Heavy rain may have stopped the pilgrims from getting off the bus at Sumarice Park the day before, but Sayidna JOSEPH pledged to Vladyka JOVAN that they would hike to the upper cell of St. Sava high above Studenica Monastery, rain or shine. Well, it poured, creating a muddy trek that required umbrellas and hiking sticks found along the trail. But the journey through the lush green forest was worth it, not only for the scenery but for the destination.

The bus came upon "Johnny's Road" which is named in honor of Vladyka JOVAN (Jovan is Serbian for John). He is intricately tied to this holy place as will be explained later. The trail took the pilgrims 3000 meters upward. They took a small break at the lower cell of St. Sava where a spring offered blessed water for drinking. Then, the steeper part of the hike began. The pilgrims could see "Johnny's Road" and their bus far below the cliff. Just when they thought their hike was rough, they remembered the monastics who climbed here over the centuries, some with dozens of pounds of materials and food on their back to build bridges and refurbish the cell high above.

Finally, after two hours, the group--led by both hierarchs--reached the heights. St. Sava had lived here, as did Vladyka JOVAN. The upper cell has room for one monk at a time to live, and the pilgrims brought him some coffee. He offered some other refreshments that he had saved for them.

Here, Vladyka JOVAN told Sayidna JOSEPH and the pilgrims about his connection to this holy cell. When he was a young abbot, he had sought refuge here and learned how the devil and his temptations can attack everyone at any time. Vladyka recounted how the communists had killed his father on his patronal feast day ("slava") and even tried to kill him with a car bomb in the 1980s. Later on, Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic declared Vladyka "persona non grata" and promised no consequences to anyone who would try to kill him. He had endured so much, and this hike seemed to celebrate his endurance; he had not climbed to the upper cell for 16 years.

Obviously, the hike downhill went much faster, and the delegates boarded the bus for Studenica Monastery. Here, Vladyka JOVAN received all of his monastic tonsures and served as abbot, and received all of his ordinations including his consecration to the episcopacy. He showed even greater enthusiasm when describing his "home church." The marble that makes up the walls comes from the mountain above where the upper and lower cells lie. The bodies of the first royal family of Serbia, the Nemanjics, also rest here: St. Stephen the First-Crowned King (monk Simon); St. Anastasia, the mother of St. Sava, whose body Vladyka JOVAN discovered in 1985; her husband St. Stephen the Crown Prince (monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming); and Prince Vukan (not canonized but still revered), brother of St. Sava. Had he not died in Belgrade where the Turks burned his relics, St. Sava would have been buried here, too.

Vladyka remarked that these are whole-body relics, with the exception of St. Stephen the First-Crowned King. Someone had stolen the saint's right middle finger to test its holiness. As punishment, his back became hunched over so much that his head was practically upside down. The finger eventually made it St. Stephen Cathedral in Alhambra, Calif. and has since been properly enshrined.

St. Stephen the Crown Prince built Studenica Monastery in the 12th century, but never saw it completed, and he had no desire to live anywhere else once he renounced his throne. Vladyka JOVAN said that those who wish to study architectural mastery need not go any further than here.

St. Sava himself commissioned the iconography and one fresco has always stood out to Vladyka: the Crucifixion on the west exit, which St. Sava used to prepare believers for the attacks they would endure when they reentered the world. Vladyka praised the iconographer for his theological knowledge based on everything he put into the icon. The sun becomes brighter and the dead are rising to portray the salvation of the world; the moon becomes darker and the stars are falling because sin and death have been destroyed. Above the Crucifixion we see an angel pushing a woman away, and another angel pushing a woman to receive the body and blood of Christ; this symbolizes the end of the Old Testament and beginning of the New Testament.

The facial expression of Jesus Christ on the Cross shows suffering, but also peace. Likewise, the Virgin's expression shows sadness for watching her Son endure death, but also peace for knowing that he was going to Hades to destroy it and rescue the captive souls there. Vladyka remarked that an anatomist had studied this icon and described the faces as the best had had ever seen.