Koporin Monastery

Koporin, a beautiful monastery of Serbian Orthodox Church, is placed between Velika Plana and Smederevska Palanka city. Monastery was established in XV century by St. Despot Stevan Lazarevic, famous Serbian knight, and it was dedicated to St. Arhidjakon Stefan. There are many versions about possible founders of monastery but most likely, especially if we consider that holy bones of St. Despot Stevan Lazarevic were found in a church – St. Despot Stevan Lazarevic himself is main ktitor.

History of Koporin monastery is quite dark and obscure. Koporin is proof of own nation history and suffer in which this at first sight just building, but actually a symbol, wasn’t just an observer but rather part of events. Most likely monastery was ruined in 1594, during the time of Patriarch Jovan or during The Great Movement of Serbian people under the Patriarch Arsenie III, when destruction of many Serbian churches took place. For long period of history monastery had been in ruins, abandoned. According to unreliable information monastery was reestablished during The First Serbian Uprising when because of its geographic location and history it used to be a great center of Serbian freedom fighters.

Through recent years there were several large archeological achievements about history of Koporin. Holly Relicts of St. Despot Stevan Lazarevic had been found, and completely scientifically recognized. Also bones of a group of people berried in monastery grounds – this fact is only initially acknowledged and it’s supposed to be closely investigated in near future. All that had given additional importance of Koporin as Serbian sacred object.

 

Additional information