Naročit dan za posetu je četvrtak, u predvečernjim satima, kada se otvara kovčeg sa moštima The best day for a visit is Thursday, in the evening hours. At that time the casket with remains is opened
and killed. Among the saints he was celebrated as a great martyr, and among the ordinary, common peo- ple he was known as a prophet of miracles. Hence the missing single window decoration: the head of the stone lion taken by the Turkish conquerors, who intended to demolish the church where the remains of the most loved Nemanjić were laid to rest. Their saintliness did not help only on this occa- sion, but rather it defended the monastery on many occasions, explains Father Petar, who is responsible for hospitality. You will experience it unofficially at every step - in the dining room, with an extreme- ly tasty meal, in the salon, with a glass of innocu- ous red wine from the nearby Velika Hoča, and the Dečanska vineyards. Or during a visit to the work- shops for icon-painting and icon-carving. No one here will hide the secret tricks of their craft, and will even be proud of the latest technology in the ser- vice of ancient styles of painting and carving wood. There are other reasons why Visoki Dečani dif- fers from other monasteries. During services it is not rare for KFOR soldiers to make a prayer visit. Some of them just drop by from the nearby “karaula”, set up to defend this UNESCO-listed monument, while some make a much longer journey to bow before the Holy King. Sometimes there are also some tourists, who are always amazed by the beauty of the ambi- ence. “Italians have a special relationship with it, as they are accustomed to beauty,”says Father Petar. The most common day for a visit is Thursday, in the evening hours. At that time there are songs of praise for the benefactor and the casket is opened containing his remains, which are said to be heal- ing, something which is even believed by the Muslim neighbours. His remains, which have not decayed, will even cause an atheist to reconsider. One finds in it at least a grain of faith in the other side. The question of immortality is above everything in Dečani. But the people here also have a sense of the real life and have created an impressive self-sus- taining economy. The flock of ram and goats isn’t just there for their milk, which is used to make top-class cheese according to special recipes, but also to be loved and pampered, from the host-economist, the bulky fa- ther Danilo. He also remembers when the late Pa- triarch Pavle once visited and said, when seeing the automatic feeder for the chickens:“Look, how smart they are, I wouldn’t think of that (to get food with a movement of the head)”. The facilities for process- ing its dairy products are like pharmacies, or labo- ratories with modern appliances. Thus, on the one hand this monastery in south- west Kosovo continues the tradition of medieval chanting and ecclesiastical rules, from rising early to enduring prayers, while on the other hand it ad- vocates modernity. All combined it forms an eter- nity, or at least the lifetime of a guest who will want to return and again experience the blessings of this Byzantine pearl.
and all around the door. One is missing, as will be observed upon closer inspection, and an explana- tion will follow later. Unlike other Orthodox churches destroyed over the course of the tumultuous centu- ries, this church remains the same as it was in 1345, when it was erected. The interior of the church inspires a different kind of awe. Carefully painted by hand by the most famous masters between 1347 and 1348, it glorifies the Nemanjić dynasty one of, if not, the oldest roy- al families in the Balkans. At the highest point of as- cent, the Nemanjić line is depicted in one of the fres- coes in a way that represents the genealogy of Jesus Christ according to Italian and French cathedrals. The place of honour in the line is taken by Ste- fan Dečanski, in a ceremonial, gold-plated outfit. His image as the benefactor is also above his grave, in the church itself, the walls of which are covered with over a thousand religious and colourful composi- tions. The colours are alive, as are the faces of saints, angels and other immortal beings, with their deeds raised to the hierarchical scale of the heavens. There is complete peace, and a feeling of strange happi- ness, which is rarely found today. The atmosphere is rounded off by the monks and their rustling cloaks. From the high ceilings, in all the vaults up to the highest dome in the Pantocrator, hang heavy chan- deliers of wrought iron. The candles lit on them dur- ing prayers carry you through centuries. Sudden- ly, you also become a witness of bygone ancient times, a contemporary of the Holy King who was known during his life as Stefan Uroš III and was lat- er dubbed Stefan Dečanski. His life, which was sub- sequently sung of in legend, is one more reason for you to fall in love with Dečani. In that medieval period of the fourteenth cen- tury, nothing was illegitimate in the struggle for the throne, but the Holy King was the only one who suf- fered at the hands of both his father and son. By the first, Milutin, he was blinded and expelled from the kingdom, but then his sight was magically restored. By the other, Dušan the Mighty, he was locked away
Unlike other Orthodox temples that were destroyed over the centuries, this church has remained the same as it was when it was erected in 1345
A nyone who has even once been to Visoki Dečani Monastery will forever remember the image of the church of Christ the Pan- tocrator (Creator), a masterpiece of Ser- bian medieval masonry. Tiny against the backdrop of the magnificent Prokletije massif, and standing on its own in the harsh, terrifyingly imposing rock faces, it was nevertheless designed to dominate the landscape. Whether it will later appear in dreams as being whitish, yellowish, pinkish or a powerful cyan colour depends on the time of day and year when it was first seen by the visitor. Or rather, it depends on the sun’s rays that place a different emphasis on the layers of marble brought from afar by Friar Vito, a Catholic monk and one of the greatest builders of his time. As though this dance of light was not sufficient for him, he also adorned the church with stone decorations above the window
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