This year, the road led us to Eastern Serbia, which has many small but valuable and not adequately explored spiritual and cultural places. It is the area close to the Bulgarian and Macedonian borders; thus, the architecture and art are influenced partially by those two regions, although this is all closely aligned with the Byzantine Empire. Like the rest of the region, the heritage suffered enormous destruction and neglect during the long Turkish occupation.

Our first stop is Monastery Krepičevac, near the town of Boljevac, on the road between Paraćin and Zaječar. It is part of the Serbian church Timok Diocese, and lies at the foot of the Kučaj Mountains in the gorge of the Radovanjska River. However, the whole region is better known by the nearby mountain Rtanj.

After picking up the keys from Father Ristibor in Boljevac, we are off for another day of work, collection of the Monastery Krepicevac.

The church, dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, was built at an old cult site in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century and is already recorded in Ottoman tax registers by 1531. The founders belonged to a respected Christian family permitted by Ottoman authorities to construct and paint the church. A partially preserved inscription reveals the dedication, while the north wall of the narthex preserves the full donor composition with legible names.

Our next destination is Donja Kamenica, on the road to Pirot, eleven kilometers southeast of Knjaževac. The Church of the Holy Mother of God was built and painted in the first quarter of the fourteenth century by an unknown Bulgarian nobleman.

To the west lies a two‑story narthex flanked by two smaller towers, and the donor model shows that a two‑story wooden porch once stood in front of it. Despite being built of roughly hewn stone, the exterior is enlivened by decorative bands of brick and ceramic vessels.

In the lower narthex, alongside the donor portrait, striking images of Saints Theodore Stratelates and Theodore Tiron on horseback, as well as Saint Demetrius and Saint Panteleimon, display dynamic movement and richly painted cloaks. Above them unfold scenes from the life of the Mother of God. In the naos, the program includes the Mother of God with Christ in the apse, the Adoration of the Lamb, the Great Feasts, and the Passion cycle. Preserved compositions include the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Resurrection, the Raising of Lazarus, the Dormition, the Last Supper, the Betrayal, the Mocking of Christ, the Lamentation, and the Myrrhbearers. The scenes are inscribed in Greek, while popular saints bear Old Church Slavonic labels.

And, the pinnacle of our trip was the Monastery Poganovo.

The Monastery of St. John the Theologian stands near the village of Poganovo in southeastern Serbia, at the distant northern edge of the former domain of the Dejanović family, in the mythical landscape of the Jerma River. Hidden from sight by the steep cliffs of the Jerma Gorge and far from major roads, it has preserved the authentic atmosphere of a medieval Serbian monastery, along with the sense of uncertainty that marked the final decades of the fourteenth century. The name of the village itself suggests that a cultic structure existed here in pre‑Christian times. Behind the monastery walls, the memory of medieval splendor is kept alive by the church dedicated to St. John the Theologian, the medieval kitchen complex with its chimneyed hall and refectory, and the remains of monastic cells built in alternating layers of stone and brick. These structures were renewed in 1876, when a monastic residence was erected above the medieval refectory, and a beautifully proportioned wooden tower was built above the former granary, all enclosed by a perimeter wall with gates and auxiliary buildings.

The church itself is a triconch structure modeled on the Morava architectural group, though simpler in execution. Its polychrome walls, alternating stone and brick, and refined decorative elements—five‑sided apse, lively brick arches, round medallions, and a profiled dome—reflect both Morava and Byzantine traditions.

The frescoes, completed on October 24, 1499, include Christ Pantokrator in the dome, prophets in the drum, evangelists in the pendentives, the Great Feasts, the Passion cycle, and scenes dedicated to the Mother of God. Notable figures such as Saints Constantine and Helena, St. Sava, and St. Simeon Nemanja appear prominently. The painters came from Kastoria or nearby Linotopi, working alongside Serbian artists, as shown by inscriptions in the Serbian recension. Many treasures, including a celebrated double‑sided icon, were taken to Sofia during World War I. Conservation and research at the monastery complex began in 1966 and continued until 1974.

Our team this year was a small one: Branko Jovanović (photography), Zoran Jovanović (art historian), Zoran Vukićević (logistics), and Nenad Vukićević (photography).