St. Bishop Nicholai Velimerovic (1881-1956, canonized in 2003) bears great importance to the Orthodox Church worldwide, especially to the Serbian Church and the Antiochian Church in North America. Several of our clergy and laity have him as their patron saint. He is considered "The New St. John Chrysostom" because of his great sermons and prolific writings. Among the latter is the "Prologue of Ochrid" which is a compilation of saints' lives and sermons for each day of the year. The Diocese of Los Angeles and the West uses the "Prologue" in its Service Texts for the Synaxarion in Orthros.

In the past days, the pilgrims had visited monasteries that had felt his personal impact and where his personal effects remain. Now, they came to Lelic Monastery where his full-body relics lie in state to venerate them. St. Nicholai built the church and monastery starting in 1929. He still wears his red crown and is kept underneath a red sheet in his casket. Lelic will celebrate the tenth anniversary of his canonization on October 19-20 and will revest St. Nicholai's body before then.

The walls of the trapeza (dining hall) depict St. Nicholai's life, ranging from his childhood with an icon of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia (the family's patron saint) above him, his tonsuring as a monastic, his preaching as a young bishop, his writing at Lake Ochrid, and his imprisonment in Dachau concentration camp where Jesus Christ appears and comforts him. The trapeza doubles as an icon studio, where iconographers worked furiously to restore many of the icons that hang inside the church. They are hoping to finish before the celebration later this month. The icons are mostly gold leaf with Byzantine and Baroque elements, the style when St. Nicholai built the monastery.

The pilgrims' bus would not fit on the tiny, winding single-lane road leading to Celije Monastery, so the monks drove them in smaller vans. They came to a secluded, heavenly valley that monastics have inhabited since the 13th century. Here, St. Nicholai had been baptized and attended elementary school. Even though the Ottoman Turks had attacked and razed it several times over the centuries, the monastery still endures and, like others, is undergoing extensive renewal.

A new church with three altars (dedicated to St. Sava of Serbia, St. Mary of Egypt and St. Justin the Martyr and Philosopher) should be completed next year. A new bell tower of stone and brick consistent with a 14th-century style has already been built. Nearby is the old church where another 20th century saint had lived and served: St. Justin Popovic (1894-1979, canonized in 2010). He was able to escape from the communists and spent his days here preaching, writing and translating; he spoke six languages and read eleven. St. Justin celebrated the Divine Liturgy every day until his death. His body is buried right next to the church where people come seeking his intercessions for healing and childbirth. St. Justin's body is expected to be moved into the new church upon its completion.

The delegation then visited the complex of St. Demetrios Church in Lazarevac. The temple was built starting in 1938 and consecrated in 1964. The iconography includes new Serbian saints of the last few centuries, and even an American one: St. Herman of Alaska.

It is appropriate that the church was dedicated to a patron saint of soldiers, for in the early days of World War I, the Serbs fought the Austro-Hungarians at the nearby Battle of Kolubara (December 3-9, 1914). Serbia won a great victory here and pushed the enemy out of the country. However, 50,000 soldiers died and 212,000 others were wounded. The Church built a memorial and crypt underground to house thousands of pairs of boots of the soldiers who gave their lives here. No one could match the boots to either side, so they are all buried together.

It is also appropriate that the town's name bears the root of "Lazarus," for the church runs a drug treatment facility here. The former addicts have to been raised to life after their addictions nearly killed them. The clients have prayer rules, read from the Scriptures daily, perform chores and projects, and eat what they raise and harvest. Four of them shared their moving stories about life before and after they began treatment. Sayidna JOSEPH thanked them for their courage to speak with the delegation. "There is no difference between you and us," he said. "We are all sinners who must struggle to make the right choices." Sayidna also told them that they deserve good lives with the true meaning of freedom in Jesus Christ.

The delegation returned to the Sumarica diocesan chancery in Kragujevac for a farewell dinner with its most gracious and generous host, His Grace, Bishop JOVAN. It was a tender night and certainly difficult to say goodbye. The pilgrims sat in awe of this holy man and, just at that moment, had realized the immense and rare privilege he had given them by personally showing them the precious sites that shaped his life. Vladyka JOVAN and his entire chancery staff made sure the delegation had everything it needed, from comfort and rest at the end of each long eventful day to the large, sumptuous meals they had served. No one lost a pound of weight on this pilgrimage, and Vladyka saw to it!

Sayidna JOSEPH expressed the delegation's deep gratitude to Vladyka JOVAN and those who assist him. Sayidna was thankful to God that He had renewed their brotherhood during these last few days and urged Vladyka to return to Los Angeles for a visit at his first possible chance. Vladyka then presented Sayidna with a brand new necklace set of silver cross and engolpion. On behalf of the delegation, Sayidna would present a brand new red mantiya (pall or mantle) to Vladyka JOVAN. The two hierarchs then shared one last heartfelt hug, but knew that they would see each other again in the coming days for historic events in Belgrade and Nish.