Staro Nagoricane (Old Nagoricane) is a village northeast of Kumanovo, in the north of Macedonia. It is famous for its 14th century Church of St George, which is part of the Monastery of Staro Nagoricane.
The Church of St George was built in 1313 by the Serbian king Milutin, on the foundations of an 11th-century church. The church was locked, but a family that lives close to the church has the key, just ask around. Key of the church = klucot od crkvata, pronounced “klutsjot od serkvata”. It is a good habit to leave some denars in the church, or to buy some candles.
There are some nice frescoes inside the Church of St George.
The Monastery of Staro Nagoricane is surrounded by a stone wall, and several old graves can be found next to the Church of St George. You can see a bell tower as well. There are no lodging houses at this monastery.
This cell (also called kelia), indicating a single room, is opposite to the Church of St George, outside the walls of the Monastery of Staro Nagoricane. The cell is partly built into the rocks, which form some of the walls. There is a stone table in the small room.
According to the man who opened the Church of St George and this cell for us, St Prohor Pcinjski lived in this cell for 30 years. The man who opened the cell, insisted that we would leave some money there, which we considered a quite aggressive technique. He also tried to sell us an over-priced booklet that he probably got himself for free as promotional material – be warned.
If you look carefully at the pictures, you will see a crutch standing against the wall. Allegedly, this crutch was left here by somebody who miraculously could walk again without the crutch after visiting the cell. See the page about Kumanovo for more info about St Prohor Pcinjski and the Monastery of St Prohor Pcinjski just over the border in Serbia. On the same page there is also information about the Churches of St George and St Petka near Mlado Nagoricane
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