Endangered Site: Visoki Decani Monastery, Kosovo

The fate of the 14th-century abbey, one of the best-preserved medieval churches in the Balkans, has been darkened by ethnic violence.

Time stands still within the Visoki Decani Monastery, nestled among chestnut groves at the foot of the Prokletije Mountains in western Kosovo. Declared a World Heritage Site in 2004, Unesco cited the 14th-century abbey as an irreplaceable treasure, a place where "traditions of Romanesque architecture meet artistic patterns of the Byzantine world."

The Serbian Orthodox monastery represents, according to art historian Bratislav Pantelic, author of a book on Decani's architecture, "the largest and best-preserved medieval church in the entire Balkans." Construction of Decani, dedicated to Christ the Pantocrator, or ruler of the universe, commenced in 1327 under King Stefan Uros III Decanski. (The monastery also functions as his mausoleum; the king's coffin rests at the head of the altar.)

The monarch's son, Stefan IV, completed his father's monument and was also responsible for the defining glory of the building's interior: its Byzantine frescoes, several thousand in all. The wall paintings incorporate thousands of individual figures illustrating such themes as the life of Christ, the veneration of the Virgin and the succession of kings in Stefan III's dynasty. Some of the tableaux—the story of Genesis, the Acts of the Apostles and the Proverbs of Solomon—are unique to Byzantine painting. Created over a span of 15 years, the frescoes exist in a state of extraordinary preservation. "When you go in," adds Pantelic, "you see exactly what you would have seen in the mid-1300s. That's what is amazing."

Across the centuries, Pantelic says, the abbey was regarded as "an ancient holy place that transcended religious divisions." In recent years, however, Decani's fate has been darkened by the cycle of ethnic violence that has engulfed the region since the early 1990s. Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians have long pressed for independence from Serbia. In 1998, then-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic sent armed forces to crush the separatist movement. A campaign of NATO bombing, followed by the introduction of United Nations peacekeepers (a presence continued today), was required to end the bloodshed.

During the fighting, the monks of Decani, following centuries-old tradition, sheltered refugees of all ethnicities. Yet, Decani's symbolic significance as a Serbian Orthodox cultural monument has rendered the abbey vulnerable.

On March 30, 2007, the monastery was attacked with grenades, presumably thrown by ethnic Albanian insurgents. Fortunately, the damage was "negligible," according to Sali Shoshaj, director of the Kosovo office of Cultural Heritage Without Borders, a Swedish organization founded in 1995 to preserve and restore Balkan sites. At least one person, reports Shoshaj, has been arrested. The situation has stabilized to the point that Decani has reopened to visitors, he says. Local guides, fluent in many languages, lead tours into the church.

Today, the abbey is protected by a force of Italian U.N. peacekeepers, who respectfully stand guard outside its cobblestone courtyard. Decani must "remain intact as part of the Balkan heritage," says Pantelic. "It belongs to all of us."

The Architecture of Decani and the Role of Archbishop Danilo II by Bratislav Pantelic, Reichert Verlag (Wiesbaden) 2002

What this article does not mention is that Decani Monastery is a center of humanitarian aid for the people of Kosovo. You may contribute funds for their efforts either through IOCC (designate checks for “Kosovo” in the memo line), or the Decani Monastery Relief Fund:

http://fr-d-serfes.org/missionary/crossstillaburden.htm

Most importantly, Decani Monastery is a center of prayer and the sacramental presence of God:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSTnrYZgjfw&playnext_from=PL&feature=PlayList&p=CB5937D5FCC0346A&playnext=1&index=27

Decani is by NO MEANS merely a UNESCO-designated site for its artistic and historic value. It is a center of Christian worship, life, and love.

Save Decani, save Kosovo!!!!

The most corrupt, Albanian Muslim narco-terrorist, sex-slavers are here to tell us what Serbs have done "wrong" to their women

Defending rapists again? Some nations would find it shameful, but Serbia is in running with Sudan, Somalia and Congo when it comes to morals. Will Bashir share the same jail cell as your hero, Karadzic?

Regarding Iran: Serbia, Iran to promote parliamentary ties

and like your motherland: Iran, Serbia sign security agreement

Tell us how Serbia resisted the Nazis again, go ahead. How do you guys like that Croatia and Albania are both joining NATO? Try something, go get your 'Jerusalem', or Krajina! Even Dodik shut his mouth now:

"Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of the Serb-dominated Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska, has seemingly softened his radical rhetoric and temporarily abandoned plans for his entity’s independence, local media reported on Wednesday. The apparent shift in Dodik’s attitude came after his meeting on Tuesday with Stuart Jones, the deputy US Assistant Secretary in charge of the Balkans."

http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/17122/

Oh, that is not reliable?

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24116743-661,00.html
Reality TV uncovers domestic violence in Serbia

21 August 2008 in Domestic Violence, Europe, Family Marriage Partnership, Media

A bridegroom on a popular Serbian television show brags how he slaps his bride now and then - with her mother’s approval.

The bashful bride acknowledges, while looking adoringly at her husband-to-be, that she can be lazy and disobedient and should be hit in the face from time to time.

The scene from 48-Hour Wedding, a reality TV show that sets up Serb couples for real nuptials, points to a less romantic issue in the macho Balkan society: spousal abuse.

Domestic violence is the most common kind of abuse in Serbia and every third women has been a victim, surveys of non-governmental groups say. Laws have been tightened, but lenient punishment and a patriarchal society remain hurdles.

“A slap in Serbia still isn’t regarded as beating. To slap a woman in the face if her husband is annoyed is considered OK,” Vesna Stanojevic of the Consultancy Against Domestic Violence told local media.

Many men in Serbia, unsettled by the nation’s defeats in the 1990s Balkan wars and crumbling moral values, believe women should stay at home and take care of their men and children.

“Of course, beating is out of the question, but a slap now and then - why not? She needs to know her place,” said taxi driver Pera, who declined to give his last name.

Most victims are believed to be among Serbia’s Roma population and Serb refugees who fled to the homeland during the recent wars. But the abusers can be found in all walks of life.

One woman spoke out to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) about her dentist husband, refusing to give her name out of fear of another beating.

“Where can I go? Whom can I turn to? Nobody will believe me. He’s a well-respected dentist and I’m his sweet, good-looking wife,” she said.

“So I stay with him. Thank God I can’t have children, so he can’t hurt them,” she said. “But he hits me because I can’t give him sons.”

Advocacy groups believe women report attacks by the men in their lives in only one of 20 cases. There are no official data.

Vanja Macanovic of Belgrade’s Autonomous Women’s Centre blames lack of cooperation among state institutions, slow courts and women’s fear of their attackers.

In 78 per cent of domestic violence cases, a husband, ex-husband or partner is the source, the consultancy says.

And domestic violence was behind about 30 per cent of murders committed in Serbia in 2007, data shows.

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights says Serb judges are often judgmental toward the victims and unlikely to remove culprits from the home or issue restraining orders. Usually, offenders get one year’s probation or a fine.

Women who go to court are liable to be faced with months of proceedings, with humiliating testimony to police and in front of a court and perpetrators who accuse them of “asking for it.” e Getting away from violent male spouses is also difficult. Serbia has only three safe houses for abused women, though more are due to be built.

In a country where democracy, rule of law and membership in the European Union are goals for more than 70 per cent of population, wife beaters are still considered macho men.

“I tried leaving home and finding a job, but he’d always find me,” the dentist’s wife said. “I tried fighting back but the last time I did that, he broke my jaw and left hand.”

“Now I try to stay away and hope that he’ll kill me the next time he hits me,” she said.

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