More about monastery
Monastery Miljkovo (formerly called Bukovica) is situated in the
area of village Gložane, almost on the very right bank of the river
Velika Morava, between two hills: Oglavak and Gradac. It is not
known who built it and when. Monastery is named after a Glozane's
merchant Miljko Tomich, who built a new church on the old foundation
in the time of Kochina borderland (1787).
Because the first indisputable written record where the monastery
has been mentioned as " the Entrance into the Temple of the
Most-Holy Mother of God" is the Turkish record dated from 1467, we
think it was built in the time of medieval Serbia. It was probably
in the time of despot Stefan Lazarevich, and it is likely it was
skete of magnificent monastery Manasia, the endowment of despot
Stefan.
The church was probably built in 1400 ( ± 20 years), but it would be
significant to find out whether the narthex was built at the same
time, or it was built later. The fact that monastery had a wooden
narthex at the beginning of XIX century doesn't have to mean it
didn't have the brick narthex in the earlier period, which has been
probably destroyed throughout the time. As it was already a
monastery in 1467, it means it had to had a narthex, although that
narthex could have been made of wood.
Church books were reproduced at the monastery, which was part of
Resava's transcription-reproducing school in 1420's. Turks destroyed
the monastery several times since it connected rebels on both sides
of river Morava, but it was rebuilt after each demolition.
In the tumultuous events that took place after the rule of Kocina
borderland, monastery was burned down by Turks. Afterwards, just
before the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising, to the monastery
arrives priest Miljko Ristich, who was born in the village of
Virina, near Cuprija. He was tonsured there and got name Melentije.
Hieromonk Melentije engaged himself with restoration of monastery
and monastic residence. He took an active part in the very beginning
of the First Serbian Uprising against the Turks, had connections
with Karadjordje (he was a leader of the uprising and a relative of
his late wife) and other important people. Melentije knew how to
take advantage of acquaintance with Karadjordje in favor of
additional and larger reconstruction of their monastery. This can be
confirmed by the inscription on the monastery's bell "cast in the
time of the government of Georgije Petrovich – the Supreme Leader of
Serbian people ". Later, in 1830, in the time of prince Milos, the
bell was taken away to Kragujevac and was the first one that tolled
in liberated Serbia!... Afterward the bell was taken to Ravanica
monastery, and the other bell was donated to Miljkovo.
Between the 18th and 19th century, there was a school for local
children at the monastery. In 1925 the first Russians came to
Miljkovo monastery, and that was the beginning of the spiritual
blossoming of this small monastery. In 1926, Hieromonk Ambrose
(Kurganov) was placed in charge of the monastery. The strict life of
Father Ambrose, his asceticism and a proper monastery rule attracted
to this monastery many Russians as well as Serbs. Some frequent
visitors of that time included Metropolitan Anthony of Kiev and
Galicia, Archbishop Theophan of Poltava, as well as intellectuals of
that time. The materially poor but spiritually rich lives of the
monks in this monastery attracted John Maximovitch, who received his
monastic tonsure here and later became an archbishop. Elder Ambrose
died in 1933 as a schema-archimandrite, and he was buried behind the
altar of the monastery's church.