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September 22, 2003 ERP KIM Newsletter 22-09-03
 Bishop Artemije at liturgy in Obilic
ERP KIM Info Service
Several hundred Orthodox believers from the town of Obilic and surrounding villages gathered in the church dedicated to the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. After the liturgy Bishop Artemije addressed the congregation with the following words: "The Holy Mother of God is also close to those of us gathered here, brothers and sisters. She knows of our suffering and our troubles. She sees this church built in Her name but still incomplete, and She prays to Her Son to bring us all together again in this church, as we once lived. The Holy Mother of God also prays to God that all the expelled may return to their hearths and that He may bestow upon those of us who stayed the strength and the patience to persist here, that our holy shrines may not lie deserted, that our cemeteries may not disappear from the face of the Earth, that the name of God may not be forgotten in the holy land of Kosovo and Metohija," said Bishop Artemije in his homily. "We must return to our faith and to ourselves on the path of our glorious predecessors and all martyrs and new martyrs in the sense that every one of us must be ready to live for his faith but also, if necessary, to die for it, too, as the Holy Prince Lazar, Deacon Avacum and many, many others of our freshest martyrs died: the Stolic family, here in Obilic, the children in Gorazdevac, the martyr in Cernica, as well as many other martyrs throughout Kosovo and Metohija. In recent times they gave their lives and their blood in testimony of the fact that this is holy land for Serbs and that it should remain so," Bishop Artemije concluded in his homily in Obilic.
Serbian
journalists threatened in Obilic While returning from liturgy in the church in Obilic, a group of Kosovo journalists for Serbian language media were intercepted by a vehicle from which they received death threats. Journalists from KIM Radio and The Southern Voice (Glas Juga) told Beta news agency that a man wearing a camouflage uniform in a black VW Golf drew his finger across his throat upon leaving the center of Obilic and repeated the sign repeatedly as he slowed them down on the road to Pristina. "We couldn't
overpass him. The man in the Golf stopped following us only when his
vehicle struck a white van on the road to Pristina," the reporters told
Beta. For security reasons they asked that their names not be
given.
ERP KIM Info Service General Mini reiterated, as on several previous occasions, the important commitment of Italian KFOR troops "to protect and preserve this holy shrine, a pearl of Christian architecture and art." General Mini also emphasized KFOR's willingness to assist in the process of returns of displaced persons and to do everything possible to stop the attacks against the civilian population, expressing the sincere hope that soon all residents of this area will live in peace and mutual tolerance. On behalf of the Decani brotherhood Abbot Teodosije thanked the Italian general for the help that members of Italian KFOR have provided thus far to Decani Monastery as well as other monasteries throughout upper Metohija (north-western part of today's Kosovo Province). ERP KIM Info-Service is
the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska
and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop
Artemije. SUBSCRIBE TO ERPKIM NEWSLETTERS: http://www.kosovo.net/erpkim_mailinglists.html Our Newsletters are
available on our ERP KIM Info-service Web-Page: Additional information on
our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at:
http://www.kosovo.net |
