13.06.2021.
950th anniversary of Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja marked
A solemn academy was held today in the yard of the Monastery of the Venerable Prohor of Pčinja, marking 950 years since the foundation of the monastery and 700 years since the death of King Milutin, who restored it.
On this occasion, the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, the patron of the celebration, was awarded the decoration of the Diocese of Vranje, the Venerable Prohor of Pčinja Order. The Bishop of Vranje Pahomije awarded the decoration to President Vučić for his outstanding contribution and patronage to the celebration of the monastery’s anniversary.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, Army Commander, Lieutenant General Milosav Simović and the Commander of the Fourth Army Brigade, Brigadier General Novica Petrović attended the event and the hierarchical divine liturgy that preceded it.Addressing the gathering, President Aleksandar Vučić thanked for the order awarded to him in the Prohor of Pčinja Monastery, emphasizing that the citizens of Serbia had always benefited the most from the Serbian state and church growing together, and even though they might not always be in agreement, the church was the crucial factor in preserving the national and state structure.
"I am not a person who yearns for awards, but this order means a lot to me, because it seems to me that it is best for the citizens when the Serbian state and the Serbian church grow together", President Vučić said in his address at the celebration of the 950th anniversary of the monastery.ž
Never before, in modern Serbian history, has so much been done for temples, churches, monasteries and their monks and nuns, he added. According to him, this is not enough, but that is why we all have to work even harder and be more successful.
"After the Order of Saint Sava, and I am the only Serbian president who has received that Order, this one also means a lot to me, because some of you noticed how hard we worked to provide support and help to the church, understanding that, although we might not always be in agreement, there is no national unity without the church and we cannot preserve the national and state structure without it", President Vučić said.
A head of state who does not understand this, does not deserve to lead the state and cannot lead it successfully, President Vučić said.
"Thank you for the decoration, this is one more obligation for me now," the President of the Republic of Serbia added.
We will keep and protect the Kosovo covenant and Vidovdan, but we will also take care of the future of our people in Kosovo and Metohija, but also in Bujanovac and every other place where Serbs live, President Vučić said.
Our delegation in Brussels will fight for Serbia, he pointed out, they will be servants to no one but their people and their country.
Nine and a half centuries of existence and survival on this difficult and shaky territory, President Vučić added, obliges us to exist and survive for another nine and a half centuries.
“It is our obligation to ensure the survival of the people living here, in Trgovište and Bujanovac, to revive the Gumoplastika manufacturing plants, so that our young people can get jobs here again, so that they can work and live and see a future for themselves and their children. Wonderful people live here, people who have always respected the state and loved and appreciated the church," President Vučić added.
According to him, despite strong pressures coming from outside, from Albanian politicians in Kosovo and Metohija, threats of lawsuits and new conflicts, he will lead our delegation to Brussels tomorrow.
“I know we have a lot of problems, things are not as rosy as we want to present them. The loyal people in Bujanovac know that. I promise we will fight for Serbia, we will not be anyone's subjects, we will only serve our people and our country", Vučić underlined, adding that our delegation would fight not by threatening or insulting them, but with firmness, with a responsible and serious attitude, a look into the future.
According to him, Serbia will win with more factories, higher salaries and pensions, it wants to be better than others, we do not want anything from others, but we will not give away what belongs to us, we do not want to be good by the standards of others by giving away something they think does not belong to us, because it has belonged to us for nine and a half centuries.
The President of the Republic also thanked Bishop Pahomije for protecting our people carefully and with dignity for decades in an area where it is not easy and simple to do so.
“Whenever he came to Bujanovac, Vranje, Preševo, the diocese of Vranje, Bishop Pahomije would always ask for something, not for himself, often not even for the church, but for the citizens, more factories, some more money," he said. Serbia is strong today, Vučić added, not too strong, but day by day it is getting stronger with the support of the citizens and their faith in Serbia.
“Please stay at your hearths and guard Pčinja. I believe that there are people who do not have a submissive spirit, but a Serbian spirit of freedom, that they will help us overcome the problems that are not of political nature, but concerning Kosovo and Metohija," President Vučić said.
The President of the Republic called on the Serbian people to unite.
“The unity of the Serbian people is more important and necessary than ever. We are not as weak as we used to be, we are not as strong as we would like to be, but we will be stronger than ever if we unite," President Vučić concluded.
Academician Slavenko Terzić, PhD, also addressed the gathering, emphasizing that "admiring the splendour of the renovated Prohor of Pčinja Monastery, we cannot but remember hundreds of other Serbian monasteries and churches throughout old Serbia, in the heart of this country - in Kosovo and Metohija".
We must ask ourselves what our attitude is towards old Serbia today, academician Terzić said in his speech. It seems to him that the old Serbia means less to us today than it did to scientists, writers, statesmen and our people in the times when we were under someone else's rule.
"The work of all 19th and 20th century Serbian intellectuals focused on old Serbian and Kosovo topics, the Kosovo covenant," Terzić said.
According to him, our ancestors have gathered for nine and a half centuries in this old Serbian place, in this monastery, to celebrate Saint Prohor of Pčinja, who has always had a strong cult status in these parts. The monastery has been a great spiritual and literary centre for the Serbian people for centuries, and in early 19th century a monastery school was opened in it.
The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, Serbian government ministers, and the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petković.
The celebration of the significant jubilee began with a liturgy served by Patriarch Porfirije, by the Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, in the presence of a large number of believers. In the sermon he gave during the liturgy, Patriarch Porfirije called on everyone to be united in Christ, emphasizing that only if we were united would our villages, cities and state be healthy.
The Monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pčinja is located on the wooded slopes of the Kozjak Mountain, on the left bank of the Pčinja River, in the area ofthe village of Starac, 30 kilometres south of Vranje. It is a cultural and educational centre of the region with a theological school, a transcription and illumination workshop, and icon painting classes are also organized there.
According to legend, it was erected in the 11th century, i.e. in 1070, by the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes as a sign of gratitude to Saint Prohor of Pčinja the Myrrh-Gusher, who had prophesied to him that he would become emperor. It was placed under protection as a cultural monument in 1950, and in 1979 it was declared cultural property of exceptional importance.
PHOTOGALLERY
VIDEOGALLERY13.06.2021
mp4 (248,05 MB)Celebration of 950th anniversary of Venerable Prohor of Pcinja Monastery
13.06.2021
President Vucic's address
