The Director of CRRCG Mr. Darijan Sotirovski attended the inspection conveyed by government officials in the monastery "St. Martyr Panteleimon ”on Vodno mountain, where the lodgings are being conserved.
The Director of the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities and Groups (CRRCG) Mr. Darijan Sotirovski, on January 20, 2021, together with the Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Ljupcho Nikolovski, the Minister of Local Self-Government Mr. Goran Milevski, the Minister of culture Ms. Irena Stefoska, the Mayor of the Municipality of Karpos Mr. Stefan Bogoev and the Director of the Bureau for Regional Development Mr. Ramiz Rexhepi attended a field inspection of the construction activities that are performed for the reconstruction and restoration of the lodgings of the monastery "St. Martyr Panteleimon ”in Skopje Nerezi, which as a cultural heritage, has an extremely important cultural and historical value.
The government delegation in the monastery was welcomed by His Beatitude, the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia and Justiniana I, Mr. Mr. Stefan, who on behalf of the monastic fraternity headed by the abbot Father Agathon thanked for the care shown for the gradual restoration of our important church sanctuary from the 12th century.
The reconstruction of the main residence is underway in the monastery complex in order to restore its authenticity, to protect the residence itself as part of the entire monastery complex and to help revive this spiritual center, cultural and historical monument, one of the symbols of our country and the municipality of Karpos. Many of the construction activities related to the floor, sanitation and interior design have already been completed. In addition, work is already underway to replace the windows, completely renovate the toilets, and install a new electrical installation.
The intensified unique rehabilitation, i.e. the current interventions inside and outside the premises, in order to restore and maintain their authenticity, and the originality of the appearance of the monastery residence is funded by the Bureau for Regional Development at the Ministry of Local Self-Government and is worth 6 million denars.
The replacement of the carpentry was more than necessary (wooden doors and windows), of course followed by interior decoration and conversion of certain permises, changing the floor, but by keeping the old style, i.e. installing a ship floor, reconstruction of the toilets and installation of a new one, new electrical installation, new ventilation system, new fire alarm system which is of great importance for the safety and security of the premises and the monastery complex itself. With all these interventions, the authenticity of the interior space will be restored and of course the authenticity of the external appearance of the monastery residence will be maintained.
The monastery church "St. Martyr. Panteleimon"is an important part of our cultural heritage that should be constantly preserved and affirmed. The current reconstruction of this residence is aimed at preserving these important buildings for our country, as well as strengthening our monastic tourism. The idea is to renovate this complex in accordance with the guidelines of the MOC-OA and to become another active monastic sanctuary of open type, with which we will be able to introduce ourselves to tourists who visit the country.
Soon the National Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage will begin the necessary preparation for writing for the tentative UNESCO list of the monastery temple, which has existed since the 12th century and is known in the world for its preserved fresco painting, which is one of the top achievements of Byzantine painting.