Kožle Monastery: A Medieval Orthodox Monastery in North Macedonia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- North Macedonia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Bulgarian, Serbian
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page4 sections
History
Fourteenth-century foundation and estate
Kožle Monastery is a Bulgarian medieval Orthodox monastery in North Macedonia, associated with the fourteenth century. During the reign of Stefan Dušan, the Serbian ruler who governed from 1331 to 1355 and became emperor in 1346, the estate of its church bordered the fortress above Kožle. The church was then dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
In 1352–1353, Tsar Dušan granted the feudal estate to Yakov of Serres, a senior Orthodox bishop. The grant stipulated that after Yakov’s death, the estate would pass to the Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Prizren, a medieval Orthodox monastery in the historic city of Prizren.
Change of dedication
During the sixteenth century, the church was renovated and placed under the dedication of the Nativity of the Mother of God, an Orthodox feast commemorating the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The monastery is currently affiliated with the Macedonian Orthodox Church–Ohrid Archbishopric and the Skopje Diocese.
Remains
The monastery church stands about one kilometre south of the fortress above Kožle, in the canyon of the Pčinja River. Part of the building is constructed into a cave, giving the surviving church a physical relationship with the surrounding rock and canyon landscape.
