Page 833 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

The representatives of the Serb national community in Kosovo and Metohija put flowers on the spot where 11 Serbs were killed and more than 30 wounded in a mined bus of “Niš express,” at the village Livadice near Podujevo, a year ago, on February 16, 2001.
February 18, 2002
FiRe SeT TO aN ORTHODOX CHURCH iN THe SOUTHeRN PaRT OF KOSOVSKa MiTROViCa
“if it is absolutely certain and clear that terrorists in Ko- sovo and Metohija have thus far razed and burned 108 Or- thodox churches and monasteries, why then would there be any difference with this, the 109th case. Those desiring to cover up terror committed against the Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija have to put forth stronger evi- dence to convince us that it was merely carelessness, for- gotten lit candles, or malfunctioned installations. The cler- gy ascertain that on that day there was no service, candles were not lit, and also that there was no electricity that eve- ning in the entire block surrounding the church”—report- ed the Bishop of Raška-Prizren to the information Service of Serbian Orthodox Church regarding the fire of this past weekend in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica that destroyed the western side and narthex, encompassing the area in which candles are sold and the entrance to the Church of the Translation of the Relics of St. Sava.
Gratefully, the fire was extinguished by Greek soldiers in KFOR that have been protecting this church, which was built in 1896 and is located in an area of Kosovska Mitro- vica that, following the 1999 arrival of the international armed forces and the withdrawal of the Serbian population across the ibar River, is inhabited solely by albanians.
after preliminary investigations were conducted by members of the UNMiK Police, Giorgi Kakuk, UNMiK spokesman in Kosovska Mitrovica reported that the fire in the Orthodox Church in the southern area of the city was “accidental,duetoelectricalproblemsorlitcandles.”Kakuk stated that the Greek soldiers maintain an around the clock guard at the church in southern Mitrovica and that it is “nearly impossible that someone could have entered the church undetected,” according to news agencies.
March 13, 2002
MeMORiaL SeRViCe FOR THe ViCTiMS
OF THe NaTO-BOMBiNG ON 24 MaRCH
By decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian
Orthodox Church, on the 24th of March of this year, the third anniversary of the beginning of the bombing of our Fatherland by the NaTO pact, in all places of worship of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and in places where victims have fallen and in other such appropriate places, Memorial Services will be held for the defenders of our Fatherland and for victims from the civilian population, among which there were over 100 children.
Praying to God that the likes of this should never again occur nor befall anyone else, we ask Orthodox Serbs on this forthcoming, and thereafter on every 24th of March to participate in prayer for the repose of the souls of these in- nocent victims.
March 22, 2002
PaTRiaRCH PaVLe SeRVeS THe MeMORiaL SeRViCe FOR NaTO aGGReSSiON ViCTiMS iN THe SOKO MONaSTeRY
On Sunday, March 24, Sunday of Orthodoxy, His Holi- ness Pavle, Serbian Patriarch, is going to be the guest of His Grace Lavrentije, Bishop of Šabac-Valjevo. Patriarch Pavle and Bishop Lavrentije are going to serve memorial service for all the victims of NaTO aggression on our Fatherland in the Soko Monastery, and thus mark the three-year an- niversary of the bombardment.
it is expected that eminent State officials and various representatives of traditional Churches and religious com- munities are going to attend this prayerful gathering.
after this service, His Holiness is going to consecrate the monument dedicated to Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirović) of blessed memory, authored by our famous sculptor Mrs Drinka Radovanović.
according to the decision made by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the memorial service for the victims of NaTO aggression is going to be regularly served every year on March 24 in all the churches in the country and in diaspora, as well as in all the other places where people were killed and in the locations ap- propriate for such a service.
His Grace atanasije Bishop of Hvosno, auxiliary Bish- op of His Holiness, is going to serve the memorial service after the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Church of Saint Mark the apostle and evangelist.
March25,2002
MeMORiaL SeRViCe FOR THe ViCTiMS OF NaTO aGGReSSiON ON FRY HeLD iN aLL THe CHURCH- eS iN THe COUNTRY aND aBROaD ON MaRCH 24
“innocentvictimswillremainalivebeforeGod”.
Pursuant to the Decision made by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church a memorial ser- vice was held for the victims of the NaTO aggression on FRY in all the churches in the country and abroad, on March 24, the three-year anniversary of the bombardment. On Sunday of Orthodoxy, after the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy, His Holiness Pavle Serbian Patriarch served, together with His Grace Lavrentije, Bishop of Šabac-Valjevo and many priests and deacons, memorial service to the victims of the NaTO bombardment in the newly build Monastery of Saint Nicholas at Soko, near Ljubovija, where he also consecrat- ed a monument—a bust of the Bishop Nikolaj (Velimirović), authored by our famous sculptor Drinka Radovanović.
a Chronicle of the Contemporary Suffering of Kosovo-Metohian Serbs
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