Kosovo a Serbian Jerusalem

Bishop Artemy calls Kosovo a Serbian Jerusalem

Moscow, June 29, Interfax - Administrator of the Raska and Prizren diocese of the Serbian church bishop Artemy called Kosovo �a spiritual and cultural cradle� of the Serbs, �a Serbian Jerusalem.��The entire Serbia is a church, while Kosovo is this church�s sanctuary,� the hierarch said at the divine worship in the Gracanica monastery, Vremya Novostey daily writes on Thursday. Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica visited the monastery last Wednesday. He met with the leaders of the Serbian community and had a meal with the brethren. His visit was timed to the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo between the Serbs and the Turks on 28 June 1389.An expert of the Serbian Academy of Sciences Institute of History Slavenco Terzic said that the defeat of the Serbs tragic implications for the entire Balkan region.He noted that the Ottoman yoke had delivered a �strong blow on the rich heritage of the Christian nations in the Balkans. Their political, social and cultural elite was exterminated, and medieval towns, Orthodox churches and other monuments of culture had been destroyed.�The tragedy was exacerbated by the fact that the coming of the Ottoman Empire to the Balkans �had brought about contacts of the Balkan people with the militarized branch of Islam, rather then with high achievements of the Arab Muslim civilization,� the scholar added. Deputy director of the Institute of Slavonic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. of history Andrey Shemyakin said that from historical perspective Kosovo was indeed the cradle of the Serbian statehood and Orthodox culture. �If these are taken away from the Serbs, they will never accept it and will be quite right,� he underscored. Serbian Jerusalem
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