ČAJNIČE KRASNICA – FROM THE HOLY LAND TO ČAJNIČE

The icon of the Mother of God, adorned in gold and silver and believed to have been painted on wood by the Apostle Luke, is preserved in Čajniče, in the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God. It is displayed in a glass case, and on the reverse side, a depiction of Saint John the Baptist can be seen.

The icon is believed to possess miraculous powers and to heal illnesses, attracting numerous pilgrims to this holy site located in the southeastern part of Republika Srpska, near the borders with Serbia and Montenegro. Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović, one of the greatest Serbian theologians and philosophers, emphasized that, after the Ostrog Monastery, Čajniče is the second most important shrine of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The icon was brought from Jerusalem by King Milutin, who kept it at his court as a protector of the Nemanjić dynasty. It was later entrusted to the Banja Monastery near Priboj. According to tradition, when the monastery was set on fire by the Turks, a villager rescued the icon from the flames and carried it to Čajniče.

Since 1595, it has remained there and is considered one of the most revered miraculous icons in Orthodoxy.

At the end of the 19th century, a goldsmith from Sarajevo, Risto Andrić, who believed that the icon had cured him of a severe illness, crafted a gold and silver covering for it out of gratitude. He closed his workshop for three years — the time it took to complete the covering — using over 17 kilograms of gold and silver for its creation.