BLAGO Fund goes to Patriarchate of Pec

The monastery of the Patriarchate of Pec is located at the very entrance of the Rugova Gorge near Pec. The complex of Pec churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs. Archbishop Arsenije 1 built the temple of the Holy Apostles in the third decade of the 13th century. He was also responsible for the painting of the church around 1260. Archbishop Nikodim built the temple of St. Dimitrije next to the northern side of the existing church between 1321 and 1324. Around the same time on its southern side, Archbishop Danilo II built the churches dedicated to both the Virgin Odigitrija and St. Nikola.

Today the monastery is still one of the most important Serbian Orthodox centers in the region and has a sisterhood of 24 nuns. After the war from 1998 to 1999, the monastery also became a vital center for the remaining Serbs in the area. At this time, however, only the nuns remain in the town of Pec. Every day they struggle to preserve this holy site and to provide necessary humanitarian assistance to the neighboring Serb enclaves of Gorazdevac and Osojane. The monastery also owns the metochion of Budisavci near Klina. Here two nuns remain under the constant protection of KFOR.

In the summer of 2007, the Blago Fund will continue to archive the monasteries in Kosovo & Metohija and one of the largest monasteries left to do is the Monastery of Patriarchate of Pec. With the completion of this archive, the BLAGO will achieve an important milestone, after already documenting two other important monasteries in Kosovo: Decani and Gracanica. With four sizeable churches, this project will be challenging.

As usual, the logistics of the trip and the equipment transportation will require some advance planning. Our office in Belgrade needs to play a major role. Without UN or KFOR protection we are more likely to enter Kosovo early in the morning or late at night. Previously established contacts with Kosovo Serbs will allow us to move the scaffolding in and out of Kosovo.

Today the remaining active places of worship, including the Patriarchate of Pec, are isolated from any sizable Christian population and are languishing in an environment of blind hatred and hostile ignorance. They rely on the UN protection force for their basic safety.

In addition to preserving and promoting our treasures from Patriarchate of Pec, we need to help the nuns, both to sustain their presence and to complete projects that will improve security of the monastery.