October 16, 2006

KIM Info Newsletter 16-10-06

Restoration of Serbian Orthodox holy shrines in Kosovo successfully continuing

As part of the activities of the Commission for the Restoration of Serbian Cultural Heritage in Kosovo destroyed in the March 2006 riots*, intensive work is underway on the churches of the Most Holy Theotokos of Ljevis (Holy Virgin of Ljevis) and St. George in Prizren, the church of St. Nicholas in Pristina, Devic Monastery and the churches in Vucitrn and Belo Polje near Pec. Work planned for this year is successfully coming to a close. According to the plan of the Commission for Restoration work will continue in the year 2007. Bishop Teodosije visited construction sites in Prizren yesterday as the representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Commission for Reconstruction.

*Official name: Implementation and Reconstruction Committee (RIC) www.rickosovo.org

PHOTO GALLERY (only selected photos are provided in the newsletter) available at 


Prepared metal construction in church of St. George in Prizren
Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: KIM Info (click on photo to enlarge - 600 KB)

KIM Info Service
Decani, October 12, 2006 

Vicar Bishop Teodosije visited Prizren yesterday to see the progress in works on the restoration of Serbian Orthodox holy shrines destroyed or damaged in the March 2004 riots. Work is being organized by the memorandum-formed Commission for Restoration of the Council of Europe chaired by Emma Carmichael in which Bishop Teodosije is participating as the representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Work on church of the Most Holy Theotokos of Ljevis, Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: KIM Info
(click on photo to enlarge - 500 KB)

After the successful covering of the church of the Most Holy Theotokos of Ljevis with a new lead roof (see photos in photo gallery), work is currently under way to repair the bell tower and parvises of the church. Work on the church of the Most Holy Theotokos of Ljevis is being done under the supervision of architect Jovica Lukic of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments from Leposavic. Next year it is expected that work will begin on the restoration of damaged frescoes. Experts from the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in conjunction with Italian experts have already done tests on repairing the frescoes damaged by fire in March 2004, thus establishing that the pigmentation has not been permanently damaged and that it will possible to restore and conserve the majority of the frescoes in the church. In addition to repairing the damage to this church, it is also expected that next year the parish home next to the church will be rebuilt and the churchyard arranged.
 
This year the church of the Most Holy Theotokos of Ljeviska, Gracanica Monastery and the Pec Patriarchate joined Visoki Decani Monastery on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
 

Test work on restoring frescoes in Ljeviska
Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: KIM Info
(click on photo to enlarge - 500 KB)

 
Work on St. George Cathedral in Prizren is currently intensively under way. Restoration of the church is being done by the K/Albanian run "American Invest Company" under the daily supervision of architect Milan Catic. It is expected that by the end of this year's building season the entire church will be under a roof and that the central dome and belfry will be completed. The new roof covering will be put on a metal frame supported by eight iron pillars. The design for the restoration of this church was prepared by experts of the Novi Sad Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments. There are plans for next year to complete work on the interior appointment of the church, the placement of installations and a new iconostasis which would make it possible to resume using the church for its liturgical function, the ultimate goal of the restoration of Serbian spiritual heritage.
 
In addition to work on these two churches, it is also necessary to mention that the Commission for Restoration has already organized repair of damages on the small church of St. Nicholas (Tutic's church - 14th century), including fixing damages to the facade, putting up a new lead roof, windows and doors. A new lead roof is supposed to be put on the church of St. George Runovic during the course of this month after the theft of a part of the existing roof three months ago. The frescoes in this church were seriously damaged in the fire set in the church in March 2004 and work on repairing them is also planned during the course of next year. Repair of damaged frescoes is also foreseen in the church of Christ the Savior.
 
According to information received from UNESCO there is increasing interests among donors for support in restoring the damaged heritage in Kosovo and Metohija. For example, the Greek Government has expressed special interest in financing the restoration of frescoes in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos of Ljevis.
 

Bishop Teodosije and architect Milan Catic inspect interior where scaffolding has been
put in place in preparation for construction of the metal frame for the roof cover
Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: KIM Info (click on photo to enlarge - 600 KB)
 
The nearby Bishop's Residence building as well as the old building of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Serbian Orthodox Seminary will be restored under the direction of the European Agency for Reconstruction and Development (EAR) which has already secured the necessary funds for the task. After successful implementation of designs prepared by two Belgrade architects and issuance of tenders, detailed restoration is expected to begin and be completed next year. Both buildings are expected to be completely equipped and furnished including a state-of-the-art air conditioning system for the whole building. The restoration of liturgical life and the return of priests to Prizren will give added impetus to the return of the displaced Serb population and the remaining Serbs in the town who are eagerly awaiting the day when Divine Liturgy will be served again in this medieval Serbian capital.
 

St. George Cathedral is currently the biggest construction site in Prizren
Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: KIM Info (click on photo to enlarge - 600 KB)
 
In a series of meetings with high representatives of UNMIK and KFOR during the summer Bishop Teodosije insisted that the holy shrines in Prizren, as well as other Serbian Orthodox Church buildings in environments with an ethnic Albanian majority population, be provided with appropriate protection in order to prevent new attacks and lootings of church property. There is also an insistence on the practice of municipal authorities assuming responsibility for financial coverage of damages inflicted in the meanwhile on some buildings (in Podujevo, Prizren and Obilic).
 
In addition to the restoration of Prizren holy shrines, restoration of several other buildings of the Serbian Orthodox Church damaged in the March 2004 violence is successfully continuing. The reconstruction of the church of St. Nicholas is under way in Pristina. Work on the restoration of this holy shrine by the K/Albanian run "PAB Company" is also being done under the supervision of architect Jovica Lukic from the Leposavic Institute. Preparatory work is underway for the installation of the roof frame, to be followed by the beginning of repairs of the dome. The facade and internal walls that were not covered with frescoes have been thoroughly cleaned. By the end of the current building season the church should be covered once more and work on the internal appointment and placement of the iconostasis is foreseen for next year. Parallel with the reconstruction of the church, work is under way on restoring the bell tower, the baptistery and the parish home, thus creating conditions for the return of priests and the resumption of liturgical life to meet the needs of the remaining Serbs in Pristina.
 

Scaffolding in the church of St. Nicholas in Pristina
Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: Institute from Leposavic
(click on photo to enlarge - 600 KB)
 
In Devic Monastery, where the Diocese of Raska and Prizren built new konak (living quarters for the use of nuns) at the end of 2004, work is currently in progress on the restoration of the so-called Old Konak once comprised of the monastery kitchen and refectory, as well as the reception area for guests. Work under the auspices of the Commission for Restoration is being done by the K/Serb run "UKRAS Company" from Zvecan under the daily supervision of architect Zoran Garic, director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from Leposavic. Parallel with the restoration of the living quarters and the winter chapel work is being done on cleaning and plastering the external walls of the church and installment of a new marble floor, while the creation of a new iconostasis has been left for next year. By the end of the year work will also begin on the restoration of the third Devic Konak, the so-called Nuns' Konak, with the foundation to be poured by the end of the year. Full reconstruction of this 15th century monastery, which was completely destroyed during the March 2004 pogrom, is expected to be completed during the course of 2008 with the repair of the domestic buildings. At the same time as the work on the residence quarters and church, repair is being done on the support wall above the new residence quarters, which is also being supervised by the Commission for Restoration. In addition to funding implemented through the Commission, the Serbian Government has also invested the sum of four million dinars for additional work on the restoration of this holy shrine.
 

Final works on the facade of the new residence quarters in Devic
Oct. 8, 2006 Photo: KIM Info (click on photo to enlarge - 500 KB)
 
After the successful issuance of tenders work began on the church of St. Elijah in Vucitrn and the church of the Most Holy Theotokos (Mother of God) in Belo Polje near Pec (see photo gallery). In Vucitrn it is expected that by the winter the new roof frame will be completed and the rough construction work, while in Belo Polje after last year's installation of a new roof covering work on the repair of the facade and interior of the church is currently under way. Currently tenders are being evaluated for the construction of a wall around the former location of the church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Djakovica. Construction of the wall is expected this year so that next building season the complete rebuilding of the church and the parish home can begin.
 
We are enclosing with this report excerpts from the gallery of photographs showing the course of the work on restoration and links to the entire photo gallery. In the opinion of experts from the Serb protection service from Leposavic, which is working in full coordination with the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, which prepared the design documentation, the general impression is that work is unfolding successfully and that it is of good quality. The permanent presence of experienced Serb experts who are regularly inspecting work together with their colleagues from the Commission for restoration guarantees that all planned tasks will be successfully realized.
 
During meetings with experts working on technical supervision of the restoration process, Bishop Teodosije expressed his great satisfaction that our experts have demonstrated with their work, knowledge and persistence that work on the restoration and preservation of this type of heritage is senseless without the leading role of Serb experts and full coordination with the Serbian Orthodox Church, the owner of these properties. Especially important is that the Council of Europe Commission has adopted all restoration projects for our holy shrines prepared by experts of the Serbian Institute from Belgrade and its regional affiliate institutes. Bishop Teodosije regularly informs the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has thus far approved all proposals by builders for work on restoration, on the course of works on the restoration of the Serbian Orthodox heritage in Kosovo and Metohija through his Dioesan Bishop.
 

Bishop Teodosije inspects work in Devic, beginning of Sept. 2006
Photo: KIM Info (click on photo to enlarge - 500 KB)
 
Independently of the process of restoration of destroyed Serbian heritage, works by experts of the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments is successfully concluding on the protection of the complex of churches within the monastery of the Pec Patriarchate. After regulating the system of drainage and protection of the foundation, during the course of the summer the facade of the church was plastered and will be painted with the traditional ochre color that once decorated the churches of Pec. These works will ensure a high degree of protection from humidity for the frescoes. At the same time, in coordination with the Italian NGO Intersos, work is nearing completion on a detailed catalog of the frescoes. This work is being done by a special youth team from Gorazdevac which was specially trained for this type of work by Italian experts.
 
PHOTO GALLERY (only selected photos are provided in the newsletter) available at 
http://www.kosovo.net/images/obnova_11-10-06/index.htm
 
 
Restoration of church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian in Zociste Monastery
 
KIM Info Service
Decani, October 12, 2006
 
Parallel with the activities on the restoration of Serbian holy shrines under the auspices of the Council of Europe's Commission for Restoration work is currently under way on the reconstruction of the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian in Zociste Monastery. Work on the rebuilding of this completely destroyed church is being done by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from Leposavic under the supervision of architect Milisav Lukic. Financing is provided by the Republic of Serbia's Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija. In addition to rebuilding the church, there are plans to continue work on the restoration of the monastery living quarters.
 

Resurrection of Zociste Monastery church with funding from Republic of Serbia's
Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija, Oct. 11, 2006, Photo: KIM Info
(click on photo to enlarge - 600 KB)
 
 
 
Pec Patriarchate: Holy relics of Patriarch Maksim laid to rest in church of St. Nicholas
 
KIM Info Service
Pec Patriarchate
 
During the process of works on the protection of the churches of the monastery of the Pec Patriarchate being done in recent months under the auspices of the Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle, the tomb of Serbian Patriarch Maksim, located next to the entrance into the parvis in front of the chapel of St. Nicholas, was opened. The prayerful disinterment of the holy relics, their bathing in consecrated water and wine, and their placement in a special small reliquary was performed in the month of August by His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, Archbishop of Cetinje, and His Grace Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan, was accompanied by the prayers of the sisters of monastery of the Pec Patriarchate and the faithful in attendance.
 
Selection of photos available at
 

Metropolitan Amfilohije and Bishop Teodosije - Holy relics of Serbian Patriarch Maksim
(1655 - 1681) laid to rest, Aug. 2006, Photo: KIM Info
(click on photo to enlarge - 450KB)
 
 
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