Ćelije Monastery was declared Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1979, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.

A local legend has it that three brothers of the Nemanjići royal dynasty built three monasteries in this area: Ćelije, Jovanje and Pustinja.

However, the monastery was most likely founded during the reign of Despot Stefan Lazarević (1389–1427) in the times of social and religious revival of Western Serbia.

At the time, the town of Valjevo was the residence of the metropolitan bishop, while the main church was in the Ćelije Monastery.

In the monastery is the grave of Duke Ilija Birčanin, killed by the Turks in 1804 along with other prominent Serbian leaders.

After the war the monastery was rebuilt by nuns, who found a large number of old bones in the ground, dating from different periods.

Nicknamed Ave Justin, he was the author of a number of theological works and one of the founders of the Serbian Philosophical Society.

The church of Ćelije Monastery, dedicated to the archangels Michael and Gabriel, has a basis in form of a byzantine basilica.

There is another book of historical value in the monastery, which is the Old Testament Scripture in the Church Slavonic language, which once belonged to Matija Nenadović.

The relics of Saint Justin of Ćelije were ceremoniously transferred from small to the newly built church at the opening of the new temple.