Grgeteg Monastery

The Grgeteg Monastery, dedicated to Saint Nicholas was presumably founded in 1471 by despot Vuk Branković, during the so-called “pre Turkish” period of the Serbian history. The first iconostasis of Grgeteg Monastery has been completed by Jakov Orfelin in 1774 and the second one which represents the most valuable feature of the Grgeteg Monastery was painted by Uros Predic in 1902, one of the most famous Serbian painters.

Privilege document that Austrian Emperor Leopold I gave to the Bishop Isaija Đakovic in 1691, is kept in Grgeteg Monastery. The most important issue in Grgeteg Monastery is true copy of the Chilandari Monastery wonder icon – the Virgin Mary Three Hands Icon, transferred from Holy Atos Mountain remaining as the icon-protector of the Fruška Gora Mountain and its Medieval Monasteries. The wonder-working image, before which the monk John Damascene received healing of a cut-off hand, was given over by him to the Laura of the monk Sava the Sanctified. In the 13th century the icon was situated in Serbia, and afterwards it was miraculously transported to Athos and the Chilandari Monastery.  The icon of the Mother of God, named “Of Three Hands” – Trojerucica is venerated since the 9th century and the time of the Iconoclasts, when monk John Damascene was zealous in his veneration of holy icons. Because of this, he was slandered by the Emperor and iconoclast Leo III the Isaurian /717-740/ who informed the Damascus caliph that the monk John was committing treasonous acts against him. The caliph have orders to cut off the hand of the monk and take it to the marketplace. Towards evening Saint John, having asked the caliph for the cut-off hand, put it to its joint and fell to the ground before the icon of the Mother of God. The monk begged Our Lady to heal the hand, which had written in defense of Orthodoxy. After long prayer, he feel asleep and saw in his dream, that the All-Pure Mother of God had turned to him promising him quick healing. Having awakened from sleep, monk John saw that his hand was unharmed. In thankfulness for this healing, the monk John placed on the icon an hand fashioned in silver, from which the icon received its name “Of Three Hands”. According to tradition, the monk John wrote a song of thanksgiving to the Mother of God – “All of creation rejoice in Three, oh Full of Grace”, which appears in place of the Mother of God Hymn in the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. Saint John Damascene accepted monasticism at the Laura Monastery of monk Sava the Sanctified and there bestowed his wonder-working icon. The Laura presented the icon “Of Three Hands” in blessing to Saint Sava, Arch Bishop of Serbia, + 1237. During the time of invasion of Serbia by the Turks, Christians wanting to safeguard the icon, entrusted it to the safekeeping of the Mother of God Herself. They placed it upon a donkey, which proceeded to Athos and stopped in front of the Chilandary Monastery.Monks put the icon in the cathedral church which since then occupies the hegumene’s place. The icon is widely respected by faithful people. The icon of Trojerucica – “Of Three Hands” in the Grgeteg Monastery is the the third copy of the original icon, kept in the Chilandary Monastery, blessing visitors and monks in every obedience.

Numerous arch priests, monks and nuns, as well as other church dignitaries and personalities of the rich history of Serbia are buried on the monastic graveyard of Grgeteg Monastery. By the personal wish of Professor Grujic here are graves of Professor Radoslav Grujić (29. June 1878 — 25. May 1955.), and his wife Milice, where their earth remains have been transferred in 1992 to rest in peace here. Professor Radoslav Grujić was a theologian and historian, unique hard-working researcher of church history, professor of the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje and founder of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade, founder of the Museum of South Serbia, researcher and scientist who discovered the Monastery of Holy Archangels near Prizren – the endowment of Tsar Dusan, and the first scholar who carried out excavations when the grave of Tsar Dusan was discovered, ever since he kept the tsar remains which today are kept in the Church of Saint Mark in Belgrade. Radoslav Grujić had taught the national history, the church history and archaeology, and left numerous scientific works among which is his most significant work of “Аpology of the Serb people in Croatia and Slavonia” in which he proved the presence of the Serbs in this area as the authochtonous population. He was one of founders of the Church Museum with the Gallery of Icons and frescoes in Skopje in 1937, in the Church of Saint Mina. In 1939 he was correspondent member of the Serbian Royal Academy, the ordinary member of Matica Srpska, Hrvatska and Slovenacka, and honored member of the Student Historical Society in Belgrade and associate of the Serbian Geographic Society and the Yugoslav Historical Society in Belgrade. During the Second World War he provided assistance to the Serb refugees and worked on preservation of the monuments of the Serbian Orthodox Church. By the church orders, during 1942 he provided transfer of the holy relics of Prince Lazar, the tsar Stefan Uros and prince Stefan Stiljanovic from the monasteries of Fruska Gora to Belgrade. After the war he work on identification and return of the artistic items plundered from the Serbian churches and monasteries on the territory of NDH – the Independent State of Croatia. Court of honour of the University of Belgrade panished Radoslav Grujic on the 3rd April 1945 by his estrangement from the University, and by the decision of the National committee of the Rayon I, in September 1945 he was removed from the citizenship list and deprived from the Serbian national dignity. In the afterwar period he worked in the Museum of the Sebian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate Library where he continued his work on the field of the church history. In 1948 he became the correspondent member of the Department of Social Sciences of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Professor Radoslav Grujić died on 25 May 1955 at age of 77 after serious illness, excommunicated and in severe scarcity. He was rehabilitated by the decision of the High Court of Belgrade on 14 March 2014 and in 2022 a byst was erected in Zemun, where he was born in 1878 ad where he graduated the Gymnasium. Source Milos Stojković SPONA SKOPJE