There is no precise data about the exact time of construction of the church and the establishment of the monastery. Some sources indicate that the monastery has been built in year 1010, before the well-known battle between the Macedonian czar Samoil and the Greek czar Vasilij II, that took part on the mountain of Belasica in 1040, and ended with the tragic blinding of Samoil’s soldiers. The blinded army, after the battle, stayed for a while at the location of the present village of Slepche, that got its name after this historical event.

Scientific suppositions claim that the monastery existed even before the 14th century, and these opinions are based on the information that during 1393/94, a tripartite transcript in church-Slovene language was made in the monastery. However, the monastery is concretely mentioned for the first time in a letter written by archdeacon Luka.

A transcript school has developed in the monastery, where transcripts of divine service books in church-Slovene language were made. Monk Pahomije made the transcript of the minei for the month of June in 1547, the very same year when monk Visarion of Debar did the transcript of "Teachings of Cyril of Jerusalem" in Macedonian Slovene language. The work on these transcripts continued in 1546, 1549 and in 1553.

There are other sources about the history of the monastery, and according to them, Kosara, daughter of czar Samoil, presented to the monastery as a present, some property in Elbasan-Albania, and according to another oral report, the Demir Hisar congress was held in 1881 at the monastery quarters, with the participation of delegates who came from all around Macedonia. The monastery provided sanctuary to many Macedonian revolutionaries during the time of Turkish oppression and Second World War. During the time of Turkish Empire, the monastery was the cultural-educational center, where priests and teachers received their training in Slovene-Macedonian language. History also remembers the monastery as a center where an artistic and woodcarving school existed, and as a hospital for neurotic patients, that can be read from the encryption at the monastery drinking fountain.

During its existence, the monastery was set on fire three times: in 1675, by the Albanians who took away all its preciousness, leaving behind only the box with sacred relics and the cross; the dining room burned down in 1954, and the right-hand side of the iconostas burned down in 1972.

The present monastery church was built in 1862, on the location of the former large and iconographied church. At present, there are several old works of art that have been preserved, and especially valuable are the "Big cross with crucified Christ" (16th century), "Imperial court" and engraved pews. The two discovered doors are of special interest, made in shallow wood-carving, with different figures and the motif of a plait, represented in a manner that is often encountered in manuscripts from the 15th-16th century. The church iconostas also contains the great "Act", crafted by monk Kalinik in 1607. The old picturesque dining table dates from the 16th-17th century, as well as the two entrance doors, the western one decorated in 1637 and the southern one in 1638.

M. Cvetanovska

About the churches in Macedonia

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