In the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren, the St. Patron’s Day of the temple is marked

In the presence of a large number of believers, the St. Patron’s Day of the temple was celebrated today in the monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren.

The holy liturgy was served by bishop Teodosije from Raska and Prizren, with the concelebration of the clergy and monks, and after that, there was the cutting of the ritual bread and the communion of the believers.

In his sermon, the bishop reminded of the deeds of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, and told the gathered believers that "they should remain faithful to God and the holy land that they inherited and that they should preserve".

"May today's holiday be happy and blessed by God, may Saint Archangel Gabriel protect us from ourselves the most, may we not make mistakes, may we not do what is against God and his commandments, and may we remain what we have always been, faithful to God, faithful to our family and to this holy land that we received as an inheritance and that we should preserve, brothers and sisters, and not renounce it," Bishop Teodosije said.

He added that those, who sold their ancestral and paternal heritage and everything inherited, were renouncing this country and asked if they were aware of this.

"And not only did they make a mistake, but they closed the door to all their descendants in the future. There is something we must never do even if we are hungry, even if we are thirsty, and if we are in danger, God will help us, but if we sin, then even the Lord will not help us, because the Lord will not violate our freedom. The Lord lets us choose whether we will serve good or evil, whether we will be with good angels or with those, God forbid, who have fallen, and who are evil and darkness in this world. May the Holy Archangel enlighten our souls, our hearts, and our whole being, so that individually, but also as a nation, we will be worthy of God's love and God's blessing," Bishop Teodosije said in his sermon.

The liturgy was also attended by the assistant directors of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Jelena Stojkovic and Milena Parlic.

Stojkovic pointed out that "Prizren and the Kosovo Morava Valley, where the holiday is celebrated today, are the brightest spots in Kosovo and Metohija".

"Today we celebrate the assembly of St. Archangel Gabriel, who always brought news to Christianity. News about the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the same resurrection that this imperial city experienced after the injustice and suffering after 1999. Let this holiday be an incentive and a way for us to endure all that we are going through today, all the challenges we are facing today, to endure and persevere as throughout history, through faith, unity, and love," Stojkovic said.

The believers came to the Monastery celebration from all parts of Kosovo, and central Serbia, but also from abroad.

Cvetko Cvetkovic, originally from the municipality of Strpce, who lives and works in Germany, came with his family.

"We live abroad, now we are on annual vacation, if we are there during the holidays we visit this place. We were there last year. This is an important holiday for all of us Serbs, for the Serbian people," Cvetkovic said.

Zorica Djordjevic from Vrnjacka Banja came here for the second time, and today precisely because of the St. Patron’s Day of the Monastery.

"This is a special day, especially for this place, for Prizren, and for our Serbs. I am very glad that I came, and that I see these people who came. There is a well-known saying "next year in Prizren", I think it should read "now in Prizren",” Zorica pointed out.

Branislav Stojanovic lives near the Monastery in the village of Zivinjane in Sredacka Zupa, always visits the Monastery on this day, and points out that there used to be many more people.

"I come every year because my village is nearby, and this means a lot to our Serbs. Even when I was in Prizren, we came here, we sat there, and built summer houses," Stojanovic said.

The Holy Archangels Monastery is an endowment of Emperor Dusan and was built in the 14th century. During the March pogrom in 2004, it was set on fire, and the reconstruction of the monastic quarters began in 2012.