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[[File:Stuplje2.jpg|thumb|270px|Monastery of Stuplje]]
The '''Stuplje Monastery''' ({{langx|sr|Манастир Ступље|Manastir Stuplje}}) is a [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian Orthodox]] [[monastery]] dedicated to [[Archangel Michael]] and located in the village of [[Vijačani Gornji|Gornji Vijačani]] near the town of [[Čelinac]] in north-western [[Republika Srpska]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref name=sevo>{{cite book| author=Ljiljana Ševo| title=Manastir Stuplje| editor1=Nenad Novaković| editor2=Ranko Pavlović| year=1998| script-title=sr:Манастир Ступље| publisher=Glas srpski| place=Banja Luka| language=Serbian| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oytMAAAAMAAJ| pages=7–22| isbn=9788671191340}}</ref> Folk tradition attributes the establishment of Stuplje to [[Stephen Dragutin of Serbia|King Dragutin]], a member of the [[Serb]]ian [[Nemanjić dynasty]], as is the case with other Serbian monasteries in northern [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]].<ref name=sevo/><ref name=blic>{{cite web| author=Goran Đurić| title=Ponovo sija monaško kandilo u Stuplju| publisher=[[Blic]]| date=6 January 2009| language=Serbian| url=http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Republika-Srpska/73129/Ponovo-sija-monasko-kandilo-u-Stuplju}}</ref> The earliest mention of Stuplje is found in a chronicle dated to the second half of the 15th century. The monastery was probably founded before 1450, and thus before the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] conquest of the [[Kingdom of Bosnia]] in 1463. This conquest did not include north-western Bosnia, which then became part of the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526)|Kingdom of Hungary]], to be conquered by the Ottomans in 1527 and 1528. During the 17th century, the monks of Stuplje were active in transcribing religious books. At some point during the [[Great Turkish War]] (1683–1699), the monastery was burned down by the Ottomans. Surviving monks fled north across the [[Sava|Sava River]] and found refuge in the [[Orahovica Monastery]] in [[Slavonia]]. They brought with them a number of their manuscript books, which thus became part of the Orahovica library.<ref name=sevo/>

In time, all traces of the Stuplje Monastery disappeared from the face of the earth. In the 20th century, Stuplje was a historical term with an uncertain location, assumed to be somewhere in the area of [[Teslić]] and in the vicinity of the [[Liplje Monastery]]. In March 1994, this area was visited by two locals who searched for Stuplje in the village of Gornji Vijačani at a locality named Crkvište, near a stream called Manastirica and a hill called Kaluđersko Brdo. The [[Toponymy|toponym]]s Crkvište, Manastirica, and Kaluđersko were indicative, being derived from the [[Serbian language|Serbian]] ''crkva'', ''manastir'', and ''kaluđer'', meaning "church", "monastery", and "monk", respectively. They uncovered the foundation of a church building in the form of a [[Basilica#Basilicas in Eastern Orthodoxy|basilica]], 14&nbsp;metres in length and 7.5&nbsp;metres in width. The uppermost layer of stones was 30&nbsp;centimetres below the ground surface. Within and around the foundation, there was a layer of burned debris. A team of archaeologists revisited the site in 1997, when they uncovered the foundation of a monastic building to the north and west of the church foundation. Scholars concluded that these finds were remains of the Stuplje Monastery.<ref name=sevo/>

Afterwards, on the initiative of the head of the Serbian Orthodox [[Eparchy]] of [[Banja Luka]], it was decided to rebuild the monastery at the site of the archaeological finds, although some people demanded that the excavated foundations be conserved and the site protected from any [[Disturbance (archaeology)|disturbance]]. The Stuplje Monastery was rebuilt and consecrated at the end of 2008.<ref name=blic/>

== References ==
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{{Serbian Orthodox Church}}

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[[Category:Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:15th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings]]
[[Category:Čelinac]]
[[Category:15th-century establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 15th century]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Republika Srpska]]