Lead roof stolen from St. George Runovic Church in Prizren

KiM Info Newsletter 20-07-06

DESECRATION OF SERBIAN ORTHODOX HOLY SHRINES CONTINUES

KIM Info Service, 20 July 2006

Unknown persons have stolen the lead roof during the course of the past month from the church of St. George Runovic (sv. Georgija Runovica), which is located immediately next to the torched Orthodox cathedral of St. George the Great-martyr in central Prizren. The damage to the church was observed by the chairwoman of the Commission for Church Restoration, Emma Carmichael from the Council of Europe, who visited Prizren with the head of the British mission in Pristina, Mr. David Blunt. After establishing that the desecration of Serbian Orthodox holy shrines in Prizren is continuing, Mr. Blunt immediately went to see Prizren municipal head Mr. Eqrem Kryeziu to demand that the municipality prevent further acts of destruction and protect the valuable cultural heritage for which this city is known.

St. George's Church (the endowment of Runovic) was built in the 15th century and was known for its valuable and well-preserved frescoes. During the course of the March 2004 pogrom Albanian rioters set fire to the church, irreparably damaging the valuable frescoes, forced open the tomb of Archbishop Mihajlo and damaged the building itself. On that occasion a swastika was drawn in red paint above the entrance door (see below), which was removed the very next day by members of German KFOR.

During the period between autumn 2004 and spring 2005 perpetrators removed the entire lead roof from the church, which survived the March violence. During the course of autumn 2005 the Committee for the Renewal of Serbian Orthodox Holy Shrines damaged in the March pogrom installed a new lead roof, and cleaned the facade and interior of the church so that in the course of this year and next year further work could be attempted on the conservation and cleaning of the seriously damaged frescoes. The most recent attacks on the church have once again proved that not even rebuilt churches are protected, and that the Kosovo provisional authorities are not able to provide adequate protection for these sites. After the theft of the room from Bogorodica Ljeviska (Most Holy Theotokos/Holy Virgin of Ljevis) Cathedral, the repeated desecration of Holy Apostle Andrew Church in Podujevo, and the theft of the crosses from the domes of Most Holy Theotokos Church in Obilic, this is yet another example that demonstrates that despite rhetorical promises by Kosovo officials attacks on the sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Province continue to occur.

Bishop Teodosije, the representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Committee for Restoration, has most strongly condemned this most recent act of destruction and once again requested from representatives of UNMIK and KFOR that they find ways of protecting the surviving Serbian Orthodox holy shrines in Kosovo and Metohija. "It is incomprehensible that our churches are being left without any protection whatsoever even though it is known that they have been repeatedly targeted by attacks," said Bishop Teodosije.

According to information obtained by the Commission for the Restoration of Serbian Orthodox Holy Shrines, the removal of tin from the roofs of older buildings is becoming a frequent occurrence. Recently it was observed that a part of the tin roof had also been removed from the Turkish bath (Hammam) in the very center of town. Municipal authorities claim that they cannot provide full security for all sites.

RUNOVIC'S CHURCH IN PRIZREN

The church dedicated to St. George is also known as "Runovic's Church" by the family name of its patron and founder. Since it endured significant rebuilding several times during the course of its history, its exterior does not give us enough information to establish a precise date. It is assumed that it was build during the period between the 14th and 16th centuries. St. George Church is a single nave building covered by a half-circular dome with one apse on the east side. Its paintings originate in the second half of the 16th century. The iconostasis was painted by Petar Filipovic from Gara in 1829. The frescoes and icons were restored and conserved in 1995. After the arrival of KFOR the church served as a warehouse for firewood and barbed wire.