Jazak Monastery
First mentions and early history
Judging by the church tradition, Jazak Monastery was founded by the Despot Jovan, the younger son of Stefan the Blind and Angelina Branković, while the first reliable information about this holy place is found in the manuscript titled “Triod” of the monk Lavrentije of Jazak, in 1522. Ottoman defters mention it in 1545-1548, 1566-1569 and in 1578, citing circumstantial details about the very weak monastery economy of that day. Mata Kosovac, in “Schematism” from 1910, claims that a female monastic family was also gathered near the abovementioned place of worship, which can be concluded “from old icons and chronicles”. It seems that the original monastery, consisting of a stone church with frescoes and two modest lodges (stone and wooden, covered with oak shingles and sedge) was very poor. It owned “a little” land and forest, and it is known that in 1702, eight monks practiced askesis in this place in extreme poverty. A dramatic turn in the history of this monastery took place in 1705, when the monk Hristifor from Šudikova near Nerodimlje, brought here the relics of the Holy Emperor Uroš “the Weak” (1337-1367). From that moment on, Jazak became the central pilgrimage site of the growing cult of the Holy Emperor, from whom countless masses of unfortunate people sought heavenly patronage. There are reports that some faithful devotees begged for salvation from their torments in front of his reliquary, such as Mustafa, a Turk from Sarajevo, who, in 1710, bestowed upon the monastery a silver statue of Emperor Uroš, as well as a depiction of his ill leg that later got healed.
Temple and the dormitory
It was precisely the growing number of believers, as well as monks who sought eternal salvation near the incorruptible body of the last Serbian emperor, that caused the construction of a new temple, dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (fiftieth day after Easter). Its construction began in 1736, with the help of monks from Žiča and Rača and the blessing of Metropolitan Vikentije (Jovanović) of Belgrade and Karlovci, while the hegumen of this monastic community was Hegumen Kir Stefan (Dimitrijević). The church and the dormitory were built using both stone and brick, over the remains of an older building, which was, according to a legend, the summer house and court temple of the King Dragutin of Srem. Unfortunately, the names of only a few wealthy contributors from Novi Sad, Osijek, Šid, Baja and Šašinac have been remembered to this day, while the rest were swallowed by oblivion. The works were brought to an end by 1758, during the administration of Metropolitan Pavle (Nenadović), although the monks moved together with the relics of the Holy Emperor Uroš to the newly erected buildings in 1741, leaving Stari Jazak to the nuns. Thus, the only female monastery in the Metropolitanate of Karlovci was founded, under the patronage of Patriarch Arsenije IV (Jovanović Šakabenta), in which an older Hieromonk from Novi Jazak or Novi Gradac (as originally called), performed services. It was dissolved and demolished a little later, in accordance with the decree of Empress Maria Theresa “on the reduction of monastic life”, on September 27, 1774, and its last hegumeness, Anastasija, was forced to leave it together with her small sisterhood.
On June 7, 1758, Metropolitan Pavle (Nenadović) consecrated the place of worship, which was painted white inside and paved with polished slabs. The dome was covered with sheet metal and was finally completed by 1760, and in the following year began the construction of the one-story stone dormitory and the high rampart, which closed the monastery on the eastern side. By the end of the 18th century, a three-story bell tower was built, with a small chapel and a baroque cap. The magnificent baroque iconostasis was made between 1759 and 1769, under the patronage of Hegumen Rafailo (Stefanov) and was painted by one of the leaders of the “transitional period”, Dimitrije Bačević, “with friends”. There are 57 icons on it, with the Virgin Mary, Deisis and the Holy Trinity, in a central, vertical row. There are also three impressive thrones in the temple: the throne of the Holy Emperor Uroš from 1776, signed by an unknown artist with the initials (A.S.), the throne of Virgin Mary from 1779, work of Teodor Dimitrijević Kračun, and the archbishop’s throne, with the icon of Saint Nicholas painted by Grigorije Davidović Opšić from Čalma, in 1784. Judging by the inscription, the ktetor of the iconostasis was Pavel Boltadžija from Vršac, while the money needed for making and painting the thrones was provided by Mijat Janković, Manojlo Krstić and Filip Popović. Perhaps the most visible personal imprint on this holy place was left by Janković, ktetor from Bior and “from the Turkish lands”, imposing on the Baroque builders some features of Islamic architecture, which were certainly close to him, being a former vassal of the Sultan.
Sufferings and renewals
Although renovated several times, no serious deviations can be observed on the monastery itself compared to the condition depicted in the lithograph by Mihael Troch from 1837. It was restored the first time, by order of Metropolitan Josif (Rajacić), in 1846, and the second time between 1926 and 1930, during the administration of Archimandrite Valerijan (Pribićević). Hegumen Sava (Orlović), otherwise a famous chanter of Fruška Gora, ordered an ornamental wall decoration to be painted in the white-painted interior of the church in 1899, with Pavle Čortanović painting the “Evangelists” on the pendentives and the depiction of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-bearer, Saint Sava, Saint Paraskeva and Saint Mother Angelina. Judging by its influence on the local Orthodox spirituality, but also by the impeccable condition of its sacred and economic buildings on the vast land holding (which, in 1905, included as many as 1,672 cadastral acres) until the outbreak of the Second World War, Jazak was ranked among the most prominent Serbian monasteries. In this respect, its second important renovation was carried out under the progressive Archimandrite Valerian, when, among other things, central heating, water supply and sewage were introduced.
Under the occupation by the Independent State of Croatia, Jazak suffered greatly. With the arrival of the foreign army, Vicar Bishop Valerijan (Pribićević) and all the monks left the monastery, except for the Russian Hieromonk Kesarije (Kalychenko). Immediately after the outbreak of war, the greater part of the treasury and movable inventory in the temple, pictures from the dormitory and about 150 valuable books from the library were transferred to Zagreb. Other antiquities and works of art were stolen by soldiers or misguided locals. The Ustaše also searched for valuables in the reliquary of the Holy Emperor Uroš, scavenging the Holy Relics, breaking them and finally throwing them out, taking with them the expensive shroud. The body of the Holy Emperor was saved from further desecration by Dr. Radoslav Grujić, who, accompanied by the German guard, took it to Belgrade on April 14, 1942. During The Feast of the Transfiguration in the same year, the partisans set fire to the dormitories, while the German soldiers removed the tiles from the roof and took away the other materials they needed. It is a shameful fact that some local people joined the looting and, although the temple of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles was later turned into a stable, the invaluable iconostasis, fortunately, saw the end of the war without serious injuries. Nevertheless, the dormitory was completely emptied and the centuries-old liturgical tradition was disrupted, since the Hieromonk Kesarije did not even have an antimins where he would serve the Holy Liturgy.
The third restoration of Jazak began in 1953, when Hegumeness Evgenija (Golupska) settled here and gathered a harmonious and young sisterhood. When the first nuns arrived at the deserted sanctuary in Fruška gora, they found a miner, who lived with his son in one of the better-preserved rooms of the destroyed dormitory, without a roof, covered in thorns and weeds, while Hegumen Ilarion (Živanović) served as a parish priest in the village and lived in a private house. Thanks to the work and love of Hegumeness Evgenija and the family for whom she laid a solid foundation, the defunct monastery was completely revived in the next half century, mostly with its own resources. First, the terrible ruins were cleared away, the war damage to the church repaired and two rooms in the southern dormitory, which temporarily served as a stable, were equipped. Through the efforts of these brave women, in 1956, the body of Vicar Bishop Valerijan (Pribićević) was transferred from a Roman Catholic ossuary in Split to the churchyard of the Jazak Monastery, where it was buried by Bishop Makarije (Đorđević) of Srem. Before the death of the meritorious Hegumeness Evgenija, in 1963, electricity was introduced to all plastered monastic cells. In those dark times, the six-member sisterhood was strengthened in the faith by their spiritual father, the Holy Bishop Varnava (Nastic) of Hvosno, who during his martyrdom ordained only two people, Angelina and Paraskeva (Drapšin), who were to become the future hegumeneses of Jazak.
The persistent and selfless building of the Jazak Monastery from the ashes continued under the next Mother Superior, Hegumeness Angelina (Drapšin). In several stages, the south and, partially, the north and west wings of the dormitory were renovated, new joinery was installed, the inn and guest rooms were plastered, and gutters were installed on all significant buildings. In the southern part of the monastery complex, on All Souls’ Day in 1975, Bishop Makarije of Srem consecrated the winter chapel dedicated to the Venerable Mother Paraskeva. The living room and dining room were tastefully decorated, while special attention was paid to the monastic economy. The ruthless agrarian reform left the monastery with only 16 acres of forest and arable land (“of the lowest class”), including the area occupied by the complex itself. Carrying out hard agricultural work, not only on the sad remains of the former estate, but also going to the nearby peasant fields for wages, the sisterhood collected the money needed to restore Jazak to its former glory. Thus, by 1975, the barns, distillery, storage rooms and stables in which a dozen cows provided dairy products for the zealous community were redecorated. At the request of the capable Hegumeness Angelina, in the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and the local community of Sremska Mitrovica, a bridge was finally built, which allows quite easy access to the holy place.
After the Hegumeness Angelina passed away in 1990 after receiving the great skhima, Bishop Vasilije of Srem entrusted the management of the Jazak monastery to her daughter, Hegumeness Paraskeva (Drapšin). The very next year, the interior of the temple was generally renovated, including painting works, restoration of wooden furniture and restoration of the roof and floor repair. Two new, cast and lacquered, brass chandeliers were bought. New windows were installed in the church in 2003, and copper roofing was done in 2005. The bell tower, the rampart and the fence around the monastery were also restored, while an enchanting variety of flowers and other greenery were planted in the churchyard. The driveway and the path around it, as well as the atrium on the ground floor, are made of stone slabs and a parking lot for cars and buses has been built.
The west and north wings of the dormitory are completely finished, along with the comfortable Bishop’s Suite. Given the fact that the long room, which until recently featured the dining room (in the southern quarters, above the main entrance), before the Second World War was the suite of Vicar Bishop Valerijan (Pribićević), it was remodeled as a representative salon, which opens during the important visits and on the Feast of All Souls. The former improvised barn on the ground floor now houses an office and a workshop. Namely, the sisterhood was engaged in animal husbandry and agriculture until 2006, and the monastery has organized an embroidery workshop (since 2006) and a tailoring workshop (since 1986).
Treasury of the Monastery
As already mentioned, the monastery treasury was robbed during the Second World War, but the antiquities, which were later returned from Zagreb, are now in the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Of these exhibits, Jazak owned a five-bread communion tray from 1742, an anaphor, two silver crosses, embroidered bracelets from 1778, a gold-woven sheet, imperial doors from the old monastery and a copper engraving with the image of the Holy Emperor Uroš. As for the valuable works of art and antiquities, two icons from Old Jazak, with depictions of Christ the Hierarch and the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ, are stored in the altar of the temple. In the showcase of the representative salon, a silver five-bread communion tray from the 16th century is displayed, while in the library there is an old, painted cross, a chalice, two silver candlesticks and a votive gift, i.e. a symbolic, mint depiction of a diseased leg. It also features an enviable collection of books, including, among other things, the Holy Scriptures from 1581, two Moscow “Four Gospels” from 1701 and 1748, and the New Testament printed in Leipzig in 1830. In the smaller salon, on the ground floor of the southern dormitory, there are two beautiful portraits, executed in oil on canvas, depicting Hegumen Sava (Orlović) and Bishop Valerijan (Pribićević).
Holy relics and graves
The resurrection of this Srem monastery that suffered a lot was crowned with the triumphant return of the earthly remains of the Holy Emperor Uroš. Already during the administration of Hegumeness Evgenija, the monastery sent several petitions to its competent archbishops, Nikanor (Iličić) and Makarije (Đorđević), stating the sisterhood’s desire to see the emperor’s relics once again placed in the old resting place, until Serbian Patriarch Pavle (Stojčević), considered that all the conditions for the worthy celebration of the last Nemanjić crowned with the imperial crown had finally been met in 1994. On September 22, 2001, this greatest and most joyous day in the post-war history of the monasticism of Srem was marked in a solemn and prayerful atmosphere, with the presence of the Serbian Patriarch Pavle, the Bishop of Srem, Mr. Vasilij, several archbishops, representatives of the former ruling house of Karađorđević and the state leadership of the Republic of Serbia. The Emperor’s Holy Relics were placed in a new reliquary, which was prepared by the sisterhood, with the help of the brotherhood of the Kaona Monastery. Apart from this priceless relic, pieces of the relics of St. Anastasia the Roman, the Holy Martyrs from the Monastery of St. Sabbas the Sanctified near Jerusalem and the Holy Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirović) are kept in Jazak.
After the Second World War, the monastic cemetery was nationalized and converted into a village cemetery. To this day, apart from the marble monument to Hegumen Sava (Orlović), there are only eight damaged stone crosses left, which are maintained by Jazak nuns. The new monastic cemetery was established, after death of the nun Evdokija (Majski) in the churchyard in 1988 and it is where now lay Hegumeness Hristina (Golupska), Bishop Valerijan (Pribićević), Hegumeness Angelina (Drapšin) and Petra Janković, cousin of the founder Mijat Janković, who died here in 1811. Janković himself was buried in the vestibule of the temple, in a tomb marked with a marble ledger stone. There is another marble ledger stone in the middle of the church, which has never been moved, so it is not known whose remains it marks.
