The Botev’s squad

"... there was no committee in the village until the entire Vratsa district was preparing to welcome Hristo Botev. The preparations were terrible - in the village and the monastery. The organizer was the abbot of the Cherepish Monastery, hieromonk Epiphanii born in the village of Lyuti Brod, and about 60 people were involved in the organization, almost all the monks of the monastery and all the leaders of the village. One woman was also registered as a member of the committee - grandmother Stamena - the abbot's brother's wife. One or two carts of gunpowder and rifles were stored in the monastery, and opposite the monastery in the winter cellar in "Zagrad" - barrels of thousands of wine, bread, flour, meat, etc.

• read more

  While Botev's detachment was fighting around "Milin Kamak", the abbot of the Cherepish Monastery with his servant Neno went to Vratsa for a meeting. There Epiphanii understood that the plan for an uprising had already failed and, in order not to burn the monastery, he quickly returned and ordered all the weapons to be thrown into the Iskar river. All this was done, but the food opposite in "Zagrad" in the winter cellar remained and served, as he had foreseen, later to some chetniks.
  Later it was learned that in the morning of 2nd June the monastery shepherd had taken a dozen of the rebelians to Zagrad, from where, after being fed and watered in the monastery cellar, they fled. But one remained and hid for a long time around the monastery sheepfold.
  Many things happened on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd June around Lutibrod and near it. The Turks considered it was guilty no less than the rebelions, so they decided to burn the village and slaughter the population. What influenced the Turks to cancel this is not known, but it is known that the abbot of the monastery took to the nobleman, who was staying in the inn at the time, a scarf with gold coins, the edges of which were barely gathered. After that, an order was received and some Turkish soldiers were left as guards around the monastery. With this protection, the monastery felt quite calm. But before this security was sent, 4-5 Turkish bandits killed the monastery cook and robbed the monastery shepherds and a monk named Pantaleimon and stole many valuables from the monastrey.
  Apart from the monastery, the Turks left a strict guard only on the boat which carried people through the river. After a while, these Turks also left, leaving the village completely peaceful until the arrival of the Russians.