Decani Monastery

Visoki Decani Monastery is situated in the western part of the UN administered Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohia. It was built between 1327 and 1335 by the Serbian medieval king St. Stephen of Decani and was dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord. The monastery is settled in the picturesque valley of the Bistrica river surrounded by the mountains and forests of the Prokletije mountain range It is the largest and best preserved medieval monastery in Serbia. During its turbulent history the Monastery was an important spiritual centre with developed artistic and intellectual activities. Although the monastery buildings suffered damage from the Turkish occupation, the church has been completely preserved with beautiful 14th century fresco paintings. Today a young brotherhood of 30 brethren lives in the monastery continuing the centuries old tradition of the past. The brotherhood has developed various activities: wood carving, icon painting, book publishing and is also active in the missionary work. The beautiful monastic services are served according to the typicon of Mount Athos.

The Brotherhood of the Visoki Decani Monastery, November 2002
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The Monastery has survived after the Kosovo war (1998-2000) and the Brotherhood today lives as an isolated Serbian Orthodox island among hostile Kosovo Albanian Moslem population. This holy site survives only thanks to the protection of Italian forces which have blocked every access to the monastery. Beside all this the Monastery still attracts many international visitors from the UN Mission and KFOR. Thanks to KFOR military convoys occasionally the monastery is visited also by Serb pilgrims from Kosovo and Central Serbia.

Visoki Dečani Monastery is a major Serbian Orthodox monastery, situated in Metohija, 12 km south from the town of Pec. Its cathedral is the biggest medieval church in the Balkans which contains the largest preserved monument of Byzantine fresco-painting.

The monastery was established in a chestnut grove by king Stefan Dečanski in 1327. Its original founding charter is dated to 1330, however. Next year the king died and was buried at the monastery, which henceforth became his popular shrine. The construction activities were continued by his son Stefan Dusan until 1335, but the wall-painting was not completed until 1350.

The cathedral, dedicated to Christ Pantocrator and built from blocks of red-purple, light-yellow and onyx marble, was constructed by master-builders under the Franciscan monk Vitus of Kotor. It is distinguished from other contemporary Serbian churches by its imposing dimensions and obvious Romanesque features. Its celebrated frescoes comprise some 1000 portraits and cover all major themes of the New Testament. The cathedral contains original 14th-century wooden iconostasis, hegumen's throne and carved sarcophagus of king Stefan.

In 2004, UNESCO listed the monastery on the World Heritage List, citing its frescoes as "one of the most valued examples of the so-called Palaeologan renaissance in Byzantine painting" and "a valuable record of the life in the 14th century".

DECANI MONASTERY ON THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST - STATEMENT BY BISHOP TEODOSIJE - DECANI ABBOT

UNESCO's decision to include Visoki Decani Monastery on the World Heritage List is happy and encouraging news for our entire people, as well as a great recognition for our monastery, which is a pearl of medieval Serbian Christian art.

For centuries Decani with its medieval Romanic architecture and Byzantine Serbian frescoes has been the bridge that connected peoples and cultures, attesting that the sublimity, spirituality and beauty of artistic creations supercedes transient values and political conflicts.

Decani continues in this role today. Although a Serbian Orthodox monastery built by the Holy King Stefan of Decani at the beginning of the 14th century and a part of the Serbian cultural heritage, Visoki Decani is also a part of the local cultural heritage of Kosovo and Metohija and should be the pride and responsibility of all residents of this region regardless of their ethnicity or religious affiliation.

For this reason we believe that the addition of the monastery of Visoki Decani to the UNESCO World Heritage List will make it possible to better protect our holy shrine during these difficult times for future generations and to serve as a bridge to more easily connect and reconcile the people living in Kosovo and Metohija. We must all be aware that spiritual and cultural values supercede political conflicts and that they transcend narrow national and territorial boundaries. My brethren and I therefore feel it is a great honor that we have the privilege of serving God in this holy place despite the fact that we are living through what may be the most difficult times in the history of this monastery.

The attitude toward Decani as part of the world cultural heritage, as well as the attitude toward other Christian monuments, will be the indicator to what extent local society is ready to accept European and world cultural and civilizational values; hence, we expect greater understanding and support of all people of good will, especially the Kosovo Albanians. I sincerely hope that the sense of responsibility and awareness will prevail among them that a future in Europe and the civilized world cannot be built on the ashes of churches and destruction of Christian culture which through the centuries survived numerous occupations and campaigns of destruction

An Interview with Abbot Theodosije Fr. Teodosije speaks about the post-war life at Decani Monastery and the future of the Serb Orthodox people in Kosovo and Metohija

An interview with Fr. Sava from Decani Monastery on post-war life of Kosovo Serbs, Herald of Kosovo and Metohija, March 15, 2002

Decani Monastery photo from the air for your desktop background
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Post-War Life of Decani Monastery - Despite its humanitarian role during the war in which the brotherhood saved lives of many Kosovo Albanians, today's Albanian community in general still remains hostile to the monastery as well as to the Orthodox Christian Church in general. Decani monastery is exposed to various kinds of pressures, threats, hate speech and most preposterous infamation.

KFOR Commander gen. Skiaker visited Decani Monastery, Aug 30 2001 "I see the Monastery as a symbol of humanity and of resistance against violence." gen. Skiaker

Photo - Two Decani monks in a stroll past the NATO tanks in front of the
monastery, 2001

Traveling only under KFOR escort in Italian military vehicles - After the Kosovo war 1998-1999 it is impossible for the monks and Serb visitors to the monastery to travel freely out of the monastery except under a KFOR military escort (click on the photo for a larger size image)

History is repeating - a Turkish escort ready to give protection to the
visitors of the Monastery beg. XX c. During the XIXc and in the beginning of XX c. the terror of the local Albanian clans was such that it was impossible to travell without armed escort
(Read the testimony of Edith Mary Durham 1904)

The monastery, which lies about 1500 feet above sea-level, appeared as a white church surrounded by outbuildings at the entrance of a magnificently wooded valley, through which flows a small river, the Dechanski Bistritza, the one slope rich with stately chestnuts and the other fir-clad. Robbed of its broad lands, which have been swooped on by the Albanians, who at the time of my visit made further progress up the valley impossible, it lies precariously on the bloody edge of things, and only the wonderful white marble church tells of its former glory. It was being used as a military outpost, and twenty-five Nizams and an officer were quartered on the monastery, which had also a guard of its own, a set of Mohammedan Albanians, who were said to be very loyal. They looked like a wild-beast show, spoke nothing but Albanian, had the most elegant manners, and I was never allowed outside the monastery gate without a couple of them. (Through the Land of the Serb, M.E. Durham 1904, London)