The foundations of the monastery are surrounded by wire; eight centuries of history are "omitted"

The foundations of the Monastery of the Mother of God in Hvosno, one of the significant sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and the ancient seat of the Hvosno Episcopate, are surrounded by wire without consultation with the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren and Kosovo Online team visited this sacred place located near the village of Vrelo in the municipality of Istok, inhabited by the Albanians.

The land around the monastery foundations has been leveled with heavy machinery, and a wire fence has been installed.

The gate on the fence was not locked, and at the entrance, a sign signed by the Archaeological Institute of Kosovo was placed, stating that it is a "church complex of Studenica".

The locals with whom the Kosovo Online team tried to speak about another attempt to appropriate the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Serbian Orthodox Church by institutions in Pristina did not want to speak on camera for security reasons. Still, they advised us not to visit the monastery foundations without an escort.

The remains of the Monastery of the Mother of God in Hvosno, or as the locals call it, Studenica in Hvosno, located just twenty kilometers from Pec, have never been visited by the younger generations in Metohija because, as we were told, in the years after the bombing, there had been stonings and attacks on individuals who had tried to visit the ancient monastery.

One resident of a returnee village near Istok told us that it was a "monastery where Saint Sava reconciled brothers", and there remained hope that such places would reconcile neighbors and the two peoples.

In response to another attempt to appropriate the spiritual and cultural heritage, the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren reacted, stating that on the sign, which had been placed only in the Albanian language, eight centuries of history of this important religious center had been omitted.

"The latest case of using machinery to erect a fence around the site of the Mother of God in Hvosno, without any communication with the Serbian Orthodox Church, known to be one of its most important sites, and the placement of a sign only in the Albanian language that omits eight centuries of history of this important religious center, is another example that shows the real intentions and methods of the Kosovo authorities, who openly aim for the creation of an ethnically pure Kosovo and the disappearance of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its followers," the announcement of the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren stated.