Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1916-06-13
GREAT R|LSKY
MONASTERY IS
AbOUTF|N|SHED
Republican A. p. Leased Wlre1

lTNCPuOhAdu ~ - Lcdocb "HCJ
RIA, Bulgaria, June 12.-(Corre-
spondence of the Associated Press >
The great task of Risky Monastery
is about to be finished" said Father
Eugenius to the correspondent. This
monastery is the cradle of the new
Bulgaria. 1t is the bridge which spans
the period of suffering and subjuga-
ton which divides the Bulgaria of to-
day from the great kingdom of the
ancient Bulgarian kings"
Father Eugenius is the head of this
religious institution, one of the worlds
famous monasteries, which is located
about fourteen miles from Ria. His
predecessors have presided over as
many as 800 Greek catholic monks
Today the monastery houses only
thirty-five.
During the rule " the Turks, the
monks from the monastery We're sta
tio0ed in every Bulgarian town and
village, teaching the Bulgars their
language and keeping alive their faith"
continued the stalwart superior "Since
then conditions have changed. Today
our church has been re-established and
the government maintains good schools.
With that has passed the necessity of
keeping the large number of members
we had formerly"
Risky Monastery was founded by
Ivan Risky between GAG and 1000 A. d.
Ivan of the Ria desert, as he was called
was an ascetic, who acquired the repu-
tation Of being a wise man. He is said
to have lived in a cabin near the site
of he
to visit the court of the king of the
Bulgarians, Ivan replied that the king
had better come to him. Around this
man Of force soon collected a number
of disciples. With them he founded the
monastery. King John Shishmann, in
1879, explained the superior, gave tc
the monastery the entire surrounding
then consisting of large forests OF
beach, oak and pine, covering the
slopes of the Ria mountain range A
the same time the monastery wa!
granted the right of autonomy 4
parchment some six feet in length i!
displayed as proof of this.
Sultan Murad continued the estab
lishment in its rights, as token o
which he presented the monastery will
a five-foOt candle of wax, which is ais
still to be seen in the library of tn,
monastery Little by little the wealth
of the institution increased so did tn
number of its buildings. In 1892 tn
monastery was almost totally destroyed
by fire, nothing remaining intact will
the exception of the tower built il
1887. In rebuilding tie monastery tn
old walls were made use of and car
was taken to preserve the origina
Byzanthian architecture.
Today the establishment forms a.
irregular quadrangle around an interio
court Of about 5000 square yards. Mos
of the wings are four stories higi
Lofty arcades, supporting the gallerie
which give connection to the 800 room
and halls of the buildings, give tn
whole a majestic aspect In the cente
of the court stands the chapel of tn
monastery, and over the steep red
tiled roofs of the quadrangle peep tn
snow covered peaks of the Ria rang
of which the Stag and King summit!
$500 feet above sea level, are tn
highest.
Not all of the Turkish Sultans WEI
the friends of the monastery. Thus
happened that the seclusion whic
Ivan Risky had sought became tim
and again the only protection Bulgal
from the vicinity hae against the peri
Of war and misrule. The monaster
may be reached over a pass fro
Samokoff, but it's principal approac
lies through a 14-mile gorge from II
village of Rila. These two approacht
could be easily defended by a sma
number of men
On just one occasion was the MOI
astery overcome by military force
in 1885 the Serbian feudal lord Oh
entered it. The tower of the mona
terry is the monument of his conve
sion. 1t was he who erected it.
Three decades ago Risky Mona
terry became often the refuge of t
Bulgarian comitadjes who had tn,
headquarters in the Ria fores
Even today the monastery is neal
seventy. miles from the railroad,
inaccessible as ever, and far I