the southern side compared to the churchs
main foundation. This crooked central part is most probably the result of the architectural
adaptation of the church walls.
The north-eastern part of the church partly leans on a space in the rock on an early
Christian catacomb . The south-western part of the church partly leans on an old medieval
wall, most probably a remnant of the original church. Therefore, judging by the preserved
remnants, todays monastery church is the third one on the church site, which clearly shows
that is an extremely important worship place.
Essentially, the church of the monastery Krka shows certain similarity to crossshaped churches with domes that appeared in Serbian architecture at the end of the Middle
Ages.
The monastery Krka today

The renewal of spiritual life in monastery Krka, an ecclesiastical centre of the
Dalmatian Diocese began after 1995, the year in which Orthodox Serbs went through a
great tragedy and survived unremembered persecution as well as exodus from Dalmatia,
where they lived for centuries.
Gathering of Krkas brotherhood have begun in 1998, when hieromonk Gerasim
(Popovic) and monk Dositej (Jovic) returned to the monastery. In spite of very difficult
conditions, their arrival to the monastery managed to subsist and revive spiritual life in this
region.
Namely, the interior of this sanctuarly was completely devastated; its library and
archive thoroughly destroyed.
In 1999, by the election of new Bishop for Dalmatia, His Grace Fotije, the
reconstruction of the monastery was intensified and the brotherhood got their Abbot Fr.
Gerasim; who was, in 2004 elected Bishop for the Gonjokarlovacka Diocese. Afterwards,
archimandrite German (Bogojevic) took the duty of the abbot.
The great significance in the life of Krka monastery has the Seminary of the Holy
Three Hieararchs. To be more precise, in 2001 the Seminary restarted its work, meaning its
spiritual and educational mission, as in Dalmatia, so as in the whole Serbian Orthodox

Church.
Nowadays, the Seminary of the Holy Three Hieararchs attends about 50 boys, who
will, by Gods help, be new preachers of the Gospel of Christ; and together with monastery
Krka and their school, will be guardians of the Holy Orthodoxy in our
age.

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ON CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS

first organized theological school in the Serbian Church.

The architecture of monastery Krka

The monastery Krka today

spiritual and educational mission, as in Dalmatia, so as in the whole Serbian Orthodox

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