Pilgrimage trips to Kosovo: Faith is stronger than fear

Regardless of the tensions in the north, as well as the frequent inter-ethnic incidents, during 2023 the number of pilgrims and tourists who organized organized visits to Orthodox shrines throughout Kosovo did not decrease. The most interest was in visiting Visoki Decani and Gracanica monasteries, but also Prizena and Velika Hoca. There are still the most devotees for Vidovdan, June 28, with the fact that more and more believers want to attend the celebrations in monasteries throughout the eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Raska-Prizren.

Višnja Kostic, a representative of the donation agency of the Eparchy of Zica "Jez", tells for Kosovo Online that the tensions in the north have not affected the interest of believers and tourists in visiting Orthodox shrines in Kosovo, and that most of them are enthusiastic about Prizren and the Visoki Decani monastery.

Kostic says that interest in devotional trips has been recorded throughout 2023.

"From our experience, the number of believers who visit Kosovo and Metohija is always large and so far we have not noticed any oscillations in interest, so the shrines that are visited always deserve equal attention and there is always a great interest in Serbian shrines in Kosovo," said Kostic.

Speaking about the periods of the year when most people are interested in pilgrimages, Kostic says that believers are most interested in visiting shrines during religious holidays. He states that, in this context, the month of May is singled out, when Saint Vasilije Ostroski is celebrated, the period around Miholjdan and the glory of Saint Stefan Decanski.

Kostic points out that devotional tourism is a specific form of tourism in which each of the believers in a different place spiritually finds what they are "looking for".

She says that the biggest impression on pilgrims is Prizren, where they can visit the monastery of the Holy Archangels, but also the old fortress above the town of Kalaju.

"It seems to me that Prizren is the crowning glory of travel, but I could not single it out as something that is ahead of the rest of the holy places. Devotional tourism is a specific form of tourism, and I think that each of us experiences what we are looking for in a different place. Simply someone can find their spiritual experience in Decani, someone in Prizren, someone in Gracanica, someone in Budisavci, which are not on the route of usual tours. So it's all an individual experience," concluded Kostic.

However, the director of the Gracanica Tourism Organization, Sandra Djokic, tells for Kosovo Online that the tensions in the north have a negative impact on the number of tourists visiting Serbian holy places in Kosovo during the year, but that the conflict in Banjska specifically did not excessively affect visitors in her municipality, given that that accident happened at the end of the tourist season.

"Certainly, there is a possibility that the riots in the north of Kosovo in September affected tourism, but those events were at the end of the season, so we cannot say with certainty that that event caused less interest among visitors. Like any other tension that is felt in the north or in general in Kosovo and Kosovo is certainly reflected in the number of tourists who come to Kosovo," said Djokic.

Djokic points out that the largest number of believers visit Gracanica during the Christian holidays, and that this year, as was the case in previous years, the most guests arrived on the occasion of Vidovdan.

"The number of tourists certainly increases when it comes to church holidays, so the number of tourists is the highest in Gracanica for Vidovdan. Vidovdan is celebrated on June 28 in Gracanica, and that's when we achieve the highest number of visitors and overnight stays throughout the year. We can say that the number of tourists increases when the holidays are celebrated that are related to the Gracanica monastery, our biggest tourist attraction but also our biggest cultural and historical wealth that we have here," she emphasized.

According to her, fans of religious tourism and devotional trips, in addition to the Gracanica monastery, showed great interest in the monastery of St. Dimitrije in Susica, as well as in other churches and monasteries in the area.

In addition to the Gracanica monastery and other holy places, the archeological site of Ulpiana, which is a kilometer from the municipality, but with numerous cultural manifestations, is also attractive to tourists, she adds.

"In terms of attendance, the first place is the Gracanica monastery, which is on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage, then the monastery of St. Dimitri in Susica, and the interesting church of St. Dimitri in Dobrotin, which has a specific appearance, was dug into the ground, and was created during the Tus authorities", says Djokic.

For Archimandrite Metodije (Markovic), abbot of one of the oldest Serbian sanctuaries, the Prohor Pcinjski monastery, devotional trips, especially to Kosovo, are "spiritual refreshments and fortifications" that are at the same time a strong spiritual support for the clergy, monks, and the people who live there.

"Pilgrimage trips are spiritual refreshments and fortifications, and by visiting holy places, we clearly decide for those whose sanctuaries we visit. Visits to holy places in Kosovo and Metohija are for us clear determinations as to which empire we will please. They are also a spiritual support for those we visit to stay on this holy land soaked in the blood of holy martyrs", says the abbot of the monastery Prohor Pcinjski.

When asked whether the current security situation in Kosovo has affected the visit of believers to the Prohor Pcinjski monastery, the abbot of this monastery says that the opposite is happening and that more and more believers are from Kosovo.

"Regarding the visit of believers and devotees to the monastery of Venerable Prohor of Pcinjski, it is constantly increasing, especially after the celebration of two great jubilees: the 950th year of its existence and the 700th year since the restoration of the monastery from the age of the second founder, Saint King Milutin. Believers come to the monastery from all over, especially from the nearby regions: the Kosovo Sea, North Macedonia, Bulgaria... In the summer, our monastery hosts a summer school for high school students as well as students, including those from Kosovo and Metohija. In the monastery, the Holy Liturgy is celebrated every day, so that our believers can take part in the holy services every day, and in the monastery lodgings we have about a hundred places to stay and spend the night", emphasizes the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Metodije.