Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
Oktober 18, 2004

POLICE PROTECTS DESTROYERS OF MONASTERY

Until Friday the village of Nizepolje in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was the location of the monastery of St. John Chrysostom, which had been built by His Eminence Metropolitan Jovan of Veles and Povardarje with his brethren, monks and the faithful people. The church had been consecrated and religious services were held there. Just three weeks ago bishops from Bulgaria and Greece had visited the church, and served Holy Hierarchal Liturgy there together with Metropolitan Jovan.

Today this monastery became the victim of state terrorism. Strong police forces in full riot gear and with arms surrounded the monastery. Heavy construction machinery was brought on site and the destruction of the monastery began, and still continues at the time of this writing. Nothing like this has ever been recorded in any country in the world in a time of peace.

Probably threatened by the mass return of priests, monks, nuns and faithful from the schismatic and unrecognized so-called Macedonian Orthodox Church under the wing of the One Church of Christ, which is recognized by the entire Orthodox Christian world, the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid, FYROM authorities have decided to destroy the monastery by overwhelming physical force.

Do you attack the peaceful habitation of monks, the house of prayer and the home of the Lord, gentlemen? Do you, the schismatic bishops who demanded this, and all you others, who allowed yourselves to serve as blind tools in this monstrous crime, not fear God? It is unnecessary to ask: for if you feared Him, you would not be doing what you are doing. If you do not fear for yourselves, think of your children. There is a reason why folk wisdom says of someone whom great evil befalls: It is as if he destroyed a church.

Monks do not have the physical power or strength to resist those who desecrate and destroy. Monks can defend themselves from brute force only by tearful prayer. Those tears, the tears of monks, will fall on you and your descendants. The tears of the distressed monks and nuns of the Archdiocese of Ochrid - and the tears from all the monasteries of the world in Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, Romania and the Holy Mountain of Athos, from every place in the world where a single soul exists praying in peace and silence to God for the entire human race. They do not curse. They do not call for revenge. They pray for you, too, that the Lord may enlighten your mind, which is possessed by darkness, that you might leave the darkness and become the sons of light, not the servants of evil.

[Serbian Translation Services]