Hermitage St. Luke

Overview

The hermitage of St. Luke is located 3 km northwest of the Rila Monastery, on the path to the cave and the tomb of St. John. It was erected in memory of Luke - nephew of St. John, who came to the Rila Mountains at an early age to work under the spiritual guidance of his uncle. According to legend, at this place Luke was bitten by a poisonous snake and died. The church at the hermitage was built and painted between 1789-1799. The founder is a monk Hadji Ignatius from Stara Zagora. It was completed during the time of the Rila abbot hieromonk Gerasim. It is a single-nave basilica. It consists of four parts: altar, central nave, narthex and vestibule. It is 3 m high, 3 m wide and almost 15 m long. The masonry is made of stone and mortar. The altar apse of the church was painted by the founder of the Bansko Icon Painting School Toma Vishanov, known as Molera. The rest of the murals are the work of Hristo Dimitrov - father of Dimitar and Zahari Zograf. The mural decoration is rich and with various themes. Along with the traditional evangelical scenes, here are the characters of the disciples of St. John of Rila - Saints Prohor Pshinski, Gavriil Lesnovski, Joakim Osogovski, and others. The place that the painters assign to the native hermits and martyrs is an expression of the Bulgarian national consciousness and self-confidence during the dark years of Turkish slavery.