Page 39 - AWEMAINTA

AMERICAN SRBOBRAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 13

BLAGO TRIP HELPS RESTORE ARILJE CHURCH

ARILJE, SERBIA - The church ing here we brought in all
of St. Achillius, Bishop of our previous experience and
Larissa, Greece, a staunch knowledge, but we are aware
opponent of the Arian her- that coming out of this trip
esy and a participant of the we will be enriched with new
First Council of Nicaea in 325 ones,” said one participant.
AD, located in a small city of
Arilje, western Serbia, was After the work day, the eve-
the destination of the June ning goes well as we spent
2018 BLAGO expedition. It most of the time chatting
is a foundation of the king with the clergy taking care of
Dragutin Nemanjic built in the church and the people of
the Raska style and a mas- Arilje. As a rule, every day of
terpiece of Serbian medieval our trip had a morning coffee
fresco painting. break with Father Dragan,
the main priest of the church
There are many things done in Arilje, and his colleagues.
in advance of every BLA- Participants expressed grat-
GO expedition, including itude for all the time and
obtaining appropriate per- support the clergy offered
mits, blessings from the lo- during.
cal church and the Bishop,
lodging reservations, secure Work included mounting
transportation, and more. scaffolding in the church altar
BLAGO’s Serbian coordinator area for the purpose of taking
Gordana Kelic, an art histori- high-resolution pictures of
an, started working on these the fresco paintings. One of
many months in advance to the workers said, “As many
complete all prerequisites. times before, everybody is in-
volved, and each piece of the
The trip from Belgrade starts equipment passes through
at dawn on June 7th, driving many hands before reach-
to the town of Jagodina, the es Meda, our technical lead,
main starting point of ev- for its final place in the tall,
ery BLAGO expedition. All six levels scaffolding. We are
equipment in storage includ- joined by a friend living in
ing scaffolding, tools, photo Germany, Mihajlo, who was
equipment, lights, and more staying in the same house we
is cleaned up and loaded on rented during the stay in Aril-
the trailer. je…After our work is done in
the altar area, scaffolding is
The trip itself through the brought down, and piece by
heart of Serbia is uneventful piece taken to the nave under
but, everyone is excited upon the main dome of the church.
our arrival as the town of This time, the scaffolding is
Arilje, the surrounding land- extended to the full height (45
scape, and the church are feet) as we need to reach the
beaming of tranquility and dome of the church. Photog-
peacefulness. raphy is an art, but photogra-
phy at the top of the shaking
The church, located on the and moving scaffolding is al-
hill in the center of Arilje, most acrobatic.”
dominates the view and it is
obvious that its attraction cre- Since 1998, BLAGO Fund
ated the city and surrounding has been collecting and pro-
villages, farms, and orchards. moting Serbian heritage and
The holy place is surrounded cultural/spiritual treasures.
by a deep green lawn and the To help them continue their
final resting places of many work donations may be made
well-known individuals from to BLAGO Fund, a non-prof-
Serbian history. it USA and Serbia based or-
ganization. A full version of
The surroundings, un- this newsletter on the 2018
touched for centuries, is a trip to Arlije and a video of
constant reminder and incen- the expedition are available
tive that the work of BLAGO at www.srpskoblago.org
has meaning and records and where you can also make a
promotes some of the most donation to the effort.
precious treasures of Serbian
culture and heritage. “Com-