Monastery Ostrog – breathtaking holy destination of unique beauty and healing energy

Ostrog Monastery is one of three most visited Christian destinations on the planet with its cave-like chapel and the Monastery complex. Monastery Ostrog is located about 50 kilometers from the capitol of Montenegro. Monastery Ostrog is one of the most often visited holy shrines in the Balkans. Believers come from all over the world on their own or as a part of organized tours.

History of Monastery

The Monastery was founded by Vasilije, the Metropolitan Bishop of Herzegovina in the 17th century. He died in 1671 and some years later he was glorified. His body is enshrined in a reliquary kept in the cave-church dedicated to the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple. Since 1678, when the remains of Saint Basil where dug out of the ground, the people started celebrating the 29th of April – the day he died as a holiday, that is the 12th of May according to the new calendar. This is a holy day.

Multi religion holy place

The subtle splendor of the Monastery lies in the fact that all three major religions: Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic and Muslim consider this a holy place. They all believe that the relics of Saint Basil bring miracles for all who believe and have faith.

This breathtaking destination will fill your soul with high elevated feelings of devotion and reverence to God.

Upper and Lower Monastery

Ostrog Monastery consists of the Lower and Upper Monastery and was built in 1650. Upper Monastery houses the Church of the Presentation and the Church of the Holy Cross. Saint Basil of Ostrog's relics lie in the Church of the Presentation. Also of interest is the vine which grows out of the rock. It's said that it's a miracle because nothing should be able to grow out of the sheer rock face. The Upper Monastery of Ostrog is today the pearl of Montenegrin spirituality which is visited by more than a hundred thousand pilgrims from around the world and of travelers of all religions every year. Lower Monastery centers around the Church of the Holy Trinity that was built in 1824. It also makes up most of the monk residences. There are dorm rooms available for pilgrims.

The stories of miracles

Amongest Montenegrins there are countless stories about miraculous effects of the relics of Saint Basil. One of the most intriguing stories amongst them is the story of the American Senator William Bill Bar. His wife called Dojna Galic Bar, an American physiatrist , a woman of Montenegrin descent, recently published a book named “Blue Pigeon” in which she documented her husband’s visit to the Monastery. The Republican senator from Illinois survived an assassination attempt in 1970. He was wounded and the doctors were not capable of saving his leg. The recurrent pain caused an excruitiating sufferring for him but the doctors were unable to relieve either the pain or the continual fever and other concurrent medical conditions. According to the senator he had an odd dream one night in which he visited a small white church in a cliff up the mountain. In a recurring dream night after night, an old grey haired man speaking in a language he did not understand walked him through the chambers of the church while at the same time healing the sick and the dying in the church using the healing power of his hands. He told his wife about the dream he had but neither he nor she grasped its meaning .While he was looking for a cure that could help him relieve his pain, the senator by mere chance met the manufacturer of up to date prostheses and who was from Yugoslavia by origin. During the visit to his office he noticed a picture of a small white church and of a white haired Saint Basil on the wall. From this man he heard stories about Ostrog and set out to visit the monastery. He set off on a journey in 1980 together with a group of other patients who lost their limbs. In the days before the journey the senator took to fasting and learned a prayer in Serbian language. During his stay in Montenegro he walked up to the Upper Monastery on a regular daily basis, with much pain because he was drawn to the place in a somewhat peculiar way. He stated that these visits far surpassed what he had experienced before. Day in, day out the pains abated as he knelt before the remains of Saint Basil. He returned home from his journey feeling no pain whatsoever with enormous faith in his heart and soul, and a few icons that he gave away to his close friends.

The tale has it that there was a mother who left a wooden cradle on top of the wall just above the monastery. The baby shifted in the cradle and moved it so that it fell off the wall from the height of about 70 meters. Even though the cradle shattered into pieces, the baby mercifully remained unharmed.

A lot of people have told stories about the spiritual changes that happened in their lives after visiting the monastery. Many have told their life stories how they stopped the non-spiritual lives they lived after they had a visitation by Saint Basil in their dreams. Yet many more talk about being healed of physical maladies and diseases upon their visits to Ostrog.

People still keep coming from all corners of the world. And many celebrate the Holy Day of Saint Basil of Ostrog to protect their homes and souls.