The way of the monasteries

The primacy of contemplative life over active life, the importance of work as a primary means of daily sustenance, studying and the preeminence of faith, a sign of belonging, heralding the identity of a people. These are the characterizing traits of the Orthodox monasteries in Fruska Gora, in the Northern part of Serbia, currently a protected area, marked by the ancient routes of the monks who found in these places the ideal environment for the erection a large number of monasteries. Forced to flee from the Ottoman invasion to the North, in the region of Vojvodina, priests, monks and the local population erected monasteries to preserve national religion and identity. Since the end of the XIV century, 35 active monasteries were located on mount Fruska Gora. Of these only 17 are left today. During the Ottoman occupation the monasteries encouraged the force of the spirit and of memory, crucial to the preservation of the Serbian religious patrimony and to meet the challenges of the new era. These challenges today are called European integration, secularization and ecumenism, addressed in the name of the Saints Cyril and Methodius, the evangelizers of the Slavish people and for this reason elected as patrons of Europe by John Paul II.In the name of Cyril and Methodius. “We re-opened the monastery that dates back to 1343 a few years ago, after it had been closed for two centuries”, pope Kalistrat, from the Dobrun monastery, near Bosnia’s border with Serbia, told SIR Europe. The site is dominated by a large statue of Karadorde Petrovic who in 1804 revolted against the Turk’s occupation leading them to establish an independent Serbian princedom inside the Ottoman Empire. “We are 5 monks. We live of prayer and work. We also run a museum that preserves the memory of the first Serbian revolt against the Turks in 1804. Our role models are Cyril and Methodius. They set an example for our people to follow also today. The threat of secularism and the loss of religious values are challenges we need to meet”. For pope Kalistrat European integration does not constitute a threat to religious faith. “The Church and Europe are two separate things”, he said. “We are concerned for the decreasing number of church attendants, most of whom are the elderly and the young. In the past, people would leave to find a job, today their drift away from faith”. Ecumenism as a testimony of faith. This concern is shared by Maxim, pope in the monastery of Krusedol, whose origin is linked to another major figure in the history of this land, Djuradi Brankovic, the last Serbian sovereign. This year the monastery celebrates its 500th anniversary. “This recurrence – he states – explains the importance of the monastery in our culture and life of faith. The faithful always viewed this place as a point of reference. With the fall of Communism we saw that many people returned to religious faith even though it must be said that many of them did so only to create a positive image of themselves. These were not faithful before, and are not faithful today”. But friendship and sharing does exist within the Catholic minority, “to whom we feel very close. Steps of rapprochement are important, although it will take some time before concrete results can be seen. What’s important is that the Catholics and the Orthodox bear witness to their faith and to the evangelical values in the framework of ever-more secularized Europe”. Despite Communism. “Despite Communism, which for decades prevented us from freely living a normal religious life, we do register vocations”, said a nun from the community of the monastery of Grgeteg, that dates back to 1475. “Life is hard in the monastery. We wake up at 3 a.m. and we work until 8 p.m., when we return to our rooms. There are 28 of us, and the presence of several young nuns shows that there is a rebirth under way in the post-communist period”. Serbia’s decision to enter the EU doesn’t seem a reason for concern. “The risk that our people could loose their identity and faith does exist, the religious said. But the Church and politicians must act on separate levels to achieve their own objectives. In this framework, the ecumenical journey will serve to defend evangelical values that relativism and the increase of secularism in Europe are posing a threat to”.