Metropolitan Teodosije Receives Student List Representatives at Gračanica Monastery. Delegation Also Visits Dečani and Prizren

His Eminence Metropolitan Teodosije of Raška and Prizren received representatives of the Student List at Gračanica Monastery. The delegation visited Kosovo and Metohija just a few days after the official confirmation of the election results to learn at first hand about the life of our people and the Diocese of Raška and Prizren. It comprised Student List candidates and students, including three candidates and a number of students from Kosovo and Metohija. Also present were Archimandrite Andrej, the Metropolitan’s deputy and Abbot of Crna Reka Monastery, and Živojin Rakočević, President of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia and Director of the Gračanica Cultural Centre.

 

The visitors explained that they wished to begin the work ahead of them by visiting Gračanica and Visoki Dečani, speaking with the Metropolitan and the monastic communities, and learning about the needs of the people who live here. They expressed their readiness to place support for the Serbian people, the protection of holy sites and the rights of the Serbian Orthodox Church among their priorities, while maintaining close contact with local people and respecting their experience and needs.

Metropolitan Teodosije spoke to the delegation about the daily concerns of our faithful and the difficulties facing our Diocese and its people in Kosovo and Metohija. He stressed the need to ensure that families can remain in their homes, children can attend school, those who are ill can receive medical care, and people can live and work without fear. Preserving the holy sites and the life of the Church is inseparable from ensuring that our people can remain here and look to the future with hope.

The Student List representatives expressed their willingness to help address these issues, with particular attention to families and monastic communities living in the most difficult circumstances. The discussion emphasised the importance of sustained assistance, legal certainty and respect for the dignity of every person.

Metropolitan Teodosije emphasised that the visit had brought real hope to our people, clergy and monastics that their voices would be heard and that the problems they face would be addressed through close cooperation and mutual understanding.

He warmly thanked the visitors for coming and for the concern they had shown, expressing his firm conviction that their willingness to help would benefit our people and the Church in this region.

The Metropolitan told the delegation that the Diocese remains deeply committed to its people and to cooperation with those who can help secure their continued presence, dignity and peaceful life alongside their neighbours. “It is particularly important for our people to know that there is someone willing to listen to their concerns, and that they are not alone in their efforts to remain in their homes,” Metropolitan Teodosije said.

Visit to Visoki Dečani

On the feast of Saint Demetrius the Great Martyr, representatives of the Student List visited Visoki Dečani Monastery and took part in the Divine Liturgy, during which many of them received Holy Communion. The visitors venerated the relics of the Holy King Stefan of Dečani and learned more about the monastery and the life of its brotherhood.

Following their meeting with Metropolitan Teodosije at Gračanica, the visitors continued their discussions at Dečani with the monastery’s abbot, Archimandrite Sava, and the Dečani monks. They held an open and substantive conversation about the challenges facing the monastery and monastic communities across Kosovo and Metohija.

Father Sava outlined the Diocese’s efforts to date to preserve its heritage and ensure that its holy sites and monastic communities can continue to function freely and securely over the long term. The discussion covered the security of our heritage, the protection of Church property, respect for the rules governing protected zones, the restoration and upkeep of churches, access for the faithful and pilgrims, and the conditions needed for worship and daily life to continue unhindered. Particular attention was given to the need for comprehensive and reliable protection of the rights of our holy sites and monastic communities, with effective engagement by the relevant institutions in Serbia and international representatives.

The abbot recalled that monasteries are living communities of prayer which, alongside preserving the heritage of centuries, provide an important source of support for our people. The trust that people place in their Church carries a responsibility to stand steadfastly by families, returnees and everyone in need. The protection of holy sites must therefore also ensure that their brotherhoods and sisterhoods can live and work in conditions that allow them to continue their spiritual and charitable mission.

The Student List representatives showed considerable interest in these issues and expressed their willingness to work with local people and representatives of the Diocese to address specific difficulties once they take up their roles in state institutions. They emphasised the importance of institutional support, legal and specialist assistance, and other forms of help needed to ensure a secure and sustainable future for our people in Kosovo and Metohija. They particularly stressed their wish to listen carefully to monastics, clergy and the faithful, and to ensure that their needs are taken into account when seeking solutions.

The Dečani brotherhood thanked the visitors for joining them in prayer and for their concern for the life of the monastery. Both sides expressed the hope that the meeting would lead to practical cooperation in protecting the holy sites, enabling them to continue their life of prayer without hindrance, welcome pilgrims and offer spiritual strength and comfort to our people and to all people of good will.

Following their visit to Visoki Dečani Monastery, the Student List representatives travelled to Prizren, where they visited the Church of Our Lady of Ljeviš and other holy sites in the city.