Church of the Holy Trinity in Kraljevo

Kraljevo has always had a special place within the Serbian state: the city is located at the very source of church and state history and is a place of long duration directly related to Žiča, as the canter of coronations of kings, ordination of bishops, great councils of spiritual and secular authorities.

In the first half of the 19th century, about 1,200 inhabitants lived in the town of Karanovac, and during the period of the Serbian Revolution (1804-1835), the town gradually took on the appearance of an organized and important trade and craft canter of the Principality of Serbia. The Church of the Holy Trinity, which was built between 1822 and 1824, as the founding temple of Prince Miloš Obrenović, plays a significant role in this. It is dedicated to one of the most important Christian holidays, the solemn celebration of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles or Holy Pentecost.

According to legend, Prince Miloš fell asleep and dreamed that if he defeated the Turks, he would build a church on that very spot, and that’s what happened. The place where the church was built is also linked to the murder of the famous Duke of Dragačević, Milić Radović, on the orders of Prince Miloš, and it is believed that his body was buried in the foundations of the church. Joakim Vujić also speaks clearly about the location and motives for building the church in his book “Travels around Serbia”, stating that it was the site of a battle and a truce with the Turks.

The construction of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Karanovac began between 1822 and 1824, and Prince Miloš contributed 7,700 groschen for the construction. Vasilije Popović, lord of the Požega Nahija, informed Miloš that on July 13th, 1823, together with the princes, serfs and six priests, he laid the foundations of the temple. In the Chronicle of the church, it is recorded that the previous log church was moved to the port in 1824 and that services were held there. The intention of Prince Miloš was that the church in Karanovac should have monumental and representative features, which is why he appointed the best craftsman of the time, Janko Mihailović, known as Janja, as the builder. This famous master, originally from Macedonia, also had the help of master Nikola Đorđević. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Kraljevo is a single-nave building with a semicircular altar apse and semicircular lateral fists at the base. The entrance to the church, on the west side, has a vestibule with a gallery and a two-story bell tower. On the fence of the gallery is written the Gospel lesson: “Speaks the eternal Truth (God), what you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.”

The decoration of the interior of the church was also entrusted to the best painters. Prince Miloš contributed money for the creation of the icon, the Imperial Doors and the large cross above the iconostasis. The prince’s most valuable gift was the Gospel from Russia, which dates back to 1804, during the time of Emperor Alexander I. Prince Miloš also contributed two bells to the church, while the third bell was a gift from Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević (1842-1858). The iconostasis was completed in 1827, but it was later moved to the church of the village of Sirča, while the Church of the Holy Trinity was decorated with a richer iconostasis by the famous painter Nikola Marković, with his collaborators.

The activity of the famous bishop Joanikije Nešković, the restorer of the Žiča Monastery, indicates the fact that the bishop commissioned the creation of the iconostasis in the Karanovac church, which became an episcopal church in 1859. As the seat of the Diocese of Užice was moved from Čačak to Karanovac during the time of Bishop Joanikije, and the bishop passed away in 1873, it is assumed that the painting of the temple began in that period. The return of the seat of the bishopric to Karanovac, the renaming of the city to Kraljevo (1882), and then the renaming of the bishopric to the Diocese of Žiča in 1884, had enormous significance for the Church of the Holy Trinity, when the seat of the bishop of Žiča and his diocesan court was moved to Kraljevo.