Page 651 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

THe DiLaPiDaTiON OF THe GRaČaNiCa MONaSTeRY, 1762, 1772
i am weeping and sobbing when i see the dilapidation of this church. Oh, woe is us in this time in the empire of Hagarenes! it is when i, sinful and unworthy Hiereus Hristifor of Grača- nica, signed this, i unworthy to be called (iereus). in 1762, in june, on the 1st day of the month. and then again—in 1772. The inscription on the wall of the Gračanica Monastery: Ni ii, 209 (3211–3212)
MONKS FLeeiNG FROM jaNiSSaRieS iN PRiZReN, 1769
in the year 1769, on March 16, let it be known when we had to run away from janissaries to a place called Kamen, near the river, and there we spent seven nights till the wrath of God passed.
The note in the MS which belonged to St. George’s Church in Pri- zren and then to the old National Library of Serbia in Belgrade, No 431: Ni ii, 234 (3342)
THe TeRROR (ZULUM) iN TRGOViŠTe, 1770
Let it be known when the Turks perpetrated brutal terror [zulum]. The tevtish [controller] of Prizren together with Mrla-bey attacked Rožaje: the people of Rožaje would not surrender and the Bey with his army invaded Trgovište. The army ate grains and cheese and fat and they butchered oxen and cows and ewes and rams and the Christian homes be- come desolate due to this raid. The poor were fleeing in snow and ice weeping bitterly and profusely. and then, Trgovište was laid waste with terror [zulum]. and people were saying that the army numbered 7 thousand soldiers. and the army stayed there 4 weeks, in the year 1770; they arrived on the 3rd day of Decemebr and left on the 2nd day of january.
The note in the MS in St. Peterburg Library, No 28: Ni ii, 236 (3355)
THe MeTOCH OF THe DeČaNi MONaSTeRY iN DjaKOViCa, 1770
in 1770, this holy and divine Liturgical Book of the Dečani Monastery was donated by abbot Kyrr Danil from Paštro- vići, in Djakovica, in the Metoh [a plot of land owned by a monastery] of the Dečani Monastery, for Christian service; and may the Lord pardon us!
The note in the MS of the old National Library of Serbia, Belgrade, No 856: Ni V, 175 (8374)
THe GReaT TeRROR (ZULUM) PeRPReTRaTeD BY MUSLiM aLBaNiaNS, 1788
This holy divine Book of epistles is from the Monastery of Crna Reka. it was repurchased from the Turks of Novi Pa- zar by Priest Stojan Dobrinac for ten groschen and donated by him to the monastery for the salvation of his soul. The Turks ravaged the Ljubostinja Monastery and torched it and enslaved a lot of slaves whom they sold. Our poor heart was weeping because of such terrible terror [zulum]! in the year 1788 since Christ’s Nativity. and in that time, we suffered brutal terror and violence perpetrated by the Turks from Novi Pazar and albanians (arbanasi). The elderly were forced to turn Turk and convert to islam, my heart was weeping,
Sources and Testimonies
churches lay waste, monasteries dilapidated due to this zu- lum. My brethren, please pray for me for God’s sake for i am much sinful!
The note now in the archive of SaSa (the legacy of j. Tomić): Ni V, 223 (8681–8683)
THe SiGNS iN THe HeaVeNS iN DeČaNi, OCTOBeR 17, 1794
Let it be known when abbot Danil departed for jerusalem in 1794, in august, on the 17th day of the month. and i, priest Sava, stayed to serve in the Dečani Monastery. and we saw the signs in the heavens and in the air: the fire above the church from the eastern side to the west as a large beam of light, moving as far as Plješa and then it thundered and the earth in Dečani shook and quaked, in the month of Octo- ber, on the 17th day of the month, at 8 in the evening—some time around yatsi [bedtime or two hours after sunset] be- fore St. Luke’s Day: and the whole church was shining like the Sun. This sacred soul-feeding book, the Typikon, was given to me, the sinful priest-iereus Sava, the Saccellarius [church treasurer] of Prizren, as a present by a defrocked priest from Peć in 1794, on October 16.
The note in the MS of the old National Library of Serbia 727: Ni ii, 298 (3679–3680)
MaHMUT-PaSHa PLUNDeRS PRiZReN, 1795
in 1795, Prizren was plundered by Mahmut-Pasha. and i, Fa- ther Savo Saccellarius [the Treasurer], found this book in the village of Crnobrež, and i repurchased it and thus returned it to Prizren as an offering to Saint Nicholas’s church, unto memory eternal.
The note pursuant to the printout made by P. Kostić: Ni ii, 303 (3703)
ŽiVKO BaNOViĆ FROM THe SeRBiaN LaND OF KOSOVO, 1813
This note is being penned by Živko. Let it be known where he comes from, that he comes from the Serbian land of Ko- sovo, from the town of Priština; being descended from the Banović family.
The note in the MS in the Library of the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade: Ni Vi, 155 (10445)
THe PLeDGe OF aBBOT (HeGUMeN) DiONiSije
in the year 1829, on january 3: Let it be known to the people that i, Hieromonk Dionisije, placed the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Mušutište, which was demolished, under the administration of the Monastery of St. Mark, if it be God’s will to restore it, to be the metoh of [the Monastery of] the Holy apostle and evangelist Mark, or to remain thus ruined. He who becomes abbot after me, shall consider this as a com- mand and shall be the administrator of that place; and may he who breaks this vow and who disavows the pledge [chang- es this decision] remain unpardoned and unblessed, to him –let him be anathema, may he be bound up and tied in body and soul in this and in the age to come, amen! and i leave the letter from the honorable Mahmud-pasha and emin-pa- sha, his brother, the Tahir-pashics, and the Synkelia [certifi-
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