Page 62 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

View of the Hermitage of Saint Peter of Koriša
Emperor Dušan of Serbia (1331–1355), during the building of the Monastery of the Holy archangels near Prizren, wrote a charter for the building of another monastery atop the mountain where St. Peter fell asleep in the Lord. This charter still exists, dated May 19th, 1343, which charged the then-abbot Gregory of Hilandar to provide the necessary materials to build a chapel over the wonderworking relics of St. Peter, and to consecrate it in the name of St. Peter of Koriša. From that time on the Monastery of St. Peter of Koriša became a metochion (dependency) of the Hilandar Monastery, meaning that Hilandar would provide not only for its physical maintenance, but for its spiritual needs in terms of allowing monastics from Hilandar to live there. Because of the proximity of his feast-day to that of the Holy apostles Peter and Paul, and because his monastic name was received in honor of the great apostle Peter, the pious villagers and monastics of Koriša and beyond came to also celebrate his feast-day, especially at the nearby Monastery of the Holy apostles in Peć, on june 29, the feast-day of the Holy apostles Peter and Paul.
Saint Petar of Koriša the most distinguished Serbian hermit in the Middle ages.
The formation of his cult went through several developmental stages and in conformity with the supreme models of Byzantine hagiography. During the process, the original hermitage grew into an anachoretic community which, in turn, grew into a lavra and, eventually, into a monastery of cenobitic type. The cult of St. Petar of Koriša had been fostered in the monastery until the end of the 17th century, when the devastating Ottoman raids urged the translation of the saint’s relics to the Monastery of Crna Reka.
Saint Petar of Koriša represents a phenomenon of broader significance. His saintly character, especially the ways in which it was displayed and the stages in the development of his veneration are an invaluable contribution to the integral perception of the ascetic patterns and cult practices of the east Christian world.
60