The monastery was founded in the mid-11th century, either by an unknown member of the aristocratic Byzantine Kastamonites family, or by an unrelated person hailing from the area of Kastamon in Paphlagonia.

[1] Its history during the Byzantine period is obscure, and until the 14th century it appears to have been a moderate establishment.

After it was destroyed in a fire in the 1420s and restored by the Serbian magnate Radič, it attracted many monks from the South Slavic lands, and experienced a century of prosperity.

The monastery library holds 110 manuscripts and approximately 5,000 printed books.

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