Page 790 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

Protopresbyter-stavrophor Savo B. jović
The Year 1982
His Grace Bishop Pavle of Raška and Prizren informed the Holy Synod of Bishops by act No 243 from april 1, 1982, of his visit on February 24 of that year to the President of the Presidency of the Socialist autonomous Province of Koso- vo, and the conversation on that occasion regarding pres- sures applied in this Province by the albanians on the property, priests, monks and nuns of the Serbian Ortho- dox Church.
joining to this all the other reports of His Grace Bishop Pavle about albanian disturbances toward the Serbian Or- thodox Church, the Holy Synod of Bishops forwarded the entire dossier to the Holy assembly of Bishops for discus- sionanditsdecision.”108
His Grace Bishop Pavle of Raška and Prizren by act No 177 from March 9, 1982, sent the Holy Synod of Bishops a copy of a petition sent to the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities of the executive Council of the assembly of SaP Kosovo in Priština, as follows:
“We recently sent you a complaint regarding the dam- ages inflicted by individual citizens of albanian nationality to church and monastery property. We have also pointed this out to comrade president ali Šukrija during a recent conversation with him and in a written petition handed to him on that occasion. However, such actions are still oc- curring.
The elder of the church in Kosovska Kamenica report- ed that during the night of February 9, 1982, the gravestone of priest Sava ilić, located right next to the church in that village, was destroyed and that the police station has been informed.
The administration of Devič Monastery reports that on March 3 of this year in the monastery forest 60–70 trees were cut down. During this process the tractor of Ćazim Muarem Deljaj from Rezalo slid into a ditch and turned over in the monastery forest. Police were informed and came on the scene.
The same day some struck the monastery pig, which weighed about 70 kg, with an ax, cutting its spine above the neck.
On the same day on the road leading to the monastery, about 250 m. from the monastery itself, rocks were thrown so that cars could not pass at all and the sisters were forced to remove the rocks that are still standing next to the road.
The priest servicing the village of Koriša reported that on March 8, 1982, he visited the monastery of St. Mark in the village of Kabaša near Prizren and saw that the iron doors from the church were removed and stolen. The wooden blinds and iron bars formerly on the windows are no longer there. inside the church what remained of the iconostasis, which was burned for the most part back in 1973, is gone. everything left in the church after its repair:
108 AHSB, Syn No 1147/zap. 320/82. 788
boards, trim, etc. has been completely burned and the in- terior of the church looks like an ash heap. in the north- west corner of the church interior, the cement floor has been torn up and a hole about one meter in width and depth made.
We again ask the Commission to protect church prop- erty from reckless destruction.”
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church provided the Commission for Relations with Reli- gious Communities of the executive Council of SR Serbia with an attached photocopy of the request of His Grace Bishop Pavle of Raška and Prizren, No 177 from March 9, 1982, sent to the Commission of the executive Council of the assembly of SaP Kosovo regarding the most recent attacksbyalbaniansonthepropertyoftheSerbianOrtho- dox Church in the Diocese of Raška and Prizren.
at the same time, he asked that within the framework of undertaking measures for the creation of order and peace in Kosovo, something also be done for the Serbian Ortho- dox Church, her holy shrines, her property, monks and nuns, priests and faithful in this part of our society.”109
Bishop Pavle of Raška and Prizren, by act No 243 from april 1, 1982, informed the Holy Synod of Bishops.
“In regard to act No 723/zap. 168 from March 19, 1982, I am submitting the following report to the Holy Synod of Bishops:
i had learned earlier that the President of the Presiden- cy of SaP Kosovo, comrade ali Šukrija, received represen- tatives of the islamic religious community in the Province and that he was willing to receive us, too. Through the Com- mission for Relations with Religious Communities in Priš- tina, i asked to be received and the President received me on February 24, 1982. i was accompanied by Protopresby- ter Ratomir Božić, the bishop’s deputy of Priština, from Uroševac, and presbyter Nikola Božanić, the secretary of the diocese executive Council from Prizren.
in his remarks President ali Šukrija said that the Con- stitution guaranteed equal civil rights for all citizens re- gardless of religious affiliation, and that they are equally responsible for working toward good, brotherly relations with all citizens regardless of their religion or nationality for the general good of our society.
at the beginning of my remarks, i congratulated the President on his new office, expressing the hope that his work would be for the general good and that he would lead the ship of multinational peoples of the Province through the restless waves of the present situation wisely and lead us to the order and peace we all need. i thanked him for finding the time to receive the representatives of the Or- thodox religion, and speak about the life and work of the Orthodox population, and other circumstances following unfortunate developments in the Province.
109 AHSB, Syn No 723/zap. 168, Mar. 19, 1982.