Serbian Kovin Monastery
Encyclopedia
The Serbian Kovin monastery is the oldest monastery in Hungary
and one of the two monasteries
in the Diocese
of Buda of the Serbian Orthodox Church
. It is situated 40 km south of Budapest
, on the island of Csepel
, in the center of the little town of Ráckeve
.
, and the wife of Hungarian king Bela II
the Blind is mentioned as the founder of the monastery. At the time when the monastery was founded Hungary was being ruled by Helena instead of her underage son, Geza II
(1141–1161).
After the Turks
had besieged and for the first time conquered Smederevo Fortress
in 1439, they crossed the Danube
on two occasions and devastated and robbed Kovin
and all surrounding villages. Those who escaped moved to the inland of Hungary
and reached to the island of Csepel
on the Danube
. On October 10, 1440, Hungarian king Vladislav gave to the Kovin migrants the Early Gothic style
church with chapels and bell tower, and with it, presumably, the corresponding part of the royal landholdings. From that time on, there is on Csepel, Upper or Serbian Kovin, with the church dedicated to the Dormition of Mother of God
with the chapels of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
and St. Unmercenary Physicians and Wonderworkers Cosmas and Damian
(the first on the southeast, the second on the southwest side).
There is a possibility that in the years around the half of the sixteenth century the parish church was transformed into the monastery. There is no direct evidence for this conclusion, but in the Turkish census of 1546 three monks and a priest were recorded in Serbian Kovin, that indicates the possibility that along with the church there already was the monastery there. The so far reliable data from 1680 confirm the existence of the monastery on the island of Csepel. Within the reduction of the monasteries in the time of Maria Theresa, the Serbian Kovin monastery was abolished in 1777 and the small monastic brotherhood, probably led by Archimandrite
Josif Stanojević, moved to the monastery of Grabovac and the Serbian Kovin church was turned into a parish
. After more than two centuries, this great shrine of Serbs
in Hungary again gains the status of the monastery, led by Abbot
Andrej Pandurović.
style building of rectangular base shape, dimensions of about 10 x 25 meters and with a useful floor area of about 175 m2. In the massive hewn stone walls, about 90 cm thick, there were two portals, nine two-part windows and 16 supporting pillars. Approximately from the same period dates the isolated belfry on the east side, built of hewn stone, now preserved in the ground floor and the first floor. Its basic size ( 7,40 X 7,20 m ), the thickness of its walls about 2,50 m and a small usable area indicate the depth of its foundations to two meters and its height of about 50 meters with a narrow pyramidal cap on top.
In the time after the year of 1440, after the church had been given to Serbs
, the harmonious and proportionate Gothic building ( with the chapels ) was with minor interventions turned into the Orthodox oratory. The eastern aisle, trigonously completed, was renovated and converted into the altar area of appropriate size. Without a doubt, the original iconostasis in the obtained church was a low altar screen with a small number of icons brought from Kovin
in Banat. Today's iconostasis with a smaller number of icons dates from 1770. Only four main icons were painted earlier, in 1746, and present the work of unknown Russian and Ukrainian masters. Other icons, including those in unusual places below the main ones, belong to the masters from Moshopolis
. This "developed" altar screen has several horizontal zones. The first is a parapet one and unpainted. The second comprises the Royal Doors
with 14 medallions of Prophets
, side doors with icons above them and finally the main icons with the elongated medallions in the foot. In the final fourth zone there are the cross with the crucifixion, two associated icons and the icons of Apostles in the carved frames.
On the foundations of an earlier, probably collapsed tower, there was built the Baroque part of the bell tower in 1756 in two floor level with the high decorative cap on top. Together with the earlier levels the belfry has a ground floor, three floors and a cap of timber coated with copper sheeting. The height of the masonry part of the belfry is 26,10 m, the height of the decorative cap (with the apple
and the cross
is 14,30 m while the overall height is 40,40 meters. Observed in the context of the Serbian Baroque architecture, the belfry
belongs to the group of rare towers completely separated from the church.
says that the church was painted three times – in 1320 ( of which there are no surviving traces ), then in 1514 ( as for those paintings one can see only a fragment of the image of Virgin Mary with Christ
under the parts of plaster from 1765 that fell off ) and the last time in 1765. The inscription above the southern door leading from the church into the chapel of St. John the Baptist, also tells about wall painting of the church on three occasions. In the side chapels the wall paintings were made in 1771, as can be read in the inscription.
The wall paintings in the Church of the Dormition of Mother of God and its two chapels in Serbian Kovin were painted by artists led by Teodor Simeonov from Moshopolis. The contracts that the master signed with the purchasers of the paintings are also preserved. Since the church is done in the Gothic style, the iconographer faced a difficult task to develop the scenes in the manner of the old Byzantine
and Serbian church painting placing them in the Gothic divided sections of the walls. The whole main church as well as the chapels, from the ground up to the top of the Gothic vaults
, among the intertwined pillars, according to the proportion of space that up in the arches gets narrower, are symmetrically filled with frescoes of saints and Serbian rulers and saints. The joints of the columns are nicely combined and covered with smaller images of the Evangelists, Apostles, Martyrs
, Angels and Archangels. In the lower parts of the walls, between the vertical columns, the Serbian rulers, from Nemanja
to Emperor Uroš
and Prince Lazar, are aligned in their actual size.
The fresco
in the south wall, in the doorpost of the passage between the chapel of St. John the Baptist and the main church, painted in 1765, in which Joachim
and Anna
prayerfully address the Virgin, is an interesting and remarkable phenomenon in Serbian painting. The scene resembles the composition of Deisis, but the Virgin and her parents appear as protagonists.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and one of the two monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in the Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Buda of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
. It is situated 40 km south of Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, on the island of Csepel
Csepel Island
Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6–8 km. Its area comprises 257 km². The word Csepel is pronounced CHE-pel....
, in the center of the little town of Ráckeve
Ráckeve
Ráckeve Ráckeve Ráckeve (Ráckeve (Ráckeve ([[Serbian language|Serbian: Српски Ковин) is a town on [[Csepel Island]] in [[Hungary]]. It is situated in [[]].-History:...
.
History
According to a preserved tradition, often neglected, this monastery is the medieval heritage and appeared in the first half of the twelfth century. Queen Helena, the daughter of the Prefect of Raška Uroš IUroš I of Rascia
Uroš I Vukanović was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from ca 1112 to 1145.-Origin:Uroš I was the son of Marko, the brother of Grand Prince Vukan, who had swore an oath of loyalty to Constantine Bodin, the Grand Prince of Duklja, becoming his vassals...
, and the wife of Hungarian king Bela II
Béla II of Hungary
Béla II the Blind , King of Hungary and Croatia . Still as a child, Béla was blinded by his uncle, King Coloman who wanted to ensure the succession of his own son, the future King Stephen II...
the Blind is mentioned as the founder of the monastery. At the time when the monastery was founded Hungary was being ruled by Helena instead of her underage son, Geza II
Géza II of Hungary
Géza II , , King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama . He ascended the throne as a child and during his minority the kingdom was governed by his mother and uncle...
(1141–1161).
After the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
had besieged and for the first time conquered Smederevo Fortress
Smederevo Fortress
Smederevo Fortress , in Smederevo, Serbia, was a medieval fortified city and temporary capital of Serbia. It was built by Despot Đurađ Branković of 1427 to 1430, during the era of the Serbian Despotate. Later that century it was further fortified by the Turks...
in 1439, they crossed the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
on two occasions and devastated and robbed Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
and all surrounding villages. Those who escaped moved to the inland of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and reached to the island of Csepel
Csepel Island
Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6–8 km. Its area comprises 257 km². The word Csepel is pronounced CHE-pel....
on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. On October 10, 1440, Hungarian king Vladislav gave to the Kovin migrants the Early Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church with chapels and bell tower, and with it, presumably, the corresponding part of the royal landholdings. From that time on, there is on Csepel, Upper or Serbian Kovin, with the church dedicated to the Dormition of Mother of God
Dormition of the Theotokos
The Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos , and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into heaven. It is celebrated on August 15 The Dormition...
with the chapels of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus and who baptized Jesus.-Significance:Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for...
and St. Unmercenary Physicians and Wonderworkers Cosmas and Damian
Saints Cosmas and Damian
Saints Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, physicians, and early Christian martyrs born in Cilicia, part of today's Turkey. They practiced their profession in the seaport of Ayas, Adana, then in the Roman province of Syria...
(the first on the southeast, the second on the southwest side).
There is a possibility that in the years around the half of the sixteenth century the parish church was transformed into the monastery. There is no direct evidence for this conclusion, but in the Turkish census of 1546 three monks and a priest were recorded in Serbian Kovin, that indicates the possibility that along with the church there already was the monastery there. The so far reliable data from 1680 confirm the existence of the monastery on the island of Csepel. Within the reduction of the monasteries in the time of Maria Theresa, the Serbian Kovin monastery was abolished in 1777 and the small monastic brotherhood, probably led by Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Josif Stanojević, moved to the monastery of Grabovac and the Serbian Kovin church was turned into a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
. After more than two centuries, this great shrine of Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
in Hungary again gains the status of the monastery, led by Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
Andrej Pandurović.
Architecture
At the time of appearance, at the end of the thirteenth century, the church was a larger one-nave Early GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style building of rectangular base shape, dimensions of about 10 x 25 meters and with a useful floor area of about 175 m2. In the massive hewn stone walls, about 90 cm thick, there were two portals, nine two-part windows and 16 supporting pillars. Approximately from the same period dates the isolated belfry on the east side, built of hewn stone, now preserved in the ground floor and the first floor. Its basic size ( 7,40 X 7,20 m ), the thickness of its walls about 2,50 m and a small usable area indicate the depth of its foundations to two meters and its height of about 50 meters with a narrow pyramidal cap on top.
In the time after the year of 1440, after the church had been given to Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, the harmonious and proportionate Gothic building ( with the chapels ) was with minor interventions turned into the Orthodox oratory. The eastern aisle, trigonously completed, was renovated and converted into the altar area of appropriate size. Without a doubt, the original iconostasis in the obtained church was a low altar screen with a small number of icons brought from Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
in Banat. Today's iconostasis with a smaller number of icons dates from 1770. Only four main icons were painted earlier, in 1746, and present the work of unknown Russian and Ukrainian masters. Other icons, including those in unusual places below the main ones, belong to the masters from Moshopolis
Moscopole
Moscopole was a cultural and commercial center of the Aromanians, and now a small municipality in Korçë District, modern southeastern Albania. At its peak, in the mid 18th century, it hosted the first printing press in the Balkans outside Istanbul, educational institutions and numerous churches...
. This "developed" altar screen has several horizontal zones. The first is a parapet one and unpainted. The second comprises the Royal Doors
Royal Doors
The royal doors, holy doors, or beautiful gates are the central doors of the iconostasis in an Eastern Orthodox or Greek-Catholic Church....
with 14 medallions of Prophets
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
, side doors with icons above them and finally the main icons with the elongated medallions in the foot. In the final fourth zone there are the cross with the crucifixion, two associated icons and the icons of Apostles in the carved frames.
On the foundations of an earlier, probably collapsed tower, there was built the Baroque part of the bell tower in 1756 in two floor level with the high decorative cap on top. Together with the earlier levels the belfry has a ground floor, three floors and a cap of timber coated with copper sheeting. The height of the masonry part of the belfry is 26,10 m, the height of the decorative cap (with the apple
Apple (symbolism)
Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that as late as the 17th century, the word "apple" was used as a generic term for all fruit other than berries, but including nuts...
and the cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
is 14,30 m while the overall height is 40,40 meters. Observed in the context of the Serbian Baroque architecture, the belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
belongs to the group of rare towers completely separated from the church.
Frescoes
The inscription on a bronze plate embedded into the southern wall of the narthexNarthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
says that the church was painted three times – in 1320 ( of which there are no surviving traces ), then in 1514 ( as for those paintings one can see only a fragment of the image of Virgin Mary with Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
under the parts of plaster from 1765 that fell off ) and the last time in 1765. The inscription above the southern door leading from the church into the chapel of St. John the Baptist, also tells about wall painting of the church on three occasions. In the side chapels the wall paintings were made in 1771, as can be read in the inscription.
The wall paintings in the Church of the Dormition of Mother of God and its two chapels in Serbian Kovin were painted by artists led by Teodor Simeonov from Moshopolis. The contracts that the master signed with the purchasers of the paintings are also preserved. Since the church is done in the Gothic style, the iconographer faced a difficult task to develop the scenes in the manner of the old Byzantine
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
and Serbian church painting placing them in the Gothic divided sections of the walls. The whole main church as well as the chapels, from the ground up to the top of the Gothic vaults
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
, among the intertwined pillars, according to the proportion of space that up in the arches gets narrower, are symmetrically filled with frescoes of saints and Serbian rulers and saints. The joints of the columns are nicely combined and covered with smaller images of the Evangelists, Apostles, Martyrs
Christian martyrs
A Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness."...
, Angels and Archangels. In the lower parts of the walls, between the vertical columns, the Serbian rulers, from Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
to Emperor Uroš
John Uroš
Jovan Uroš or John Ouresis Doukas Palaiologos was the ruler of Thessaly from c. 1370 to c. 1373, died 1422/3.John Uroš was the son of Emperor Simeon Uroš Palaiologos by Thomais Orsini. His maternal grandparents were John II Orsini and Anna Palaiologina Angelina.Between 1369 and 1372 he succeeded...
and Prince Lazar, are aligned in their actual size.
The fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
in the south wall, in the doorpost of the passage between the chapel of St. John the Baptist and the main church, painted in 1765, in which Joachim
Joachim
Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. The story of Joachim and Anne appears first in the apocryphal Gospel of James...
and Anna
Saint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
prayerfully address the Virgin, is an interesting and remarkable phenomenon in Serbian painting. The scene resembles the composition of Deisis, but the Virgin and her parents appear as protagonists.