Seven Serbian kings throughout the second millennium received their coronation at Zhicha Monastery, founded by the Nemanjic Dynasty in 1208. Here, St. Sava the First Archbishop of Serbia instituted his brother Stephen as the First-Crowned King of the country in 1219. The annals reflect the splendor of these days: dignitaries from Serbia and around the world joined in the celebrations, as well as the common people, to reflect that the king serves them all. The kings would receive communion at the holy altar, and then the crown, staff (symbol of power) and scepter (independence of state). And some had expressed that they were overjoyed not because they received this power, but because the church was adorned by the beauty of its people.

The main church is dedicated to the Ascension of Christ and is made up of red brick; the color symbolizes the royalty of the monastery. However, foreign invaders and conquers have not treated it royally. The Turks pounded it during their 500 years of occupation, the Nazis bombed and looted it in World War II, and even NATO bombs that fell nearby in 1999 left significant damage. Miraculously, one-fifth of the frescoes remain, and they are considered among the greatest in all of Serbia.

But as the pilgrims learned, they can measure the state of the Serbian by the endurance of its Church. An icon of that perseverance is the 20th century's St. Bishop Nicholai Velimerovich. He served at the Zhicha and Ljuobostinja monasteries until the Nazis took him and shoved him the Dachau concentration camp, where 700,000 people died. Metropolitan PAUL (Yazigi) of Alepp, Syria visited this monastery two years ago before he disappeared in captivity. The nuns recalled that left the greatest impact of any lecturer. But Sayidna JOSEPH encouraged the pilgrims, the nuns and the clergy who live here not to give up when occupiers invade and devastate, but Christ and His true Church will endure forever.

The pilgrims then followed in the steps of St. Nicholai when they arrived at Ljubostinja. Here, the Nazis picked up for the torture he would endure. Once he got into their car, it wouldn't start, embarrassing his captors. Even though he could have spared his life, St. Nicholai knew that he must endure his cross like his people; he prayed for the car to start, and it did. St. Nicholai later moved to the U.S. and died there in 1956. The 15 sisters at Ljubostinja keep his walking stick, cross, cassock, mantiya (pall) and slippers, which all look brand new. The Abbess Christina, who has lived here since age 13, read a letter from St. Nicholai when he was captured. In it, he told his "little bees" to keep the faith and preserve the cemetery (he had wanted to be buried there, but was not) as a place of repose. He signed the letter as "Grandpa Bishop" which is what the faithful called him.

The monastery opened in 1839, following the Serbian defeat by the Turks at the battle of Kosovo. Nearly 300 Serbian widows, including Princess Milica (wife of Prince Lazar) took up residence here following that tragedy. Milica still ruled the kingdom for 35 years until handing it to her son, Despot Stephen I. In addition to Dormition Church, Ljuobostinja Monastery also has St. George Church which features a wicker iconostasis.

Next came Kalenich Monastery, built in 1420 by General Bogdan who served under Prince Lazar. Serbian Kings, starting with Peter I, retreated her for up to two weeks during Great Lent to repent, pray, commune and briefly escape the burdens of their thrones. Nowadays, it hosts summer camps and symposia. Devoted to the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, the church features a massive icon of the Virgin holding the Christ Child richly adorned with gold, silver and precious metals. It also has a 15th-century fresco of the Wedding in Cana which depicts silverware, reflecting the sophistication of Serbia at that time. The outside of the church has 14 stone rosettes that have been carved with different ornate designs.

That night, the delegation returned to Kragujevac to visit St. John Chrysostom Seminary, where His Grace, Bishop JOVAN had invited His Eminence, Archbishop JOSEPH to address the students on their first day of school. The 106 seminarians range from ages 16-25 and are completing various bachelor's and master's degrees. With rich, deep voices, they all sang as Sayidna JOSEPH entered the church to give the invocation, as well as when he entered the lecture hall for his address and question-answer session.

Sayidna began by expressing his gratitude to Vladyka JOVAN for the opportunity to speak and to visit the holiest places in his diocese. He told the students and faculty that this is his second visit to Serbia (the first was in 1979) but, as he told a television reporter on Sunday, this visit has much more flavor. "In the past, the people were not free to express their faith--that has changed now," he said. "When we can do this, we feel closer to God without obstacles, fear or force."

The faculty had asked Sayidna JOSEPH to specifically address two topics, and he obliged. First was the civil war in Syria and the suffering of Christians there, especially the Orthodox who form the largest part. His Eminence said the war had nothing to do with peace and freedom, but other countries' fight over territory, natural gas and oil disguised as a battle between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Other outside fighters have invaded the country, paid to kill as many people as possible. "Damascus is the city of the Apostle Paul after his conversion, the Apostle Ananias and St. John of Damascus," Sayidna said. "Everyone admits that the main mosque in Damascus used to the the Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. But, we believe in the Resurrection and salvation for all suffering nations."

The second topic concerned an overview of the Antiochian Church in North America. Sayidna started with the life of St. Raphael Hawaweeny, first bishop of Brooklyn, who ministered to the "lost sheep of America." Although the Church began as refuges for immigrants seeking a better life in a strange, new world, it became a refuge for former Protestants and Catholics seeking the true faith to know Jesus Christ. He recalled how the first large wave of converts in 1987 had to give up titles (even that of "bishop") and position to embrace Orthodoxy. Now, the Antiochian Archdiocese has a Department of Missions and Evangelism that reaches out to others seeking the true faith and to those already a part of it.

Sayidna concluded with questions from the audience on these two topics, and had one final message to the seminarians: "Be proud of your Orthodoxy and be honest about it, because this is the way for salvation and to the Kingdom." He also told them that they are the apples of Bishop JOVAN's eye, who stopped his lunch earlier in the day to sing their praises.