Description of the attraction
The Monastery of John the Baptist is an Orthodox monastery complex on one of the banks of the Arda River, Kardzhali. The monastery was founded in the 6th-7th centuries, and the results of archaeological research have shown that 4 different churches used to stand on this site in a sequential order. All were decorated in a style typical of the Byzantine era, but with a tangible Athos influence. The monastery then served as the spiritual center of Ahridos, one of the greatest dioceses of the Middle Ages.
The ruins of the monastery were discovered by local residents and lovers of antiquity only in the 1930s. Until 1962, the ruins were not studied until scientists discovered other parts of the monastery complex. A general study by professional archaeologists was carried out from 1980 to 1984. From 1998 to 2000, the finds were restored.
The preserved parts of the monastery, as well as the historical information collected during the excavations, make it possible to assert with confidence that as early as the 9th-10th centuries the monastery became first episcopal, and then was turned into the residence of the metropolitan. This is also evidenced by the unique finds that were found not only in the temple, but also on the territory of the entire complex. Among them are five stone tombs, one of which was hermetically sealed. After the autopsy, a fabric cross was found in it with the relics of a Christian confessor of the highest rank sewn into it, whose life fell at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. In addition, an epitrachelion (church clothing) woven in gold was found in the grave. The finds confirm that the current Kardzhali once acted as an important Christian center throughout the Balkan Peninsula.
The newly restored medieval monastery church was consecrated in 2000.
The high artistic and architectural value of the ruins of the Church of St. John the Baptist and the monastery led to the fact that they were ranked as cultural monuments of the national level in 1968. Most of the finds are kept in Kardzhali, in the Regional History Museum.
