Formal celebration of patronal feast of Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren

KiM-Info Newsletter 28-07-05

The most important thing is to achieve a blessed state while still in this world, and to live in it in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints of our people. It is important that we who represent our faith do not enter the place where our saints are with our head bowed, and that we are not ashamed before Our Lord and God and theirs but that He recognizes and acknowledges us as His faithful servants (from the sermon of Patriarch Pavle).

Prizren, July 27, 2005
KIM Info-Service

The monastery slava of the Holy Archangel Gabriel and the 650 year anniversary of the repose of the Emperor Dushan, the patron and founder of Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren, was formally celebrated on Tuesday in this holy shrine. His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Pavle served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy with the concelebration of Bishop Artemije of Raska and Prizren and Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan. The holiday religious service and spiritual academy after it was attended by several hundred faithful and pilgrims from central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija. After Holy Liturgy a memorial service was served at the graveside of the Emperor Dushan, whose body rests in St. Mark's Church in Belgrade.

Holy Archangels Monastery was built from 1343 to 1353 as the pious endowment of the Emperor Dushan. Among the other holy Serbian lavra, it was one of the largest and most significant monasteries of that age. After the fall of Prizren under Turkish rule in 1455, one hundred years after the founding of the monastery, this holy shrine began a period of difficult life and stagnation. The monastery lost its many properties and privileges. In 1615 Sinan Pasha ordered the destruction of the church of the Holy Archangels and its living quarters in order to build the mosque named after him, which still stands in the center of Prizren, out of the gorgeous marble used to build Dushan's church. The monastery with the grave of the Emperor Dushan was vacant until 1998 when the first monastery dormitory was restored with the blessing of Bishop Artemije. However, the suffering of the monastery continued and five years later, during last year's March riots, Albanians burned down the living quarters and the chapel of St. Nikolai of Ochrid and Zhicha. The monastery brethren led by Hieromonk Herman quickly restored the monastery's living quarters and this much suffering monastery celebrated this year's anniversary with new hope and élan.

After Holy Hierarchal Liturgy, Patriarch Pavle addressed those present with the following words:

“In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have gathered here today in this holy place where our forebears prayed to God throughout the centuries, in times of peace and times of enslavement, and in times when they fought for their freedom. They prayed for justice, truth and peace for all people of good will in the world. Because we all need peace, freedom and justice. That is why, brothers and sisters, we must always be aware of this truth throughout the centuries. Time builds palaces throughout the land; time builds and it destroys. However, time cannot build a man and then destroy him, for he remains human while he who has never been human will remain inhuman to the end of time. Our forebears know this as did all faithful Christians throughout the centuries. The most important thing is to achieve a blessed state while still in this world, and to live in it in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints of our people. It is important that we who represent our faith do not enter the place where our saints are with our head bowed, and that we are not ashamed before Our Lord and God and theirs but that He recognizes and acknowledges us as His faithful servants.

“That is the message, brothers and sisters, of these 2,000 years. The message of the saints up to and including the present day. It is not easy to be human even in a world of men, let alone in a world that wallows completely in evil. But let us repeat that there have always been those who even during difficult times have remained human. What sort of consolation would we have if the times were pleasant and carefree, and we were to lose our honor and our soul, that which is most important.

“Our Lord and Holy Archangels and all the Saints, help us to truly remain on the narrow and difficult path and at the narrow gate that leads to life eternal. That we may gather thus on the side that Christ will recognize and acknowledge as his faithful servants. Then we will be overjoyed and our joy will have no end nor will anyone be able to take our joy from us. Lord, help everyone, including ourselves. Help all people of good will throughout the world. Everyone needs peace and justice and freedom.

“Glory to you, O Lord, and gratitude eternal. AMEN.”

The celebration at Holy Archangels Monastery was attended by the following representatives of the Belgrade government: Serbian Assembly Speaker Predrag Markovic; Dr. Nebojsa Covic, head of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija; Minister of Religions Radulovic; and representatives of the cabinet of Serbian President Boris Tadic. The ceremony was also attended by KFOR representatives led by the commander of Multinational Brigade South-West, German General Norbert Steer.

Serbian national television's Second Program broadcast the entire Hierarchal Liturgy live.

The celebration took place with the assistance and protection of international KFOR troops and UNMIK police, who made it possible for the faithful to attend and secured the area around the monastery. The festivities at Holy Archangels unfolded peacefully and in dignified fashion to the joy of the few remaining Serbs of the Prizren region and the monastery brotherhood, which invested great efforts in ensuring a hospitable and brotherly reception for their numerous guests.

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Danas daily, Belgrade
July 27, 2005

Everyone needs peace and freedom

650 year anniversary of death of Emperor Dushan commemorated yesterday in Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren

Prizren, Belgrade - Holy Hierarchal Liturgy, a memorial service of the Emperor Dushan, the cutting of the slava cake and a spiritual academy took place yesterday at Holy Archangels Monastery near Prizren in celebration of the monastery patronal feast (slava), the Assembly of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, and the commemoration of the 650 year anniversary of the death of the patron and founder of this medieval monastery, Emperor Dushan. In his holiday homily, Serbian Patriarch Pavle prayed "from this holy place" for "truth, justice, freedom and peace which everyone needs".

"It is not easy to be human even in a world of men, let alone in a world that wallows completely in evil. But there have always been those who even during difficult times have remained human. What sort of consolation would we have if the times were pleasant and carefree, and we were to lose our honor and our soul. Our Lord and Holy Archangels and all the Saints, help us to truly remain on the narrow and difficult path that leads to life eternal and that we may find ourselves on the side that Christ will recognize and acknowledge as His own. Lord, help everyone, including ourselves. Help all people of good will throughout the world," said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Holy Archangels, where he served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy with Bishop Artemije (Radosavljevic) of Raska and Prizren, and Bishop Teodosije (Sibalic) of Lipljan, the vicar bishop of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, together with the priests and monks of this Diocese.

Bishop Artemije called on Serbs yesterday "to stay and live in Kosovo and Metohija in the future as they have done for hundreds of years in the past". In addition to hundreds of Serbs, the festivities at Holy Archangels were also attended by representatives of the Serbian Presidency; Milan Radulovic, Minister for Religions of the Serbian Government; Nebojsa Covic, president of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija; deputies from the Serbian Assembly, and political representatives of the Kosovo Serbs. State national television's Second Program broadcast live coverage from the celebration.

Holy Archangels Monastery is located three kilometers southeast of Prizren at the entrace of the Bistrica River gorge. It was build in the mid-fourteenth century on the remains of an older church site as an imperial lavra and the principal pious endowment and future tomb iste of Emperor Dushan. The entire complex, devastated and abandoned after the Turkish occupation of Prizren (1455), was comprised of 6,500 square meters. Archeological excavations in the monastery did not begin until 1929. That same year, King Aleksandar I Karageorgevic issued an Edict transferring the remains of Emperor Dushan from his pious endowment (until it is restored) to the church of St. Mark in Belgrade, where they are presently located.

The spiritual and material restoration of Holy Archangels began exactly ten years ago. A new living quarters was built which was quickly inhabited by the young brothers; however, upon the arrival of the UN mission to Kosovo and Metohija this monstery was among the first to be attacked by the Kosovo Albanians. A member of Holy Archangels, monk Chariton Lukic, was kidnapped in mid-June 1999; his headless body was discovered one year later. Even though the monastery is practically located in a German KFOR camp, the celebration of the 650 year anniversary of the monastery on July 26, 2002 was marked by an explosion at the Visegrad fortification and Albanian demonstrations in Prizren because of the arrival of almost 1,000 Serbs for the monastery slava.

During an attack by several thousand Kosovo Albanians in the March pogrom last year, Holy Archangels was completely destroyed; the dorminotires were burned down, the bell tower was destroyed and the marble ptom cover on the grave of Emperor Dushan was destroyed. Thanks to the efforts of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, the Serbian GovernmentSerbian Government and numerous donors, at the end of December the monastery has a new direction. Yesterday's ceremony at Holy Archangels was protected by strong forces of German KFOR. J. T. (Translation by sib on July 27, 2005)