Vidovdan in Gracanica Monastery and at Gazimestan

His Holiness the Patriarch of the Serbian Irinej celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Gracanica Monastery on June 28, 2017, on the Vidovdan feast-day.

The Serbian Patriarch Irinej was concelebrated by His Grace Bishop Theodosije of Raska-Prizren and His Grace Atanasije,  retired  Bishop of Zaholm-Herzegovina, with the clergy and monastics of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren. With participation of a large number of faithful from all over Serbia, the Republic of Srpska and Montenegro, the Holy Liturgy was attended by the Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic and Princess Katarina, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohia Marko Djuric, representatives of the  Office for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities at the Ministry of Justice of Serbia and numerous representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohia.

Serbian Patriarch Irinej called upon the Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija not to leave their hearths and sell the land that, as he said, was soaked with the blood of their ancestors. After the Vidovdan Liturgy in the monastery-yard of Gracanica, the Patriarch said that every nook of Kosovo's land was talking about the suffering, whereby adding that where the suffering was, there was a resurrection too.

“We have gathered today in this sacred place; there are not many of us, we are similar to that bird whose nest is boken. Few have remained on this sacred Serbian soil. - We admire those who stay here. We admire their courage We have come to encourage you to remain here. Do not sell the land, because this land is soaked with the blood of ancestors,” said the Serbian Patriarch.

 After the Liturgy, the high decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church was handed over - the Order of the Holy King Milutin to the Director of the Surface Mining “Obilic”  Srdja Kovacevic for humanitarian activity and helping restoration of frescoes in churches throughout Kosovo and Metohija;  mothers with four or more children from the Raska-Prizren Diocese received  the order of the Mother of  Nine Jugovics, from whom the Office for Kosovo and Metohija provided financial assistance as well. Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine donated humanitarian aid in the form of food and toys to children and beneficiaries of the national cuisine "Mother of the Nine Jugovic" gathered in the port of Gracanica Monastery.

A traditional commemorative prayer rite followed at the  memorial at Gazimestan, where His Holiness Patriarch Irinej with BishopTheodosije and Atanasije, the clergy and monks of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren, served the parastasis (commemorative rite) for the Serbian heroes fallen in Kosovo in 1389.

Prepared by: Nikola Stankovic; Photo: Zika Slika

Source: TV Hram