The Church of St. Archangel Michael in Lijeva Rijeka (also known as Vasojević's church) is one of the most important historical and spiritual centers of the entire Vasojević tribe.
Here are key details about this shrine, its location and significance:
Location and municipality: It is located in the hamlet of Nožica in Lijeva Rijeka, which territorially belongs to the capital city of Podgorica (the area of Lijeva Rijeka borders the municipalities of Kolašin and Andrijevica).
"Kolijevka Vasojevića": In folklore and history, Lijeva Rijeka is considered the mother and birthplace of the Vasojević tribe. This is why this church has an exceptional symbolic significance as the mother temple from which the tribe later spread towards Lim, Andrijevica and Berane.
History and tradition: According to folk tradition, the first, old church that was built by the progenitor of the tribe, Vaso, stood on that spot. Over the centuries, the church was destroyed several times by the Turks and rebuilt again by the locals. The current temple was built and renovated at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century with the support of the people and Montenegrin rulers.
Architecture: It is built of hewn stone in the spirit of traditional folk architecture - it has a single nave base with a brick belfry on a trestle above the entrance, blended into the untouched nature and rugged landscape of Lijeva Rijeka.
Cathedral place: Saint Michael the Archangel (Arandjelovdan) is the baptismal glory of the majority of Vasojević. Every year on the holiday, as well as during the summer assembly, descendants of Vasojević from all parts of Montenegro and the diaspora gather at this church in order to preserve tradition and remember their origins.
