The relic chapel
Inside the church since 2000, for the hand and the Cross.
Sailko — CC BY 3.0 · Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie from London, UK — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maxton — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cetinje Monastery, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin, is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, in the old royal capital. It keeps the relics of St Peter of Cetinje, a right hand venerated as John the Baptist's and a particle of the True Cross. Ivan Crnojević, lord of Zeta, founded the first monastery in 1484 at Ćipur, beside his court. In 1692, during the Morean War, the withdrawing Venetian garrison blew it up. Metropolitan Danilo rebuilt it in 1701–04 on the site of Crnojević's court, reusing the old stone. Destroyed again in 1712–14 and 1785, it took its present form in 1927. The prince-bishops governed from here, and the poet-bishop Njegoš learned to read within its walls. St Peter's relics rest in the church, where a side chapel built in 2000 keeps the hand and the Cross particle, which monks bring out for veneration. The treasury spans some eight centuries: manuscripts, early printed books, icons, vestments and a 14th-century crown attributed to the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski. No photography inside. The monastery sits below Orlov Krš hill, topped by Metropolitan Danilo's 1896 mausoleum, about 110 m from Njegoš's Biljarda and 220 m from King Nikola's Palace; the Court Church on Ćipur, by the first monastery's foundations, is 180 m away. Entry is free; cover shoulders and knees, and women may be asked for a skirt and headscarf, lent at the door. Allow 30 to 60 minutes. Cetinje is about 35 km by road from Podgorica, and Rijeka Crnojevića about 9 km south-east as the crow flies.
Inside the church since 2000, for the hand and the Cross.
Eight centuries of books, icons and vestments.
The first monastery's foundations, 180 m away.
Below Orlov Krš hill, western edge of the old town, Cetinje
Not always: the relics are shown only when monks bring them out for veneration, and the treasury is usually opened with a monk, mostly for booked groups, visitor guides say. Ask at the door, or contact the monastery before you go.
The printing house of Đurađ Crnojević, run by the hieromonk Makarije, worked in Cetinje from 1493 to 1496, most likely at the old monastery. It printed five liturgical books, the first an Octoechos covering the first four tones, finished on 4 January 1494.
