At the 18th kilometer from Višegrad to Užice, on the border of Srpska and Serbia, there is a women’s monastery of the Ascension of the Lord.
It is located in the valley between White and Black Rzav at the foothill of Varde Mountain. Within the monastery there is a parish home, a “konak” (part of the monastery complex, intended for the daily residence of the nuns) and guest rooms, monastic cells (monastic rooms in a monastery), icon painting and a sewing workshop.
The monastery was built from 1991 to 1996.
The temple was consecrated by Metropolitan Nikolaj of Dabrobosnia on July 21, 1996. In the same year, the Vardiš parish was founded, separating it from the Dobrun parish. The monastery has been inhabited by nuns since August 2007.
Near the monastery in Vagan (Bijelo Brdo) is a wooden chapel dating from 1870.
In addition to the chapel, there is a memorial ossuary in Vardište, which was built by Josif and Stana Matković in memory of their sons and their comrades in the First World War. The ossuary was consecrated on Vidovdan in 1932.
The monastery is an example of how love, faith and hope work wonders. A small monastic community, prayerfully creates healing sacred icons and balm that strengthen the body and soul.
In the Monastery of the Ascension of the Lord in Vardište, life weaves from prayer and obedience. One of the fruits of the devotional life of nuns is balms, tinctures and soaps.
“When we make these various balms, we pray to the Lord and Mother of God for people to be healed of various ailments,” says the nun Isidora.
From “poslušanja” (service with a clear ecclesiastical or spiritual meaning), they are able to sustain the monastery. There is also the work of an iconography workshop.
Through prayer, humility, and giftedness, icons are created – “the eye of God and his comforters.”
“We and we strive to create by relying on ancient icons as the holy fathers demand,” points out the mother of Jephimiah, abbot of the Ascension Monastery.
From Georgia to Vardište, a copy of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s dress found its way. Many, eager for peace of mind and prayerful growing up, gladly return to the monastery.
For over a decade, the Vardište Monastery has grown into a living witness to Christ’s faith, a place to gather and celebrate miraculous healings.
The Sisterhood believes that there will be good people who will help finish its construction.
TST
