St. Elijah's Monastery

According to the verbal tradition and the story of the older locals, the church of St. Elijah in Kacapun was a monastery church, the oldest and most respected in this area. It was built by the Nemanjić family during the 13th century as part of a large monastery complex with many lodgings, dining rooms, towers and bell towers, because it was on its way to Hilandar. However, if we look at its position, the modest architecture typical of the beginning of the 15th century, then it is clear that this tradition is not founed on truth. The church was built with a small entrance door, so that everyone would have to bow when they entered the shrine. The Turks did not destroy it because, according to tradition, they were afraid of Saint Elijah, as a prophet and saint. The interior of the church, all its walls and vaults were painted. The frescoes are partially damaged, especially in the lower zones, but their arrangement can be fully established. According to its layout, iconographic features and artistic qualities, the painting does not go beyond the framework of Serbian painting from the first decades of the 17th century, the painting of ignorant and semi-literate painters. The fact that the frescoes in the monastery are characteristic of the beginning of the 17th century, when it was restored by local peasants and their advisers, can be further confirmed by a partially legible founder's inscription. This inscription is located on the west side of the architrave above the entrance door from the narthex to the church, where the word Presbyter is clearly read in the fourth line. The problem is with the consecration of the monastery temple at that time, because on the facade, where the saint to whom the temple is dedicated, is usually depicted, there is a scene of the Resurrection of Christ, and that is out of the question for the temple's Slava. According to a tradition recorded in 1908, the monastery was renovated around 1828 and was consecrated to St. Elijah. It was restored by the priest Stefan. In addition to the monastery church, a dormitory was built. Unfortunately, the dormitory collapsed under the ravages of time. The old dormitory was 30 meters long and consisted of a ground floor and a first floor with a bell tower. Starting from 2003, when the monastery was renovated, a new residence was built. According to the legend, in one period, a nearby hill collapsed on the church, so the monastery was buried underground, presumably for at least 100 years. Then the sanctuary was discovered by a herd of cattle that grazed in the area. In recent history, the monastery of St. Elijah in Kacapun has been without monks for over a hundred years. The monastery estate in 1889 testifies to his great poverty. It consists of only seven hectares of arable land and 38 hectares of forest. In May 2018, a major accident occurred. The monastery dormitory burned down in a big fire, but thanks to the presence of the people who were on the spot after the holy liturgy, a catastrophe was avoided and only the roof and certain parts of the dormitory were lost in fire. Unfortunately, the whole workshop with tools, which was used to make candles for the diocese, icons and the like, was destroyed in the fire.