Poganovo Monastery

Poganovo monastery

View of the Poganovo monastery.
Monastery information
Full name	Манастир Светог Јована Богослова - Погановo
Other names	Monastery of St. Jovan Bogoslov
Order	Serbian Orthodox
Established	~1390
Dedicated to	Saint John the Theologian
Diocese	Eparchy of Niš
People
Founder(s)	Constantine Dragas
Site
Location	Jerma gorge, near Dimitrovgrad

Frescoes from the Monastery church. From left to right: Descent from the Cross; Lamentation of Christ; Cutting of the empty Shroud; at the bottom heads of St Simeon Mirotočivi and Saint Sava, painted in all Serb monasteries

The Poganovo Monastery of St. John the Theologian (Mанастир Погановo) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery situated in the gorges of the river Jerma, near the village Poganovo, municipality of Dimitrovgrad, Serbia.

The frescoes were made by masters from Northern Greece.^[1] Frescoes inscriptions are in Church Slavonic language.

Poganovo Monastery was protected by Serbia since 1949, and declared Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1979, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.^[2]

History

Recently, two scholars have introduced Jefimija into the discussion regarding the patronage of the famous bilateral icon representing a vission of the prophets Ezekiel and Habakkuk on one side and the Mother of God with St. John the Theologian on the other. Formerly at the monastery of John the Theologian at Poganovo, Serbia, it is now kept in the National Gallery Sofia, Bulgaria.^[3][4] Babić and Subotić argue against earlier opinions based on a partly preserved inscription, in Greek, that the icon was a gift of the Empress Helena Dragaš, wife of Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos (1391-1425). They suggest that the donor may be Jelena/Jefimija, who as a wife of a Despot would have had, in the late period, the title of valissa.

See also

• Monuments of Culture of Great Importance
• Tourism in Serbia

References

1. http://www.b92.net/eng/travel/culture.php?nav_id=35213
2. Monuments of Culture in Serbia: Манастир Поганово (SANU) (Serbian) (English)
3. G. Babić, 'Sur l'icônede Poganovo el la Vasilissa Hélèn', in D. Davidov, ed., L'Art de Thessalonique et des pays Balkaniques et les courants spirituels auXIVe siècle (Belgrade, 1987), pp 57-65
4. G. Subotić, Ikona vasilise Jelene i osnovaći manastira Poganova, Saopštenja 25 (1993), pp. 25-40.

Further readings

• Pentcheva, B. Imagined Images: Visions of Salvation and Intercession in a Double-Sided Icon from Poganovo. - Dumbarton Oaks Papers 54 (2000), 139-153.
• The Double-Sided Icon from Poganovo (Plates)
• Walter, Chr. The Iconography of the Prophet Habakkuk - Revue des études byzantines, T. 47 (1989), pp. 251-260

Coordinates: 43°00′26″N 22°47′04″E / 43.00722°N 22.78444°E