STEFAN
UROSH II MILUTIN King (1282 - 1321)
St. King Milutin
Milutin
was the younger son of Stefan Urosh I. He was, after St. Symeon
and St. Sava, the biggest donor of Chilandar and the biggest
donor in general among all members of the sacrosanct Nemanyich
dynasty. His hagiography writers claimed that he had erected
more than forty churches and monasteries. He built in Jerusalem,
Constantinople, Salonika, in Macedonia, Serbia and on Mount
Athos. He also built in Bari and Rome, but most of all in
Chilandar. He gave the final touch to the Chilandar monastery
precincts, giving it splendor, so all the other donors only
added to or repaired damaged buildings. Without Milutin there
would be no Chilandar katholikon, which is maybe the most
magnificent building of Mount Athos. There would also be no
Chilandar refectory, built on the place of the old refectory
of St.Symeon and St. Sava. He also completed the Cemetery
Church, which was first dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter
and Paul, and later to Annunciation.
He
also took care of defense objects of Chilandar, and had the
upper third of the St. Sava's Tower built. Between 1300 and
1302, he answered the request of the Chilandar abbot Kyriakos,
and erected the large Hrussia Tower. Immediately after that,
he had a magnificent tower built on the Sava's Field, which
was named after him Milutin's Tower. With his monies he also
erected the tower of hieromonach Theodoulos in Karyes, next
to the Kellion of St. Sava, but it has not been preserved
to the present day.
King
Milutin filled up all these buildings with frescoes, icons,
ecclesiastical vessels, books and embroideries. A lot of them
were lost with the time, but many of them have also been preserved
in churches and in monasteries' treasuries. The exceptional
diptych with miniatures of Venetian art, was donated to Chilandar
monastery by the "Christ loving and God fearing King".
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