Description of the attraction
The Monastery of St. Fyodor Tiron, or Pravesh Monastery, is located in the Etropolis Valley in the Balkans, 2-3 km from the town of Pravets and 5 km from the town of Etropole. The Bilo Mountains lie on the southern side, and the Vitomeritsa River flows on the northern side. This small monastery has always been in the shadow of the Etropolis Monastery, located at a distance of about 10 km.
In ancient times, there was a Thracian sanctuary at this place. The Christian monastery arose here during the reign of Asen and Peter, during the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Like a number of other monasteries in the area, it was built in 1180. All of them were plundered and destroyed during the Ottoman period. Some of them were later restored.
The monastery of St. Fyodor Tiron was destroyed in 1636, when the Turkish authorities set the goal of eliminating all Christian shrines and abolishing any manifestations of non-Muslim religion in Bulgaria: chapels, churches and even entire settlements were burned. The monks managed to take refuge in the Etropolis Monastery. After a while they returned and built a wooden church on the site of the burnt monastery of St. Fyodor, and they themselves settled in dugouts nearby.
In 1760, thanks to generous donations from wealthy settlers, it was reconstructed. On the facade of the church, on a stone tablet, the names of the donors (donors) have been preserved. On either side of the main entrance are two stone snake heads. When restoring the monastery, the blocks left over from the destroyed monastery were used. At the same time, the heads of the serpents and the surviving part of the stone throne were found.
The monastery is currently active. The monastery complex consists of two buildings - a temple and a residential building. The Church of St. Fyodor Tyrone is built of stone and brick; it is a massive structure with three pentahedral apses. The facade of the building is decorated with two bas-reliefs with double-headed eagles. Inside the temple, you can see the iconostasis made by the masters of the Teteven school. Of particular interest are the icon of St. George the Victorious from 1869 and the colorful wall paintings that were renewed during the 2007 restoration work. Unfortunately, the ancient icon of the patron saint of the temple, St. Fyodor Tiron, has been almost completely destroyed.
