The Albanian Orthodox Church has only about 10 monasteries that have been restored since the fall of the Communist regime in the country. Each of them is important and interesting in its own way, but only one is functioning. The monastery is still home to a monk, father Immanuel, who takes care of the monastery preserving its heritage for future generations.

The only functioning monastery of the Albanian Orthodox Church is located on the territory of the modern city of Lushnjë. In its suburbs, there are the ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia of the 6th century BC that served as the foundation of the Orthodox monastery in 1282. However, the inscription on the wall of the Monastery Chapel indicates the existence of this monastery in the 9th century. According to some sources, there was a pagan temple of the goddess Artemis. The name Ardenika originates from the name of the goddess.

The Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Ardenica (this is the full name of the monastery) was built by the order of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos in honor of the victory over the troops of the Kingdom of Sicily in the fortress of Berat in 1281. Since then the monastery has played an important role in the history and culture of the country.

In 1451, the national hero of Albania, Prince Skanderbeg, married the Albanian noblewoman Andronika Arianiti-Muzaka. In 1780, the monastery opened a theological school for Greek Orthodox clergy.
Later, the monastery was closed as a result of declaring the country an atheist state in 1967. It was empty until 1988 when the government decided to reconstruct it. After the fall of the Communist regime, all its territories were returned to the Albanian Orthodox Church.

Today the monastery consists of a courtyard with a church and chapel, cells and utility rooms. They are surrounded by a powerful stone wall which makes it more like a medieval fortress. The Chapel of the Holy Trinity which dates back to the 13th century is considered to be the heart of the monastery and the oldest surviving building. On one of its walls, you can see several bas-reliefs depicting scenes of battles and a barely noticeable inscription in Greek.