Drenovo – St. Mary (Drenovo Monastery)


St. Mary – Sveta Bogorodica – Drenovo Monastery aka Saint Elijah – Sveti Ilija

This 14th century church dedicated to St. Mary is located near the village of Drenovo (Дреново), about 13 kilometers west of Kavadarci. Legend has it that a father & son team famous for their work in buiding churches in Macedonia, were building in the Tikveš region. The father was building the Poloshki Monastery on the edge of Tikveš Lake (Lake Tikvesh) while the son was building this church in Drenovo. The father had finished his project and came to see how his son was doing. The son was so boastful about his work and that the church was so magnificent that not even St. Elijah (Sv Ilija) could destroy it. Suddenly a lightning bolt manifested from a clear sky and split the church in half. Apparently St. Elijah, so angered by the son’s ego caused this action and also warned that should the crack in the church be repaired, that the church would split again in the same place on the 2nd of August (St. Elijah’s Day – Ilinden)1.

 

CHURCH EXTERIOR

 

CHURCH INTERIOR

 

Google Map

 

 

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavadarci

About Brko

I am a Macedonia enthusiast and an adventurer. I really enjoy being immersed in the Macedonian culture, meeting people from all over Makedonija and sharing their traditions and cultural heritage.