I n the biography of Rajko Karišić – a mechanical engineer by profession and, for four and a half decades al- ready, a photographer by vocation – it is written, among other things, that he has stayed on Holy Mount Athos 42 times. It also states that he has the bless- ing of the head of Hilandar Monastery to photograph every corner of this Ser- bian sanctuary. Today, twice a year, to- gether with artists Momčilo Antonović, Dragan Bartula and Dušan Milovanović, he has a calling to create works of art during an eight-day stay which, follow- ing their departure, remain at the dis- posal of the monastery. And it all be- gan in May 2003. - I had an enduring desire to go to the Holy Mountain and to our spiritual beacon, the Holy Serbian Imperial Lavra Monastery of Hilandar. And the forces of luck conspired on that 2 nd May - re- calls Karišić. - Those moments, recorded over two days, remained deeply ingrained in my memories. At that time I was in some state I’d previously never experi- enced, both physically and psycholog- ically. And for the first time in my life, I had the chance to hear silence! The thought that you are in the place where our saints walked, Saint Sava and his fa- ther, Saint Simeon the Merciful, as well as many others who devoted their lives to praying to the Most High, and those monks who left this holy place to go out into the world to preach of faith in Christ, cannot leave one feeling indiffer- ent. There, in the church, surrounded by centuries’ old frescoes of our saints who watch you with a fixed gaze, absorb- ing all the senses during those moments and the intoxicating scent of frankin- cense that spreads along the nave and narthex of the church of King Milutin, you cannot help but considering that you are located in an epicentre of en- ergy that enriches you in every aspect. When you are there, consider that you are in a space beyond time, where the benefits of civilisation from beyond the boundaries there are still not available, when you are facing yourself and have ample time to re-examine many things. With the blessings of the monas- tery brotherhood and prior, he has visit- ed this monastery 42 times and had the opportunity to meet many people, re- cording the birth of the new-old mon- astery following the devastating fire of 2004, as well as the installation of a new prior, the monk Metodija. But there was one meeting that he’ll always remember. - When I first stepped into the mon-
STATE OF ORTHODOX MONKS Hilandar is a Serbian Orthodox male monastery on the peninsula and moun- tain range of Athos, located on the third finger of the Halkidiki Peninsula in north- ern Greece. Athos is also known as the holy Mountain. It is the only state of Ortho- dox monks and has existed since 963 AD, when the first monastery, Great Lavra, was founded. Hilandar was established by Rastko Nemanjić, son of Stefan Nemanja, the founder of Serbia’s Nemanjić dynasty. Rastko took his monastic vows on Athos in 1191 and founded Hilandar in 1198. The monastery is ranked fourth in the hierarchy of the monasteries of Holy Mount Athos. In spiritual terms, Athos is under the juris- diction of the Ecumenical Council headquartered in Istanbul, while in worldly terms it is under the jurisdiction of Greece. DRŽAVA PRAVOSLAVNIH MONAHA Hilandar je srpski muški pravoslavni manastir na poluostrvu i planinskom vencu Ato- su, na trećem kraku poluostrva Halkidiki, u severnoj Grčkoj. Atos se zove i Sveta Go- ra. To je jedina država pravoslavnih monaha i postoji od 963. godine, kad je osnovan prvi manastir – Velika lavra. Hilandar je osnovao Rastko Nemanjić, sin Stefana Nema- nje, začetnika srpske dinastije Nemanjić. Rastko se zamonašio na Atosu 1191. godi- ne, a osnovao je Hilandar 1198. Manastir ima četvrto mesto u hijerarhiji manastira na Svetoj Gori. U duhovnom smislu, Atos je pod jurisdikcijom Vaseljenskog sabora sa se- dištem u Istanbulu, a u svetovnom smislu potpada pod jurisdikciju Grčke.
I bi svetlost u Hilandaru Let there be light at Hilandar
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