- Ostrog Monastery in the Rock, Podgorica and Cetinje -

Foreword

We are pleased to invite you to this exciting excursion where we can visit such important shrines for all Christianity in the world as the right hand of John the Baptist (with his right hand John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan) and the relics of St. Basil of Ostrozhsky, the Wonderworker. We will see three Orthodox monasteries, each with an amazing history and preserving the great values of the Orthodox world.

First we visit the Zhdrebaonik Monastery.

According to legend, the monastery was founded by the Serbian Nemanjic dynasty in the mid-13th century. For a long time it was the spiritual center of one of the largest Montenegrin tribes - Belopavlovichi. The monastery was destroyed several times by the Ottomans, but has always been revived.

And now we are only half a step away from Ostrog, the most revered place in the Orthodox world, the third largest after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and Golgotha.

It is known that the great Saint Basil of Ostrog preached during the most difficult times in Serbian history.

He preached under the most difficult pressures from Catholics from Venice and Muslims from Turkey. But Saint Basil became particularly famous for his posthumous miracles, of which only hundreds were recorded.

You will see Albanian and Italian car signs near the monastery - do not be surprised, even during his lifetime Saint Basil did not divide people into religions and brought relief and healing to all those who suffered.

Cetinje Monastery is no less popular monastery. It preserves world-class relics that have traveled a very long, difficult and exciting journey. The monastery preserves the right hand of John the Baptist, part of the Tree of the Cross of the Lord, the relics of St. Peter Zetinsky.

I thought a visit to the family nest of the Negosh dynasty - Petrovich - was a logical part of the tour, because. Thanks to this "shining vine" of the Lords - Metropolitans, the Orthodox faith was established in Montenegro in the most difficult 18th-19th centuries. preserved for centuries. The village of Neguschi is also famous for the production of a unique Montenegrin delicacy - prosciutto, and from the foot of Mount Lovcen, uniquely beautiful panoramas of the "Stone Sea" open towards the north of Montenegro.

There, in the Alpine north, there are about 70 peaks, more than 1.5 km high, most of which we will see in good weather. A breathtaking panorama of the Adriatic awaits us, which changes as we descend to the coast along the serpentine road with 29 180-degree bends.

Route details

8.00 departure from Budva

9.30 Zhdrebaonik Monastery. In the Church of St. Michael the Archangel there is a reliquary with all the miraculous relics of St. Arseniy Sremets, the second Archbishop of Serbia. Particles of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Egypt, Matrona of Moscow, Seraphim of Sarov, etc. In the store, the nuns sell unique cosmetics of their own production.

10.30 arrival in the upper Ostrog, altitude 900 m, in the rock. Independent visit to the relics of St. Basil the Wonderworker of Ostrog in the Church of the Entrance to the Church of St. Mother of God. Visit to the vine that grew at the place of death of St. Basil and the Church of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross. Visit to the monastery shop.

11.30 Visit to the Lower Ostrog. Church of St. Trinity from the 19th century, frescoes of amazing beauty and content. Many Russian saints can be seen in the frescoes, as well as the deeds of Vasily Ostrozhsky.

12.00 Departure from Ostrog.

13.00 Lunch is offered to choose from a restaurant with national cuisine or in the Delta City shopping center (Podgorica). The shopping center has a budget canteen with national cuisine and fast food.

3:00 p.m. Arrival at Cetinje Monastery. The monastery was founded in 1482 by the representative of the Crnojevic dynasty Ivan Crnojevic. The monastery was restored at the beginning of the 18th century with money from the Russian Emperor Peter I and is now the center of the Montenegrin metropolis. The shrines of the monastery: the right hand of John the Baptist, part of the tree of the Cross of the Lord, the relics of St. Peter Cetinsky.

15.30 Sightseeing tour of the city of Cetinje, if desired, an independent visit to the Historical Museum of Cetinje of the icon of the Virgin of Philermo, painted by Ap. Luke. (entrance to the museum)

4:00 p.m. Departure for Lovcen (pay for the entrance tickets to the national park and the mausoleum). Visit to the mausoleum of Metropolitan Peter 2 of Tsetinsky and 2 breathtaking observation decks, more than 1,300 m high.

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4:00 p.m. Drive to the national village of Nyegushi, the birthplace of the dynasty of Orthodox metropolitans/Lords of Nyegosh that ruled Montenegro for 200 years. If desired, we will visit "Suschara", the place where the famous Negush ham is produced and taste it, if desired, purchasing real Negush ham and cheese.

17.30 Start of the descent to the Bay of Kotor along a breathtaking serpentine, picturesque viewpoints of the bay, altitude 1 km, 800 m, 400 m.

7:00 p.m. Estimated arrival in Budva