Day Eight: Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in Diocesan Cathedral of the Dormition; Visits to Draca and Dvostin Monasteries, Sumarice Park, "Old Church" of Kragujevac; Tour of Diocesan Headquarters - 09/29/13
All the pilgrims had to do to get to the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning was come down the stairs from their rooms at the Sumadija Diocesan headquarters and walk across the way to Dormition Cathedral. There, His Eminence Archbishop JOSEPH and His Grace, Bishop JOVAN concelebrated the liturgy surrounded by their groups of clergy. The 50 voices of the cathedral clergy carried all of the bishops, priests, deacons and laity into heaven with their gorgeous singing.
Following the Liturgy, Vladkya JOVAN formally welcomed Sayidna JOSEPH and the delegation in front of the local congregation. Vladyka JOVAN expressed his joy that he and his brother hierarch could once again celebrate the Eucharist together after eleven years. Sayidna JOSEPH thanked his "brother" and then spoke directly to the people, encouraging them to continue to rebuild their churches and build their faith. He told them that he knew all too well of their struggles under communism in the twentieth century but that no worldly force would keep them from Jesus Christ.
Following lunch, Vladyka JOVAN began four days of personally escorting the delegation to the holiest sites in his diocese and other parts of the country. The delegates were most grateful for this extremely rare blessing and treat. First came Draca Monastery which was opened in 1389 by a Mount Sinai monk who sought to perfect his monasticism in the area. Churches on the site go back to the 15th century and the frescoes to the 17th century. The monastery now houses a few nuns but, since its opening, at least one person has lived here to keep it active.
Vladyka JOVAN mentioned that the iconographer lacked theological expertise but was able to depict the saints who were most dear to the inhabitants of the time. He also depicted scenes from the life of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia to whom Draca Monastery is dedicated. Vladyka JOVAN called to attention the icon of the Mystical Supper inside the sanctuary. Although Judas is left out of most of these icons, here he is depicted dropping the portion of the body of Christ which he had received as a winged demon grabs his neck from behind. Also, some of the icons have their eyes gouged out not only because of invaders, but because of the superstition of believers who though that if they would take the eyes, they would be healed.
Next came a stop Dvostin Monastery, which is older and newer than Draca. Older in the sense that it dates to the 11th century, but newer because of the churches that have been renovated and built in the 20th century. Dvostin is dedicated to the Annunication to the Virgin Mary and during the war with Bosnia in the 1990s it housed and educated orphaned girls. Vladyka JOVAN said they were between four and nine years old when they sought refuge here and the diocese covered all of their expenses. Three of the grew up and got married here while the others returned to Bosnia.
Upstairs in the main building that contains the nuns' cells is the "wintertime" chapel of Ss. Constantine and Helen where the nuns can worship when it is too cold. It featured a large icon depicting the Christ's parable of the ten virgins from the Gospel of St. Matthew. The five wise virgins appear on top with Christ the Bridegroom as they enter the wedding feast; they happily hold their candlewicks high, symbolizing their preparedness. The five unwise virgins are at bottom sadly holding their candlewicks down, symbolizing their unpreparedness as they are shut out from the Heavenly Kingdom.
The drive continued to Sumarice Park, but the delegation could not get off the bus because it was raining hard. Still, this park is of great importance to the Serbian people. Here, the Serbs led an uprising against the Nazis, killing four of them and wounding several others. In retaliation on October 21, 1941 the Nazis killed 7000 Serbs, including 800 schoolchildren. One statue shows a mother clutching herself as her child lies dead nearby. Another is a bent "V" to honor the fifth-graders killed and their broken wings. Yet another statue shows the Virgin Mary taking those children into heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ giving them martyrs' wreaths of victory.
The delegation came back into Kragujevac for a visit to the "Old Church" of the Holy Trinity. It was the only church in the area when it opened in 1825 before the "New Church" (Dormition Cathedral) opened years later. King Milosh built it and included several unusual features. First, the throne for the bishop is built slightly lower than the king's throne. The Serbian royal crest prominently rests on the higher throne's back, but it has a tiny turban on the top. That was the king's way of paying "lip service" to the local Turkish overlords. On the iconostasis, the icons of St. John the Baptist and St. Nicholas are switched; the king sat on the right side of the church, and he didn't want the "shabby" Baptist on his side.
The pilgrims returned "home" to Vladyka JOVAN's headquarters, where His Grace gave them an insiders tour of his chapel and library. In St. George Chapel, one icon depicts the Serbian martyrs of 1941 trembling before their deaths. The icon tucked away above it shows their faces contained in the hand of God. The library overlooks the chapel and contains 19,854 volumes with room to spare. Professionals came from Belgrade to digitally catalogue the books and manuscripts. Vladyka JOVAN's leather-topped desk is 380 years old and is in pristine condition. He also boasts a copy of a 12th-century gospel book made of leather pages from 16 oxen. Vladyka JOVAN also has a copy of the first typikon (liturgical rule book) of St. Archbishop Saba of Serbia which the saint derived from the ancient typikon of St. Sava the Sanctified of Jerusalem.