St Basil of Ostrog Monastery in Montenegro

There are no English subtitles for this video yet but you
will be able to see the upper and lower monasteries, the
upper church where the relics are kept and the pilgrim's
area. The monastery was carved on the rock and it stands
on a high mountain side. 

The Monastery of St Basil of Ostrog

Entrance to the Upper Church where the relics of St Basil are 
venerated. The white facade at the end of the stairway is
the monastery itself. 

I went in pilgrimage to this monastery in 2006. It dates
from the 17th century. The relics of its founder and bishop,
St Basil are venerated in the upper section of the monastic
enclosure. The lower section, a small distance below, has a
modern temple where the Divine Liturgy is served for
pilgrims and the faithful. We arrived at Ostrog on Saturday
afternoon after travelling for over 15 hours.  The tour guide
happened to have a brother who is a hieromonk in the 
monastery and she made arrangements so I could do 
confession that evening.

After confession I had the blessing of laying down under the
relics of St Basil while the priest read prayers for my health.
I also had the rare privilege of being allowed to attend the
liturgy at the upper church, while standing just a few steps
away from the relics of the saint. St Basil is a great wonder-
worker and each year over one hundred thousand pilgrims
visit this holy place.

I was able to join this group in a miraculous way. There were
no more seats available when I called, just 2 days before the
trip, to make my reservation. But I showed up at the terminal
anyway. Just a few minutes before departing, someone
cancelled and the tour guide let me in. She latter told me that
she took one look at me and felt compelled to give me the seat
in-spite of the fact that there were more important people
(clergy) than myself waiting in line. 

On the road up to the monastery of Ostrog. I took this photo
from the bus.

It takes over half an hour to drive up to the monastic enclosure
from the city below. The view is breathtaking. We spent the
night under the stars, sleeping on blankets. But I tell you, no 
hotel bed has given me more comfort that the blankets I used
to wrap myself with while sleeping on the yard. All the pilgrims
were together, covered with thick blankets. I could hear the soft
murmuring of deep felt prayer throughout the night. It was very
cold that night but we were warm with the warmth of Grace and
the hopeful expectation of a miracle. I received my miracle, the
assurance in my heart that God is in control of my circumstances
and that I am safe in His arms.  I will never forget this pilgrimage.

Entrance to the Lower Monastery